Saint Paul had a hard time.
Saint Paul had a difficult time after his conversion. His earlier life as a major rooter out of these new Christians put quite a few people off him. After his conversion the Jews hated him as a turncoat. Life is not easy when nobody loves you.
That didn’t stop Paul. Why should it stop you?
Read my latest column in the Scottish Catholic Observer this weekend. Full text here next week for those who sleep in.
Last month we saw how the Apostles came to understand that the Good News of the Gospel was meant for all mankind, not just for the Jews. Now Saul, or Paul as he is now being called, set off with Barnabas to bring the word to the pagans. On their journey they reached Antioch. On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue and after the lesson had been read they were invited to address the congregation with some “words of encouragement”. Paul’s address to the congregation was a complete explanation of how Jesus was the fulfilment of God’s promise to the Jews. So impressed were the congregation that Paul was invited to return the next Sabbath to give another talk.
The following week almost the whole town turned out to hear Paul, pagans as well as Jews. Seeing the large crowds and being jealous of his popularity, the Jews contradicted Paul, shouting him down. Paul replied that, as a Jew, he had wanted to proclaim the word to the Jews first but as they had rejected it and so he would now go on to proclaim the word to the pagans as Jesus had commanded when he said
“I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This made the pagans happy but it did not go down well with the leading men of the city. Paul and Barnabas were expelled from the territory. They shook the dust from their feet and moved on.
It is worth remembering that the early Christians were also Jews. They attended the synagogue before their meetings to break bread together. They didn’t think of themselves as a separate religion. It is not surprising that some of these early Christians were unhappy about Paul’s conversion of pagans. Some of them who were Pharisees objected. Paul had to convince them that this was part of God’s plan that all mankind were to be saved.
Paul’s mission was now one of bringing the Gospel message to the pagans. He travelled across what we now know as the Middle East, preaching to the Jews there but also converting pagans. He met with opposition from Jews and from pagans but pressed on.
Paul made journeys of hundreds of miles. Most of these distances he travelled were on foot. There was no transport system other than boats. Even journeys by sea must have been very dangerous undertakings. Paul’s life had become a journey, a journey to bring the Gospel to the world. I can’t help thinking that this is a kind of model for our own lives. Our lives are a journey, a spiritual journey. We walk, not along the dusty roads of Syria and Greece as Paul did, but in the everyday tasks we perform in our lives. Paul walked in barren wilderness. We often walk in a spiritual wilderness where Gospel values are not upheld.
Paul often found himself arguing with Jews and pagans who could not accept his teaching. He put himself in danger, angering powerful people. There are many stories of Paul escaping who opposed him. We don’t often find ourselves standing in the marketplace preaching the Gospel. We still have to bring the Gospel message into our society by the way we live. By living the Gospel we keep the message alive for others to find.
I remember being told by a missionary in Africa that the missionaries did not bring God to Africa. God was already there, the missionaries brought the Gospel. We see that in the stories of Paul’s travels. He would speak to people in a market place or a synagogue and some people were filled with the Holy Spirit and believed. Others did not have the Spirit. I’m not sure whether that is because some are chosen and others not or because some people are just not open to receiving the Spirit.
Whatever the danger he put himself in, Paul always argued his point and because he was guided by the Holy Spirit he was an eloquent debater. Often those who could not beat him in debate were frustrated and resorted to other means to defeat him. Despite the danger he put himself in Paul never wavered from his course.
That should be a model for us. In our ordinary lives we find our Gospel values being challenged. Like Paul, we must argue our cause. It is becoming increasingly unfashionable to hold Christian values and we have to accept that. As a bishop once told me, we are being told that the basic human value is equality. If we don’t believe that everyone is equal and all ideas are equal we are at fault. He insisted that the real basic value is truth. Some ideas are not true. We must be defenders of the truth.
As European Christians we could be regarded as followers of Paul. It was Paul who took the Faith to the pagans and we are the spiritual descendants of those pagans who converted. The Christians who are the descendants of the early church are those in the Middle East such as the Coptic Church. These Christians are the ones who are facing the same dangers that Paul faced. They are keeping their faith alive in the face of death threats.
The Christian population of the Middle East is falling rapidly as extremists kill some and others flee to safety. Even after fleeing Syria many Christians are unable to shelter in the refugee camps for fear of attack by other refugees.
We live in safety with no threat of violence for holding Christian beliefs. Some may suffer when the law of the land is changed in ways which contradict Christian teaching. The laws on abortion and same sex marriage bring some into conflict with the state. As we saw in the case of the midwives who did not want to have anything to do with abortion, standing by our beliefs can cost us dear.
The recent case of a Christian official in America who refused to licence same sex marriages and was jailed shows that sometimes we have to stand up for what we believe and put ourselves in danger. What would Paul have done? As we can see from his story he was jailed from time to time. He never allowed this to deflect him from his course.
Paul’s legal battles brought him to Rome eventually and brought the Gospel to the heart of the Roman Empire. It just goes to show that even when things look black and we think the fight is lost the tide can be turned. Paul never lost sight of the fact that it was the Holy Spirit who was leading him in his travels. Paul was just an instrument. So too, we are merely instruments in the Spirits work of evangelisation. We might not understand what is really happening but we know from the events in the early Church, the Spirit will not be diverted from his work. We must take Paul as our model and run the race to the end.
Keep the Faith.
Why did Paul preach to the pagans? Why did he annoy so many people? Why did they want to kill him wherever he went? Given all that, is Paul a suitable model for us?
Read my article in this week’s Scottish Catholic Observer. Is the Truth there? Is the Truth important? If you can’t get a copy this week you can find the full text here next week.
September’s column from the Scottish Catholic Observer.
Peter
So far in this series about the early Church we have heard about the Apostles and Saul. We learned about Stephen and his martyrdom. But what about Peter; Jesus made him the head of the Church. What was he up to and what can we learn from that?
Apparently Peter was travelling round the country, from one place to the next, preaching the good news. He arrived in Lydda and found a man named Aeneas, paralysed and bedridden for eight years. Peter commanded him in the name of Jesus to get up, he was cured. Sure enough the man got up and everyone was amazed. They were all converted to Jesus.
At that time there was a woman in Jaffa nearby. Tabitha, as she was called, was renowned for her good works. She became ill and died. There were disciples in Jaffa and when they heard Peter was close by they sent to Lydda for him. Peter went straight to Jaffa and went to the room where Tabitha lay. The room was full of mourners and Peter sent them away. He knelt and prayed and then spoke to Tabitha and told her to stand up. The woman opened her eyes and got up. Peter called the mourners in and showed them that Tabitha was alive. Many converts were made in Jaffa and Peter stayed there for some time.
Why did Peter bring the woman back to life? If she had been a good woman then presumably she would have been received by God. This is something that has puzzled me for a while. The woman he raised from back to life must have died again at some later time; either that or she is still alive somewhere. If our aim is to enter this new life after death why bring the woman back?
I can think of two reasons for this. They both involve signs. It is good to remember that people in those times did not think in what we would regard as rational ways. Rational thinking is something we associate with scientists like Isaac Newton who made us associate cause and effect.
So what were the signs in raising someone from the dead? Well, firstly it was a sign that Jesus had power over life and death. It showed that this Gospel that Peter was preaching had unimaginable power. The second sign is a bit more subtle. It is a sign that becoming a true follower of Jesus involves us in taking on a new life. In baptism we die to our old life and rise to a new life, putting matters of the world in the background and putting Jesus in the foreground of our thinking.
Teaching that it is important to discard old ways and adopt new ones can be seen as dangerous talk. The authorities certainly thought this was dangerous talk as we shall see. Meanwhile a centurion called Cornelius, a devout, god-fearing man who prayed regularly, had a vision in which an angel told him to send to Jaffa for Peter. Cornelius was in Caesarea, some distance away from Jaffa so he sent two servants in search of Peter. While they were on their way Peter had a vision in which God showed him every sort of animal and told him to kill and eat them. Peter replied that he could not eat anything that was profane or unclean. God told him that he had no right to call anything God had made clean profane.
Peter was puzzled by this vision. No wonder, you might say; it is certainly strange. Soon the men came to fetch Peter and the Spirit told Peter to go with them because it was the spirit who sent them. Peter listened to the men and agreed to go with them. Next day they set off and reached Caesarea the following day. Peter talked with them and told them that it was forbidden for Jews to associate with people of another race. He told them God had made it clear to him that he must not call anyone profane or unclean. That was why he had come to bring the gospel to them.
The Holy Spirit must have enabled Peter to understand the meaning of his vision. Peter had realised for the first time the true nature of the Church. It was intended for all of humanity, not just for the Jews. Now he really understood that this was not just an extension of the Jewish religion, it was much bigger. Peter had to explain this to the Apostles who were surprised and said that God can grant “even the pagans” repentance that leads to life. I suppose that means us.
Round about this time Herod started persecuting the Christians. He had James, brother of John beheaded and this made him popular. He decided to do the same with Peter. During Passover week he had Peter arrested and imprisoned. The plan was to have a trial after Passover. Squads of guards were assigned to watch Peter in case of any attempt to escape. Meanwhile the small Christian community prayed night and day.
You will recall the story about how an angel appeared in Peter’s cell and released him from the chains that held him. He led Peter out through locked gates which opened by themselves and into the city. After walking the length one street the angel left and Peter was left alone, realising for the first time that this was not a dream.
This might seem unreal but what convinces me is what happened next. Peter went to a house where the Christians were gathered to pray for him. He knocked on the door and the servant recognised his voice and ran inside to tell the others. She forgot to let Peter in. No one believed her and while they were arguing Peter was left outside, still knocking to get in. You couldn’t make that up, could you?
This story is a difficult one for people to believe today. Believing in miracles is out of fashion. Why would God intervene in human affairs? Why work miracles for some and leave others alone? I think the lesson here is that God has a plan and it will not be thwarted. As we saw earlier, God had a role for Saul and intervened to set Saul on the right road. He had set Peter as head of the Church and was not about to see Peter executed; not until he had fulfilled his role at any rate. This is worth remembering when we hear people predicting the demise of the Church. We have survived far worse in the past.
Apart from the miracle there is something else in this story. You notice that all the impossible things were easily overcome. The chains were released, the guards avoided and the doors were opened. God did those things. The simple thing, opening the door to Peter when he knocked, was a problem. That was the human part.
I think the message here for me is that God is making great efforts to reach me but I’m too easily distracted to notice. Just like the servant girl I hear Him knocking and go running off before I open the door to Him. The question is, what am I going to do about it? I think the answer seems to be found in how the Christians responded to Peter’s arrest. They prayed constantly. Maybe I need to do more praying and more listening to what God is trying to tell me.
Joseph McGrath
My September column is published today in the Scottish Catholic Observer. What was Peter doing in the early days of the Church? What part do miracles play in the Gospel?
Get your copy this weekend or see the full text here next Friday
Why perescutist thou me?
Last month we met Saul and saw his role in the stoning to death of Stephen. I think I compared him to ISIS or whatever the government wants us to call them; you know who I mean. I think the comparison was fair. ISIS seems to be religious fanatics who put to death anyone of an opposing religion. Saul was definitely fanatical and he made it his business to put an end to the new Christian sect.
I’m using the term Christian sect because the followers of Christ were still Jews who followed all the Jewish rituals as well as the breaking of bread. Saul saw the early Church as a threat to Judaism. He was moving around the country seeking out Christian groups to sort out. His name was well known and it inspired fear.
I’ve said before that the Bible is not a history book but a guide to how we should live today. I wondered if this section would give us some hints about how we, as Christians, should respond to ISIS. I thought a look at how the Christians dealt with the threat of Saul might give me a clue.
Saul went to the High Priest and asked for letters to authorise him to arrest Christians in Damascus. He was given the authority and set out on his way to Damascus. So what did the Christians do about it? They could have lain in ambush to attack Saul on the road. They chose another route. They prayed night and day.
Saul was suddenly enveloped in a great light and heard a voice saying “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” This is the strange part of the story. If God wanted to stop Saul a bolt of lightning might have served well. He could have destroyed this man who was intent on destroying his Church. It seems God had other plans for Saul. I’ve always thought of Saul as one of the bad guys. I suppose that’s unfair, after all he was defending his faith against what he saw as a threat.
Saul was blinded by the light. His travelling companions also heard the voice but there is no mention of them seeing the bright light. The voice told Saul to go into Damascus where he would be met. Being blind, Saul had to be led by the hand all the way.
Now while Saul was on his way Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, had a vision in which God told him to go and find Saul who had been promised that someone called Ananias would come to give him his sight back. As you might imagine Ananias was not too happy about going to find Saul. He told the Lord what he had heard about Saul persecuting the Christians. God reassured him, telling him that He had chosen Saul to be his instrument to bring the Good News to the pagans (that would be us).
Ananias went out and found Saul just as he was instructed. He went straight to Saul, laid hands on him and told him that he was sent to enable Saul to regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. From that moment his sight was restored. We hear no more about Ananias but I don’t think he gets the praise he deserves. Can you imagine being told to set out to Syria and find the leader of ISIS and give him a message from God? It would take a very brave man to do that and Ananias was just such a man.
Saul, when he recovered his strength, set about preaching to the Jews about Jesus. Can you imagine how the Jews in Damascus must have felt? Here was Saul who was coming to arrest the Christians now preaching that Jesus was the son of God. Instead of taking their part he was trying to convert them. They were angry and eventually worked out a plot to kill Saul and solve their problem.
The disciples got word of this and smuggled Saul out, lowering him from the roof in a basket. He went to Jerusalem to meet up with the disciples. Unsurprisingly they were not too keen to meet him. It was Barnabas who explained to the apostles what had happened to Saul and how he had been baptised in Damascus. Saul began to go around with the apostles in Jerusalem, preaching in the name of the Lord.
This brought about the same reaction he got in Damascus. The Jews were enraged that Saul, authorised to arrest the Christians, was now going round preaching about Jesus. Again they plotted to kill him. The Apostles, realising that Paul would not be safe among the Jews decided to take him to Caesaria and then send him to Tarsus. His work was to be among the pagans.
There are two lessons for me here. The first lesson is about God’s attitude to Saul. Despite Saul’s actions God did not see him as an enemy to be destroyed. He set out to bring about change in Saul. God was determined to save Saul. If God still wanted to save Saul then there is still hope for me.
Why did God blind Saul? To my mind, Saul was not seeing things properly. God stopped him seeing things in a distorted way and enabled him to see clearly. I suppose that’s what we need to do in our spiritual journey. We need to stop seeing things through the distorted lens of worldly things and start seeing clearly what God intends for us. God had plans for Saul. He wanted to use his sincerity and zeal to proclaim the good news. Those were gifts he had been given for God’s purpose. We have been given gifts too and God has a purpose for us. It’s just a matter of seeing clearly what God has in mind for us.
The second lesson for me is in how the early Christians dealt with Saul and what that tells us about ISIS. The followers of Jesus were powerless to do anything about Saul. He had the backing of the High Priest and they still saw themselves as Jews. They turned to prayer. Those early Christians had the faith to put their trust in God and let Him deal with Saul.
In the case of ISIS we don’t have the power to defeat them. The Church doesn’t have an army to send into battle. We do have the power of prayer. If we are really concerned for our fellow Christians and people of other faiths who are suffering at the hands of these religious fanatics we would follow the example of those holy people who were afraid of Saul. We would pray night and day for God’s intervention.
Bear in mind that God loves those extremists just as he loved Saul. They are also His children, lost sheep and he wants them returned to the fold. He has the power to change the way they see and help them to see clearly what His plan is for them.
So what’s stopping us? Why is there no rosary crusade for the conversion if ISIS? Are we not too bothered or have we been found lacking in faith?
Why perescutist thou me?
My column is published today in the Scottish Catholic Observer. It concerns Saul and how the early Church dealt with the threat of extinction he brought. Was Saul the ISIS of the early Church? You decide.
Saint Stephen
In our ponderings so far we have seen that the Church was growing rapidly after Pentecost. The Apostles were preaching, working miracles and converting many people. This might seem to us to be something that was only in the past, in the early days when wonderful things were being done in the name of Jesus. Today we see numbers falling. What is wrong?
The first thing that is wrong is that we are looking too close to home. In Europe and America the church might seem to be in decline but it is growing rapidly in Africa, Asia and South America. There is a different feel to the Church there. Hold that thought. I’ll come back to it.
After Pentecost the church was growing so quickly that there was too much for the apostles to manage. They recognised that extra help was needed just to deal with the day to day running of things. They decided to select seven men to deal with the distribution of food to let them get on with the work of spreading the Gospel.
Seven good men were selected, Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholaus of Antioch. This can be seen as the institution of the Diaconate. These men came forward as servants to the people of the Church. The Permanent Deacons today are following in their footsteps.
Stephen seems to have stood out from the others. It seems he was filled with grace and power. He began to work miracles and produced many signs that influenced people. Some of the Jewish authorities, concerned by the effect Stephen was having on people, came to debate with him. They were surprised to find that although he did not have their education or experience they could not get the better of him in these debates. What they did not understand was that Stephen was prompted in his replies by the Holy Spirit. They were not debating with a simple man but with God and the outcome of that was not in question.
Frustrated in their attempts to discredit his arguments they decided to undermine him. The persuaded some men to say that they had heard Stephen using blasphemous language against Moses and against God. In this way they turned people against him. This seems to be a familiar tactic when you can’t defeat the argument then attack the man. I’m sure you can recognise this approach to debate today.
Since Stephen was casing quite a stir with his preaching and working miracles. The Sanhedrin was concerned that he was undermining their authority and had him arrested. He was brought before the council and questioned. He was asked if it was true that he had blasphemed and was confronted by other false accusations that had been made about him.. Rather than give a simple answer Stephen gave a full account of the history of God’s involvement with the Jewish people.
He recounted the development of the relationship starting with Abraham and recounted the occasions throughout their history when the Jews had turned away from God. He pointed out the times when the prophets had been persecuted and how God had repeatedly forgiven them. He explained how God had promised a messiah to save the people. Jesus was that messiah he told them. Now he explained how they had refused to accept Jesus despite his miraculous works. The Sanhedrin was enraged and condemned Stephen to death.
This might see to be an extreme response to us. Seen in the context of the time it would not be unusual. Even today in the Middle East crimes which seem to us to be trivial can result in a public execution. In our own history we can see examples of harsh punishments. Australia started out as a penal colony for criminals whose crime might have been a simple theft of a dress or a pair of gloves. That does not compare well with the punishments given to financiers who steal millions today.
It is worth comparing the situation that the early Church found itself in with the circumstances we find ourselves in today. The rapid changes we have seen in laws in the western world, moving from rules based on Christian teaching towards a secular world have alarmed many Christians of all denominations. There has been an increased feeling of Christianity being under threat. The bakers in Northern Ireland who refused to produce a cake promoting single sex marriage and the midwives in Scotland who lost their case attempting to have a conscience clause over abortions illustrate the concerns.
It should be noted that we are not yet being threatened with execution. Not in the west, at any rate. In the Middle East the situation is different. The spread of ISIS and the brutal execution of Christians who refuse to give up their faith is causing real alarm. How many of us would be willing to face decapitation rather than give up their faith? In a church where people stop going to mass because they don’t like the new priest they have what chance is there of resisting threats of execution?
Stephen was taken out and stoned to death by the crowd. The organizer of the stoning, the man who held the jackets as it were was Saul. Saul was a radical Jew who saw it as his duty to stamp out this new group who threatened the authority of the Jewish religion. His very name struck fear into the members of the infant church. You could say he was the ISIS of his day.
Stephen was the first of the Christian martyrs. He challenges each of us by his life and by the manner of his death. He didn’t die, kicking and shouting at his oppressors. He had simply stated the truth, a truth that the authorities found unacceptable. He accepted his death as a price worth paying for spreading the gospel.
What are we willing to accept as a price worth paying for our faith? Have we kidded ourselves into thinking that we are real Christians? We send missionaries into the third world to hand on our faith and see ourselves as the Church spreading the faith. In reality the church in the third world displays a much stronger faith than we show here. People walk for hours to get to mass and mass are not a forty minutes or shorter version. In Africa the congregation is totally involved in the mass. You don’t find people sitting having a chat; nobody complains that it is “boring”. Perhaps it would be interesting to find out what would happen here if ISIS appeared on our shores and gave us the choice of convert or die.
The bible is not simply a history book that shows where our Church came from. It is a guide to how we should live today. What can we learn from Stephen? Why was his faith so strong even in persecution? What can we learn about how we should deal with our internal problems and the threat from ISIS? The Jews brought trouble on themselves when they abandoned their covenant with God. Are we in danger of doing the same by moving away from our basic teachings to be seduced by the world’s modern values?
Trouble With The Sanhedrin
Last month I was looking at the account of Pentecost and how the apostles lost their fear and by preaching the good news they made many conversions. The apostles were seen as men who spoke with authority and seemed to possess a strange power. Their message was one of repentance. They told the Jews that they had rejected the Messiah and if they wanted to be saved they must repent and turn to the risen Christ.
These early converts remained Jews. They went to the Temple every day and met in their houses afterwards to celebrate the breaking of bread. They shared everything they had with each other so that nobody should go without. It is a source of great wonder to me that people could live like that. What stops us from living in the way they did? Perhaps, like the rich young man who wished to follow Jesus, we have too much. Who could sell all he possesses today and give it all to the poor?
Two thousand years ago people had very little. Mostly they only had one set of clothes. That was normal. In many of the poorest areas of the world it is still normal. In Scotland it is not normal and people are expected to change clothes regularly. Many people give away their old clothes to charity shops when they buy new ones, so I suppose the intent is still there.
They went to the Temple as a group and we learn that one day Peter found a lame man begging at the ‘Beautiful Gate’. Peter cured the man and sent him off walking, then proceeded into the Temple to preach. While they were preaching the Temple priests with the Captain of the Temple and the Sadducees approached them. They were angry that the apostles were preaching resurrection from the dead and arrested them.
The apostles were held overnight and brought before the Sanhedrin in the morning. When they were interrogated they proudly declared that the miracles they performed were done in Jesus name and by the power of God. The authorities were taken aback and concerned that the people had been convinced by the miracle and thought the apostles were working with God’s power.
I must admit I have some sympathy for the Jewish authorities. None of this conformed to what they had been taught to believe. As the religious leaders they felt responsible for upholding the Jewish teaching. What were they to do? The apostles had done nothing wrong and seemed to have worked a miracle witnessed by many people. They didn’t claim any power for themselves but attributed everything to God and the risen Christ.
In the end they let them go with a warning not to continue to preach about Jesus. The apostles declined to give up preaching and the Jews warned them again. When they returned to the community they were welcomed with great joy. The Christian community prayed with them. This, however was only the beginning. Soon they were arrested again and put in jail. That night an angel opened the gates and led them out. He told them to go back to the temple and preach.
Next morning the High priest and his supporters arrived and opened the jail to fetch them. They were astounded to find that, although the gates were locked the apostles were gone. They were even more astounded to hear that the apostles were preaching at the temple. When they were re-arrested the apostles showed no contrition but accused the Sanhedrin of putting Jesus to Death.
The Sanhedrin wanted to do the same with the apostles but one member, Gamaliel, pointed out that this sort of thing had happened in the past and had faded away. He suggested that the apostles be dismissed. If they were false prophets it would all go away, but if they were truly moved by God then nothing could be done anyway. Who wants to be fighting against God? His advice was adopted, the apostles flogged and released. They continued to preach in the Temple happy to have suffered for God.
How hard it must have been for the Jewish authorities to see things from a different perspective. They couldn’t easily go along with the apostles because their teaching seemed to undermine their teaching and, probably more importantly, their authority. If the apostles were right then they would lose their status and power in Jewish society. We live in a society where we can have any religious beliefs we choose without being jailed. Nobody is forcing us to accept their teaching or forcing us to deny our beliefs. Why is it then, that we are not having the impact that the apostles had?
Catholics in Scotland have the advantage of religious education in our schools. Why do so many of us demonstrate such poor understanding of the Church’s teaching? The apostles were poor, uneducated men, yet they seem to have understood Jesus’ good news far better than we do. Perhaps we had our religious teaching as children and could only understand as children. Now as adults in an adult world we might find that education doesn’t help us to understand at an adult level.
How many of us think we know it all about our religion? It’s a simple thing, get to Mass on Sundays, don’t commit mortal sin, get to confession, occasionally, and keep out of trouble. We don’t agree with some of the Church’s rules although we don’t really know what they are. How different is that from the apostles? They were poorly educated, if at all. They learned the Good News by listening to Jesus and following what he did. They learned as adults.
Sometimes we hear of a conflict between science and religion. In the past I’ve pointed out the similarities between the two. There is one great difference between some Christians and good scientists. Some of us think we know it all and the best scientists know they don’t. They keep searching for a better understanding of things while some of us are happy to sit back and not think too hard about God. We know He is there (or is She there?) and that’s fine.
That’s a bit like the Sanhedrin. They knew what they believed and didn’t fancy having to make any changes. Unfortunately the Good News is all about changes. We are all called to change. We have to change the world and we start by changing ourselves. When we go to Mass on Sunday do we come out a changed person? If Jesus was standing up there I’m sure we would all come out changed. Yet we meet Jesus in the Eucharist. Why do we not come out walking on air? Personally, I think the fault lies with me. I know I’m meeting Jesus but it’s too much for my puny brain to cope with.
My only hope is in prayer. I know I can talk to Jesus in the Eucharist and be heard. I don’t hear a voice in my head making any reply but I know I’m being heard and no prayer goes unanswered. It’s up to me to ask for help in changing. With Jesus’ help I can change me and, who knows, if it is God’s will, change a little bit of the world to. So can you.
Joseph McGrath
The Apostles felt free to speak out after Pentecost. Perhaps they were mistaken? They went out to change the world. What are you changing today?
You can read my thoughts in my column in today’s Scottish Catholic Observer. Full text here next week if you miss it.
Window On My World 