B ut, more than their words, it was the example of their lives and their willingness to give their lives for others that brought about the rapid spread of Christianity. That is no less true today.  As disciples we are all called to proclaim the Gospel by the way we live our lives, using words only when necessary.

Wednesday in the Second Week of Easter

Acts 5:17-26

Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

J ohn 3:16-21 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. (18) He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (19) And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (21) But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.

Meditation

T he beginning of today's Gospel may well be the best known and most wid ely publicized passage in the Christian Bible: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life."  Who has not seen some form of JOHN 3:16 in stadiums or other crowds throughout the USA?

In many ways those lines are a beautiful summary of the Easter message, and one could hardly find a passage more pregnant with meaning upon which to reflect and pray.  And so that we might not twist, miss, or water down the fullness of Mercy and Forgiveness promised in this passage, the author of  JOHN  goes on to say, "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."  A consequence of this truth is that, since God loves us no matter what, everyone will eventually be saved.  Does that sit well with you?  If not, why?

Was this not the universal Good News proclaimed by the Apostles and first disciples, the Gospel which caused them to be persecuted, hunted down, imprisoned, and even killed for their message of universal amnesty on the part of a God Who is best defined as Love?  In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about one of the few times when these first evangelizers were miraculously rescued from prison, so that they might continue their preaching and teaching. But, more than their words, it was the example of their lives and their willingness to give their lives for others that brought about the rapid spread of Christianity. That is no less true today.  As disciples we are all called to proclaim the Gospel by the way we live our lives, using words only when necessary.  Can each of us say in all honesty what the Psalmist proclaims in our Entrance Antiphon: "I will be a witness to you in the world, O Lord, I will spread the knowledge of your name among my brothers and sisters, alleluia?"  Then and only then are we truly Easter people!

A fitting conclusion to our prayer today is the Responsorial Psalm (THE LORD HEARS THE CRY OF THE POOR), beginning with "I will bless the Lord at all times," and ending with, "Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed the one who takes refuge in God."

Supplementary Reading

Having Eyes for One

Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. ~ John 6:21

T he disciples were traveling across the lake to Capernaum when a strong wind arose and the waters grew rough. Suddenly they saw a figure on the water, and they were terrified until Jesus called out to them and identified Himself.

Isn't that the first thing we do when unexpected calamities or even something that we have never experienced before comes into our life? We panic until we can see that God is behind these events in our lives. In Romans, Paul tells us that, "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen" (Rom. 11:36). God has an eternal filter in which nothing can touch us unless He permits it. Even satan must have permission to touch us. And God may even use satan for His own ends, as in the case of Job.

God shows us a second principle in this story. The Scriptures say when the disciples were willing to take Jesus into the boat, they reached the shore where they were heading. 

I was faced with some very difficult circumstances in my business. I had no income for some time, and I saw no immediate remedy to the situation. The circumstances created fear in my heart. The anxiety began to grow until, one day after my evening prayer walk, the Lord said, "How long do you want to keep your eyes on the circumstances instead of Me? Do you think I have brought you this far to throw you into the water?" The truth was that I was halfway in already because my eyes were looking at the "big waves" surrounding my boat. One night, in a support group for divorced men, the leader asked each of us to keep our eyes on two men who were going to walk from the room. One man represented Jesus, the other, our circumstances. "Now, I want you to keep your eyes on both people," he said. The men stood up and began walking across the room in opposite directions. It was impossible to keep looking at each of them at the same time. So we had to choose which we would focus on. 

The lesson was clear. We could not keep our eyes on Jesus and our circumstance at the same time. --0S Hillman

• 04/18/2010 02:32 - Apr 19, 2010 - Monday Meditation (What Are We Looking in Following Jesus?)
• 04/16/2010 05:12 - Apr 18, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Nobody Fills my Heart like JESUS!)
• 04/16/2010 04:27 - Apr 17, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (In Him We Live, Move and Have our Being!)
• 04/15/2010 05:07 - Apr 16, 2010 - Friday Meditation (You are His Sanctuary
• 04/08/2010 13:47 - Apr 15, 2010 - Thursday Meditation (We Must Allow Jesus to Transform Us!)

• 04/08/2010 13:43 - Apr 13, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (Power to Spread the Gospel : Holy Spirit)
• 04/08/2010 13:41 - Apr 12, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Be Born Again!)
• 04/08/2010 13:36 - Apr 11, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Willing to be Sent?)
• 04/08/2010 13:34 - Apr 10, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (Power of Testimonies!)
• 04/08/2010 13:32 - Apr 9, 2010 - Friday Meditation (And I will run to You)