Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
(Acts 14:5-18;
John 14:21-26)
The reading
from Acts today is rather comic. The people
take Paul and Barnabas to be gods. The
apostles have to tear their garments as a sign that they are mortal. The
miracle story that provokes their identification as gods deserves our attention
as well.
Luke, the
author of Acts, writes that Paul saw that the crippled man “had the faith to be
healed.” What kind of faith is
this? How does it differ from other
kinds of faith? One is reminded of the
men who lowered a paralytic through the roof so that Jesus might heal him. The Lucan version of the story also notes how
Jesus observes the men’s faith. Faith in
these cases is trust in Jesus. It does
not worry about the future or doubt Jesus’ care. It knows that Jesus will resolve their
problems because he loves them.
For many,
faith is adherence to a tradition of beliefs and customs. It continually questions and is reluctant to
accept all that Jesus teaches. It does
not allow fervent personal prayer. We should endeavor to transcend this rational
faith in order to nurture trusting faith.
We must put aside anti-religious arguments as well as lesser gratification
of desires. We should also ask Jesus
directly and sincerely for assistance. When
we do, we will find our situation improving.
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