Thursday of the 7th Week of Easter
May 12, 2005
That Paul was a pretty smart guy. Even today, more than 2,000 years after he died, you can ask just about anybody, “Hey, what about that Paul?” And they’ll answer, “he was a pretty smart guy.”
After all these years, after the Gospels, he’s still the one we turn to when we want answers about Jesus. He was a smart guy, all right.
But in the first reading today, Paul was almost too smart for his own good. He had to appear before the Sanhedrin to see exactly what it was that he was doing that had the Jews so upset. So Paul got up before the Sanhedrin and declared that he was a Pharisee. He was the son of Pharisees. And, he was on trial for hoping in the resurrection of the dead.
See, the Pharisees believed in resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t. Paul hoped to divide the two groups so that they couldn’t come to a decision about him. And the plan worked. The Sads and the Phars started to argue amongst themselves. The Pharisees decided that Paul wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Unfortunately, Paul’s plan worked too well. The fighting got so heavy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees that the commander was afraid that they would attack Paul. He had to send troops in to rescue him and they put him into what we would call today “protective custody.”
The next night, the Lord appeared to Paul and told him that he would have to bear witness in Rome, just as he had in Jerusalem. From the time he first fell off his horse, poor Paul couldn’t seem to get a break.
So, how does this apply to us today? Well, it’s not likely that we’re going to put ourselves into physical danger for proclaiming the Gospel. It’s possible, but probably not likely. But, there are definitely a lot of people who don’t believe. And a lot of them don’t mind saying so.
We live in what Pope John Paul called a culture of death. He wasn’t just talking about abortion. If you look at death as the opposite of life, then we realize that we live in a world where life is considered to be very cheap. Watch the 10:00 news and all you see are murders and kidnappings and rapes. There are fires and terrible accidents that were caused either by someone’s carelessness or viciousness. How often do we hear about arson fires that cost someone their life? Too often.
If you drive on the highway, you know that there are a lot of drivers out there who must think very little of their own lives, and even less of yours and mine. Is it any wonder, in a world where life isn’t respected, that so many people ignore the Gospel? It would really be hard for Paul if he were around today.
But, in today’s Gospel Jesus prays not only for his Apostles, but also “for those who will believe in me through their word.” He tells the Father that “as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”
I had an interesting conversation with a man at the hospital Tuesday evening. He was raised Lutheran but lately, he’s been “church shopping.” For the last few weeks he’s been going to one of those “feel good” churches that you see advertising on television. I could tell that he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
We got on the subject of Pope John Paul II. He said that he was very surprised at how much he has grieved the passing of the Holy Father. He said that there was just something about John Paul that really touched his heart and he feels a great loss; quite a statement from a life long Lutheran.
But, you know what it was about John Paul that touched this man and so many others, regardless of their faith? He lived the Gospel. Whether you agreed with him on everything or not, no one has ever questioned the man’s faith in God and His Church. And that’s the thing that drew people to him, whether they were Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Muslim.
And, that’s the lesson that you and I can learn from the late Holy Father. St. Francis said to always preach the Gospel and if necessary use words. We have a responsibility to do that. It’s up to us to show and tell the world that Jesus was sent by His Father to save us from our sins.
That Paul was a pretty smart guy. Even today, more than 2,000 years after he died, you can ask just about anybody, “Hey, what about that Paul?” And they’ll answer, “he was a pretty smart guy.”
After all these years, after the Gospels, he’s still the one we turn to when we want answers about Jesus. He was a smart guy, all right.
But in the first reading today, Paul was almost too smart for his own good. He had to appear before the Sanhedrin to see exactly what it was that he was doing that had the Jews so upset. So Paul got up before the Sanhedrin and declared that he was a Pharisee. He was the son of Pharisees. And, he was on trial for hoping in the resurrection of the dead.
See, the Pharisees believed in resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t. Paul hoped to divide the two groups so that they couldn’t come to a decision about him. And the plan worked. The Sads and the Phars started to argue amongst themselves. The Pharisees decided that Paul wasn’t doing anything wrong.
Unfortunately, Paul’s plan worked too well. The fighting got so heavy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees that the commander was afraid that they would attack Paul. He had to send troops in to rescue him and they put him into what we would call today “protective custody.”
The next night, the Lord appeared to Paul and told him that he would have to bear witness in Rome, just as he had in Jerusalem. From the time he first fell off his horse, poor Paul couldn’t seem to get a break.
So, how does this apply to us today? Well, it’s not likely that we’re going to put ourselves into physical danger for proclaiming the Gospel. It’s possible, but probably not likely. But, there are definitely a lot of people who don’t believe. And a lot of them don’t mind saying so.
We live in what Pope John Paul called a culture of death. He wasn’t just talking about abortion. If you look at death as the opposite of life, then we realize that we live in a world where life is considered to be very cheap. Watch the 10:00 news and all you see are murders and kidnappings and rapes. There are fires and terrible accidents that were caused either by someone’s carelessness or viciousness. How often do we hear about arson fires that cost someone their life? Too often.
If you drive on the highway, you know that there are a lot of drivers out there who must think very little of their own lives, and even less of yours and mine. Is it any wonder, in a world where life isn’t respected, that so many people ignore the Gospel? It would really be hard for Paul if he were around today.
But, in today’s Gospel Jesus prays not only for his Apostles, but also “for those who will believe in me through their word.” He tells the Father that “as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”
I had an interesting conversation with a man at the hospital Tuesday evening. He was raised Lutheran but lately, he’s been “church shopping.” For the last few weeks he’s been going to one of those “feel good” churches that you see advertising on television. I could tell that he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
We got on the subject of Pope John Paul II. He said that he was very surprised at how much he has grieved the passing of the Holy Father. He said that there was just something about John Paul that really touched his heart and he feels a great loss; quite a statement from a life long Lutheran.
But, you know what it was about John Paul that touched this man and so many others, regardless of their faith? He lived the Gospel. Whether you agreed with him on everything or not, no one has ever questioned the man’s faith in God and His Church. And that’s the thing that drew people to him, whether they were Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Muslim.
And, that’s the lesson that you and I can learn from the late Holy Father. St. Francis said to always preach the Gospel and if necessary use words. We have a responsibility to do that. It’s up to us to show and tell the world that Jesus was sent by His Father to save us from our sins.
posted by Mike at 9:23 PM
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