The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invites us to ponder our attitude to sin, righteousness and condemnation and invoke the Advocate in our exploration of the Love of God.
The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the Deliverance from Prison of Paul and Silas.
* [16:11–40] The church at Philippi became a flourishing community to which Paul addressed one of his letters (see Introduction to the Letter to the Philippians). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 16, n.d.)
Psalm 138 is a thanksgiving to God.
* [Psalm 138] A thanksgiving to God, who came to the rescue of the psalmist. Divine rescue was not the result of the psalmist’s virtues but of God’s loving fidelity (Ps 138:1–3). The act is not a private transaction but a public act that stirs the surrounding nations to praise God’s greatness and care for the people (Ps 138:4–6). The psalmist, having experienced salvation, trusts that God will always be there in moments of danger (Ps 138:7–8). (Psalms, PSALM 138, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals His Departure and the Coming of the Advocate.
* [16:5] Not one of you asks me: the difficulty of reconciling this with Simon Peter’s question in Jn 13:36 and Thomas’ words in Jn 14:5 strengthens the supposition that the last discourse has been made up of several collections of Johannine material.
* [16:8–11] These verses illustrate the forensic character of the Paraclete’s role: in the forum of the disciples’ conscience he prosecutes the world. He leads believers to see (a) that the basic sin was and is refusal to believe in Jesus; (b) that, although Jesus was found guilty and apparently died in disgrace, in reality righteousness has triumphed, for Jesus has returned to his Father; (c) finally, that it is the ruler of this world, Satan, who has been condemned through Jesus’ death (Jn 12:32). (John, CHAPTER 16, n.d.)
Tamora Whitney asserts that the truth and what is right are above unjust laws and orders.
In the Gospel Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, but they are having a hard time with it. They are grieving the loss of their friend and teacher. Of course they will miss him. A lot. They want him to stay with them. But he says, the truth is, they will be better off that he is gone. He will go to prepare a place for us all, and he will send down the Holy Spirit to help the righteous on the right path, and condemn those who continue in sin and false ways. (Whitney, 2025)
Don Schwager quotes “Whatever is not of faith is sin,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"When the Lord said of the Holy Spirit, 'He shall convict the world of sin,' he meant unbelief. For this is what he meant when he said, 'Of sin because they believed not on me.' And he means the same when he says, 'If I had not come and spoken to them, they should not have sin.' (John 15:22). He was not talking about [a time] before they had no sin. Rather, he wanted to indicate that very lack of faith by which they did not believe him even when he was present to them and speaking to them. These were the people who belonged to 'the prince of the power of the air, who now works in the children of unbelief' (Ephesians 2:2). Therefore those in whom there is no faith are the children of the devil because they have nothing in their inner being that would cause them to be forgiven for whatever is committed either by human infirmity, ignorance or any evil will whatever. But the children of God are those who certainly, if they should 'say that they have no sin, deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them,' but immediately (as it continues) 'when they confess their sins' (which the children of the devil do not do, or do not do according to the faith which is peculiar to the children of God), 'he is faithful and just to forgive them their sins and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness'" (1 John 1:9). (excerpt from AGAINST TWO LETTERS OF THE PELAGIANS 3.4) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 16:22-34 comments that we can work to develop this same habit of gratitude. Like anything we do, giving thanks and praise is something we can get better at. So practice it today, even in life’s ordinary moments. Thank the Lord for a beautiful sunrise, or for a short wait at the doctor’s office, or for the smiling clerk at your favorite store. Look for the Holy Spirit’s presence in these situations and praise God. Then, like Paul and Silas, we will be more likely to give thanks to God even in the more difficult moments.
As you keep doing this, you will find the “prison doors” inside your heart opening. Any chains of fear and anxiety that you may struggle with will fall away, and you will be loosed from the shackles of resentment or bitterness that hold you bound.
“Lord, teach me to be thankful in every circumstance!” (Meditation on Acts 16:22-34, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the Acts reading where Paul and Silas are beaten and in jail and are freed by an earthquake. Paul includes the jailer and his family and they are baptized. This may be a record supporting infant baptism In John 16. Jesus continues the Last Supper Discourse. Friar Jude reminds us of the grief of the disciples and the assertion in John’s Gospel that the one sin is not to believe in the Son, Jesus reveals who God is and what God wants of us.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Spiritual writer Ruth Haley Barton who explores the necessity of doing our shadow work through the story of Moses, who was born into a Hebrew family and raised by the Egyptian pharaoh’s daughter (see Exodus 2:1–15). Barton invites us to consider how silence might help us respond when we are trapped in reactive patterns.
That one glimpse of the destructive power of his raw and unrefined leadership was so frightening to Moses that he fled into solitude…. He said, in effect, “This part of me, if left as it is, will be no good for anyone.” Yes, he ran because he was afraid of Pharaoh, but oftentimes it is the fear of being found out or the actual experience of being found out that alerts us to what lies beneath. It actually places us on the path of self-discovery and (hopefully) forces us to do whatever work we need to do to take more responsibility for the dark forces that have propelled our bad behavior…. (Rohr, n.d.)
We may experience our imprisonment to patterns and behaviours about which we can seek the help of the Advocate to enlighten our journey to deeper understanding of “Who God is” and “What God asks of us”.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/16?22
John, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16?5
Meditation on Acts 16:22-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/05/27/1285205/
Psalms, PSALM 138. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/138?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Surprised by Our Shadow. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/surprised-by-our-shadow/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). I Will Send the Counselor to You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=may27
Whitney, T. (2025, May 27). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 27, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/052725.html
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