Friday of the 6th week of Easter, May 10, 2024
Acts 18:9-18; Ps 47:2-7; Jn 16:20-23
We have all had dreams. And, If I were to surmise, some were good, and some were nightmares. Paul understood the dream he had to be a premonition as to what would lie ahead. I don’t know if I would call his dream a nightmare, or a positive dream. If you think about it, God was warning him that persecution was coming, but not to worry as he would be protected. I am sure Paul took it as a positive sign and thoroughly embraced it. By reading the Acts of the Apostles, especially in today’s reading, we can agree that, yes, Paul took that dream as a positive sign.
Paul did not have to wait very long, and the message of that dream was laid out to him. Paul was rustled up by the Jews in the area and dragged to the Roman courts. They felt Paul was breaking the Jewish law by the way he was praying and talking about Jesus. When they got to the courts, the proconsul, Gallio, recognized what was going on. In fact, he scolds the Jews for bringing to him something that they should have taken care of themselves. And Paul, remembering his dream, knew that everything was going to be ok. Paul was not afraid of what the Jews were trying to do and carried on as the Lord commanded.
In the Gospel of John today, Jesus uses an interesting analogy to describe how not to be afraid but look for the joy in the situation. Obviously, I cannot relate to going through childbirth other than being there when my children were born. But that is a different type of fear and joy, I was not the one going through it! But I can relate to being persecuted and somewhat afraid to express my faith. The older we get, the more life seems to fly by, and I think we can all relate to that. It seems like yesterday we were starting our adulthood. And now, years later, we can look back and see all the ways we were afraid of the situation we were in. Yet, through it all, I am sure we felt the presence of God carrying us along. Then the pure joy of completing the task, event, or whatever it was that he carried us through. At least in hindsight, we can see that.
Even today, we are still going through trials and tribulations. It is time we got prepared because it seems like it is going to get worse. Wouldn’t it be nice if the civil courts did the same thing Gallio did? “Not my problem, go away…” Yet, every day, our faith is more and more on trial. Not necessarily all from the courts, but from the world as well. For all the young adults reading this, you, too, will go through many trials and disappointments. If we truly listen to Jesus and believe what God says, “Do not be afraid,” then “your fear will become joy.” Going through persecution or tough times, while not fun, is not the end of the world. The end game is to be with Jesus in heaven where all our joy will be complete, and it will never be taken away from us. So pray, pray for all fear to be removed so we can make it through the next minute, the next hour, or the next day. Pray to our Father in Jesus’ name who wants us to have joy, and if you pray in Jesus’ name, He will give it to you. Jesus says this with a double amen, and you all know what that means, if it is said with a double amen, it is true. Pray for strength, pray for peace, and pray for joy. Amen, Amen!
Saint James Catholic Church 