Monday of the
Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 14:5-18; John 14:21-26)
The first reading sounds more like a situation comedy
than an episode of true history. Sometimes,
however, reality is stranger than fiction.
In any case, people have an odd penchant of adulating men and women as
if they were gods and goddesses. Today athletes
and entertainers have godlike status in the eyes of the public. A Tom Brady or a Nicole Kidman command immense
salaries and attention to the banalities of their lives.
In the biblical passage Paul and Barnabas are worshipped
as gods after facilitating an instant healing.
The two apostles take advantage of the opportunity to explain God’s love
for them. They tell the pagan
townspeople that such a mighty deed is but an extension of the care God shows in
creation. Still like many today the
people in the reading refuse to abandon their fantasies. They continue to prepare sacrifices for the apostles.
Unfortunately the attention paid to athletes and entertainers
often detracts from worship of the true God.
We know of people who do not go to church on Sunday in order to watch a
football game. Many as well accept the
caprices of entertainers as norms for everyone.
The situation leaves us with a double responsibility. We must be careful not to fall into these
vices. And we must instruct our youth that
the living God demands righteous living.
