Thursday of the
Fourth Week of Easter
(Acts 13:13-25; John 13:16-20)
The man is an active Catholic working with youth in his
parish. He has a small, successful
business and is married with a family. He
would hardly have dreamt being so blessed seventeen years ago. Then he was in jail reeling from a troubled
childhood. In time he met the Lord
largely, as he tells the story, through the prison chaplain. The encounter turned his life around. His story parallels that of St. Paul preaching
in a synagogue in the first reading today.
Capture the irony.
Just a few years before Paul would have been in a similar synagogue
ferreting out Jews having inclinations toward Jesus whom Christians believed
was the Christ or Messiah. Now he
preaches quite openly that indeed Jesus is the savior of the people. His turnabout came through a palpable encounter
with Jesus risen from the dead.
Many today have experiences such as Paul’s. The Church sponsors activities such as “Cursillo”
and “Christ Renews His Parish” so that participants may know Christ in ways
beyond the intellect. Many others have a
relationship with Christ without such a felt experience. They know him to be real and influential
although they would never admit to hearing him speak to them. In any case we should treat Jesus as he is
preached by Paul – a friend who comes to save us from our folly and all its
effects.
