Remember the word that I said to you, ” A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. (Jn 15, 20)
A reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 16:1-10
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra
where there was a disciple named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city,
they handed on to the people for observance the decisions
reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith
and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once,
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 15:18-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”
May 21, 2022
Saturday of 5th Week of Easter
(John 15:18-21)
GOD’S TEACHINGS
Contemplation
Dear People of God,
Jesus loves His disciples. He knows that the world and satan are always lurking to tempt, to entice the disciples to step back, give up, and stop following the Most Holy Master Jesus. Satan will cause a lot of suffering, difficulty, and failure to destroy God’s work. Jesus foresaw that, so He taught His disciples: to stay awake and fight satan in all places at all times, by obeying the Word of God. Because through the experience of Jesus Christ himself when he came to earth as a man, he saw satan always surrounding him, trying to tempt him to disobey God the Father. It gives God everything, but forces God to do it: worshiping it and disobeying God the Father, but it completely loses to God.
Today, too, it would tempt the heads of the Church, the Pastors, to disobey God in all things. It creeps into life. It gives glory, riches, benefits, honor on earth, and then gradually moves away from God’s commandment, away from the shepherd’s job of taking care of God’s flock. That is satan’s plan.
God knows that well, so He instructs the Apostles of old as well as the Pastors of today: Fight with the three enemies of the world. It will persecute. It will say juicy for everything. But you have to stay awake, to pray always to God, to be faithful, to be completely obedient to God the Father, so that satan will no longer have a chance to win.
When you obey God the Father, you will be persecuted, condemned, opposed, but fear not! For God the Father has all power over satanic demons, and all power over the world. He will protect His Shepherds, when they are completely faithful and obedient to God the Father.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
God bless you and peace be with you!
