Commitment to Christ, to the Gospel

In today's first reading, 2 Cor 11: 1-11, St. Paul voices his fear that those to whom He preached Christ Crucified and shared the Good News of Christ will allow themselves "to be corrupted from a sincere and pure commitment to Christ," as Satan is very cunning. Just as he deceived Eve, St. Paul is afraid that he will deceive those who have come to a believe in Christ through his preaching.

Satan works as hard to deceive you and I as he worked to lure Adam and Eve away from God's commands. Adam and Eve gave into Satan's lies. You and I are also vulnerable to the lies of "the serpent" who slithers into our lives luring us into believing that "anything goes," that it is okay to tell white lies, to gossip about others, to bend the rules to fit our fancy, to do whatever because everyone is doing it, and on and on!  "It's okay to cheat on our marriage vows, on the vows we confessed as men and women religious, as priests. It's okay to give in a little to temptations to get even, to seek selfish ambitions to be above others, to lord it over others", and so on and on and on!

Have I allowed my "sincere and pure commitment to Christ" to become corrupted? "Oh, only a little, my ego says!" Corruption is corruption! Lord, I pray, that I will return to you in repentance and seek Your help to return to being sincere and purely committing myself to You again! I pray, Lord, for the humility to admit my vulnerability and to  repent of the times  I made excuses for becoming lukewarm in service of You, the times I lost my first fervor, my first love!

The Hand of God Was with Them and Is with Us

In today’s first reading, Acts 11: 19-26, we learn that those who had been scattered by the persecution that followed the murder of Stephen did not cowl in fear but went forth to other places to proclaim “the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them,” the author of Acts, tells us, and “a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” Barnabas was sent to Antioch and, when he arrived, he “saw the grace of God,” and  rejoiced and encouraged the people to whom he had been sent to “remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart.”

Wow! What testimony! What courage! And what a commitment to the Lord God! Would you and I, I ask, after witnessing a disciple of the Lord being stoned to death and fleeing persecution continue to “proclaim the Lord Jesus”?  Would we, in arriving at a new city/town/country recognize “the grace of God” working in strangers? Do we recognize God at work in those with whom we live? Within those with whom we worship each Sunday? Within our co-workers? 

May we, every day, take time to reflect upon the Scriptures of the daily liturgy, or any other Scripture or spiritually-uplifting reading. Doing so, we will grow in our awareness of God at work in others, and in ourselves. We will awaken our ability to rejoice and encourage others in their faith development and in using their faith to bring others to Jesus!