Witnesses of the Risen One

Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.  Saul is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them in chains to prison to be punished for following Jesus. On the way to Damascus when, nearing the city, Saul is knocked off his horse and hears a voice saying to him:  "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'"  Saul asks:  "Who are you, sir?"  The voice responds: "I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting!"  Saul asks: "What should I do,sir?"  Jesus responds:  "Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do."  

Do you and I realize that the way we treat another person is how we are treating Jesus the Nazorean?  Do we realize, in fact, that we are Jesus in the world!  First of all, if we realized that other persons are Jesus, we certainly would, I believe,  treat them with respect and love; and, second of all, knowing that we, too, are Jesus in the world would we not then do as Jesus did: reach out to the poor, the oppressed, say healing words to the sick and crippled, the troubled and distressed?  Would we not, then, seek ways to bring light into the darkness of another person's life, hope into areas of hopelessness, love where there is hatred and forgiveness to those whom we have hurt or who may  have hurt us?

Like Saul, baptized Paul, the Lord says to us through others:  "Get up and go (to wherever we are being called) and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do."  And, also like Saul, we often need others to restore our sight, as Ananias did for Saul at God's bidding.  Sight restored, we will be able to recognize what God is asking of us and how we, too, are called to be His witnesses in the world around us.

"Speak, Lord, Your Servant Is :Listening"

In the opening prayer of today' liturgy we pray"  "O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen."  Jesus models this in today's Gospel, Mark 1: 29-39.  He enters the house of Simon and Andrew.  Immediately, he is told about Simon's mother-in-law's illness. And just as immediately, Jesus approaches her, takes her my the hand and helps her up. He healed her, as he did many others who were brought to him that evening.  When Jesus saw a need, he responded in a positive way. What about you and me? do we act when we see a person who needs our help? Or do we say: "Not now; I'm busy." Or "Not now, I'm tired."  "Not now; can't you see that I am reading the paper!"

In the first reading of today's liturgy, Eli teaches Samuel to respond to God's calling.  Three times the Lord called Samuel, awakening him from sleep. Samuel, not yet familiar with the Lord, thinks it is his master, Eli, calling him.  With Eli's counsel, Samuel learns that it is God who is awakening him from sleep.  Eli had the strength to do what must be done--direct Samuel appropriately.  Later, we will see that Samuel also has the strength to do the Lord's bidding.

You and I are called in many ways. The call to be the Lord's servants came to us first in Baptism, then was reconfirmed in any of the sacraments we received since that day at the baptismal font, brought there most likely by our parents and godparents.  Like Simon (Peter) and Andrew, as adults,  we may be called to intercede for others. Like Eli, we may be asked to counsel another to listen to the Lord's voice. Or the Spirit may be calling us to take time out to pray/meditate, sit in quiet. Also, throughout the day we are called to follow the Spirit's lead: our employer has a special project that needs our attention, a coworker needs support; we need to stop and do grocery shopping before coming home from work. Once home,  a child needs help with his/her homework, a spouse needs help preparing the evening meal or cleaning up afterward,  chores need to be completed and the person doing the chores would like support; a relative or coworker calls and needs to talk. A small son or daughter wants you to play a game with him/her. A spouse needs an errand run after supper! Tired? Probably not as tired as the Lord was at the end of his busy day!

With Samuel, let us learn to say: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening".  Help me, Lord, to be attentive to your voice, to recognize your voice and "see what must be done and gain the strength to do what [I] have seen."

Strength for the Faith Journey

In today’s first reading, Acts 14: 19-28, Paul is stoned and dragged out of the city believing to be dead. The disciples of Jesus gather around him.  He gets up and leaves with Barnabas to go to Derbe and several other cities to proclaim the good news, strengthening other disciples, encourageing them to persevere in the faith.  This particular journey ends in Antioch where they are “commended for their work”   and where they, in turn,  “reported all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”

Imagine going through the city/the village where you live sharing your faith in Jesus and suddenly being turned upon viciously, violently, literally having stones thrown at you or attacked verbally, words of hatred and rejection hurled at you.  Would you, accompanied by other believers, get up, maintain your peace, and move on to another place to continue the mission God entrusted to you?  Or would you withdraw, tell yourself that you do not have what it takes to do this work, that you have had enough, that the price  isn’t worth it, that you are not going to risk your  life; that, no way, are you going to make a fool of yourself and invite the wrath of your neighbor.

Notice that Paul does what he does, not alone, but with other disciples. It is with their support, that Paul is able to get up and move on.  At the end of this particular journey, Paul also seeks the support of fellow disciples. St. Luke , the author of Acts, tells us that Paul and Barnabas “spent no little time with the disciples.” 

In order to make progress in our faith journey and in proclaiming the Gospel either with words, or with our lives,  we too need support from other disciples, especially when we meet opposition from without or within. We also need to take time to report to others “all that God has done” and how God “opens the door of faith” for us in our work and daily living experiences. If I do not have that kind of support, I need to find it, seek it out, or make it happen by taking the initiative to form such a group.