Daily Readings - Mon May 15 2017

⁵There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.⁶But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,⁷where they continued to preach the good news.⁸In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed¹⁰and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!"¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:¹⁵"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.¹⁶In the past, he let all nations go their own way.¹⁷Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."¹⁸Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

John

Chapter 14

²¹Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."²²Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"²³Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.²⁴He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.²⁵"All this I have spoken while still with you.²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Sermon

In today’s readings, we encounter powerful lessons about faith, humility, and the nature of God’s love. The first reading from Acts 14 describes Paul and Barnabas’s missionary journey, where they face persecution, heal a lame man, and then must correct the crowd’s misunderstanding of their divine role. The Gospel from John 14 emphasizes Jesus’ teaching on love, obedience, and the promise of the Holy Spirit. Together, these readings invite us to reflect on the essence of faith and our relationship with God. The context of Acts 14 is set during Paul’s first missionary journey, where he and Barnabas face both miracles and misunderstandings. The crowd’s attempt to worship them as gods highlights the human tendency to confuse divine power with its earthly instruments. Paul and Barnabas, however, remain humble, recognizing that they are merely messengers of God’s love. In John’s Gospel, Jesus explains that love is not merely an emotion but a commitment to keeping His commandments. This love is reciprocal—God loves us, and we respond by loving Him through obedience. Jesus also assures us that the Holy Spirit will guide us in understanding and living out His teachings. These readings are deeply connected. In Acts, we see the practical expression of faith through missionary work and the challenges it entails. In John, we are given the spiritual foundation for that faith—love, obedience, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Together, they remind us that faith is not just about belief but about living out that belief in humility and service. In our daily lives, we are called to embody this faith. Like Paul and Barnabas, we may face trials, but we must remain steadfast in our commitment to God. Like the disciples, we must love God by keeping His commandments and trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The moral lesson here is clear: true faith leads to humility and service, not glory or recognition. Just as Paul and Barnabas rejected the crowd’s adoration, we too must avoid the temptation to seek praise for our efforts. Instead, we should focus on glorifying God through our actions and living out His love in our daily lives. Let us strive to be faithful servants, trusting in God’s plan and allowing His love to shine through us.