With the words of the weekend's scripture passages still ringing in our ears, today's offerings help us to stay focused on those same words ... and to deepen our understanding of how they can be lived out. Jesus said to his disciples: When the Advocate comes ... he will testify to me and you will testify (Jn 15: 26-27).
At the moment when Jesus was speaking these words, the disciples could not even imagine what he was saying ... and as we hear them now, perhaps we ourselves cannot imagine ourselves being called to testify to Jesus. Testifying to Jesus is something we hear of in the lives of the saints, or in the lives of people of deep faith who we have known. Such heroes might include Pope John Paul II (whose birthday was on this day) and Saint Teresa of Calcutta, but have we ever thought of ourselves as being the people who are called upon to testify to Jesus?
The Acts of the Apostles recount some of the details concerning Saint Paul's travels. As we read those details (cf Acts 16: 11-12) we might consult a map to get a sense of the places he visited, but we need also to put ourselves in his shoes in order to appreciate what that travel was like. It was a different time in history, the modern conveniences of travel were not even known so this was an arduous task yet Paul was willing to undertake the adventure so that he could share the news about Christ, his life, his death and his resurrection with people throughout those lands.
One of the results of hearing the gospel preached is that the Lord enlivens all those who hear his word and accept it. Even today, those who come to believe are often filled with love that is made known through great generosity. Outside the gates of the city of Philippi: On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us (Acts 16: 13-15).
How is the Lord calling us today to be generous with our time ... to be witnesses of His presence, His teachings and His promises in our world?
Have a great day.
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