June 2, 2025
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 297
Reading 1
While Apollos was in Corinth,
Paul traveled through the interior of the country
and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples.
He said to them,
"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?"
They answered him,
"We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
He said, "How were you baptized?"
They replied, "With the baptism of John."
Paul then said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance,
telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him,
that is, in Jesus."
When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Altogether there were about twelve men.
He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly
with persuasive arguments about the Kingdom of God.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God arises; his enemies are scattered,
and those who hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so are they driven;
as wax melts before the fire.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
But the just rejoice and exult before God;
they are glad and rejoice.
Sing to God, chant praise to his name;
whose name is the LORD.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The father of orphans and the defender of widows
is God in his holy dwelling.
God gives a home to the forsaken;
he leads forth prisoners to prosperity.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The disciples said to Jesus,
"Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.
Now we realize that you know everything
and that you do not need to have anyone question you.
Because of this we believe that you came from God."
Jesus answered them, "Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060225.cfm
Commentary on Acts
19:1-8
We are still following the Third Missionary Journey of Paul.
Apollos (to whom we were introduced last Saturday) has now left Ephesus for
Corinth at the invitation of the Christians there. Later, he will return to
Ephesus while Paul is still in the city. Meanwhile, Paul himself now reaches
Ephesus. We are told that he “passed through the interior regions”. This means
that he did not follow the lower and more direct route down the Lycus and
Meander valleys, but followed the upper route through Phrygia (where he had
evangelised before), thus approaching Ephesus from the north.
Today Ephesus is only a heap of ruins, but in its day it was
one of the great cities of the region. The ruins of its great temple dedicated
to the goddess Diana are still standing. The city was regarded, with
Alexandria, as one of the finest cities in the empire, a religious, political
and commercial centre of mixed population.
One of the finest letters in the Pauline canon is addressed
to the Christians here. Although it certainly reflects his thinking, its
personal authorship by Paul is in some doubt, and it is also thought to have
been a kind of encyclical letter sent to a number of church centres, of which
Ephesus was one. It is also thought that, during his stay in the city, Paul
wrote his letters to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians), the Galatians and
probably, the letter to the Philippians as well.
On arriving in Ephesus, Paul came across a number of
disciples. As they are called ‘disciples’, they seem to have been followers of
Jesus, but only indirectly through John the Baptist or some of his followers.
Or perhaps they had received their teaching from Apollos himself in his earlier
state of partial understanding and so, like Apollos, had only a limited
understanding of the gospel.
When Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit,
they replied that they had never even heard of a Holy Spirit and that they had
been baptised with the baptism of John the Baptist. They were unaware, not that
the Spirit existed (which would be evident from the Old Testament to even the
most casual reader), but that the messianic promises had already been fulfilled
and the Spirit was being poured out in abundance (see Acts 2:17-18,33).
Paul pointed out to them that John’s baptism was only a
ritual of sorrow for sin. It was preparatory and provisional, stressing man’s
sinfulness and thus creating a sense of need for the gospel. John’s baptism
looked forward to Jesus, who by his death would make possible the full
forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. Baptism in the Holy Spirit
involved faith in and total commitment to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
After they were baptised in the name of Jesus and Paul had
laid hands on them, they immediately began to speak in tongues and to
prophesy—a sure sign that the Spirit had come down on them. This was exactly
the same experience the disciples had at Pentecost (Acts 2:4,11) and Cornelius
and his household had in Caesarea (Acts 10:45-46).
We now pick up again the narrative of Paul’s mission, which
had been interrupted by the words about Apollos and the disciples who had only
had the baptism of John. For three months, Paul preached the gospel in the
local synagogue. We are told that he:
…spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the
kingdom of God.
The establishment of the Kingdom on earth is the focal point
of the gospel message. As well, it was the beginning of the establishment of a
vigorous Christian community church in Ephesus. Paul was again following his
usual approach—addressing the Jews first and then gentile Greeks.
In our own times, some Christians speak of being “born
again”. They had gone through the ritual of baptism, perhaps as infants, and
may have grown up with very little faith in their lives. Then they ‘discover’
Christ through personal contact or participation in an active Christian group,
and they feel as though they have been ‘reborn’. Their baptism, which had lain
dormant for such a long time, begins to exercise its effects. It is an
indication how the sacraments can never be separated from close contact with,
and involvement in, a living community.
All of us, at whatever stage of commitment we find ourselves,
can deepen our unity with Jesus and the way of life he invites us to follow. We
can renew the pledges that we made (or that were made for us) when we were
baptised. We might even make those pledges consciously for the first time!
Comments Off
Commentary on John
16:29-33
The disciples now claim to understand exactly what Jesus is
talking about, although it is doubtful that they really do. It will not
be until later on that the full meaning of Jesus’ words will be grasped by
them.
They are impressed that Jesus can answer their questions
even before they are formulated:
Now we know that you know all things and do not need to
have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.
Yet, perhaps they are speaking too quickly.
Jesus questions the depth of their belief. Very soon,
in spite of their protestations now, they will be scattered in all directions
and leave Jesus alone and abandoned. Of course, Jesus will not be alone;
the Father is always with him even at the lowest depths of his
humiliation. Even when he himself will cry out:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt
27:46)
He tells them all this, not to discourage them, but so that
they can find peace. There will be many troubles facing them in the
coming days and indeed in the years ahead. They are not to worry—Jesus
has conquered the world, not in any political or economic sense, but in
overcoming the evil of the world that is death. His disciples can share
in that victory as long as they stay close to him and walk his Way.
These words obviously have meaning for us especially if we
are experiencing difficulties of any kind in our lives. The peace we seek
is available if we put ourselves into Jesus’ hands. He knows—he has been
through more than anything we are ever likely to have to experience.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1072g/
Monday,
June 2, 2025
Easter Time
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
when your Son Jesus had to pass through
trials, he knew that you were with him and he committed himself into your hands.
In this way he brought peace to people.
As people baptized into his name, let
your Spirit help us to be brave when suffering and difficulties come our way,
that, like your Son and with him, we may overcome evil in ourselves and in the
world.
May our pains give birth to love and peace and hope
for others. We ask you this through
Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 16: 29-33
The disciples of Jesus said, 'Now you are
speaking plainly and not using veiled language. Now we see that you know everything
and need not wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we
believe that you came from God.' Jesus answered them: Do you believe at last?
Listen; the time will come -- indeed it has come already -when you are going to
be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not
alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may
find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship but be courageous: I have
conquered the world.
Reflection
The context of today’s Gospel
continues to be the environment of the Last Supper, an environment of
fraternity and of farewell, of sadness and of expectation, in which is mirrored
the situation of the communities of Asia Minor at the end of the first century.
In order to be able to understand the Gospels well, we can never forget that
they give the words of Jesus not as if they had been registered in a CD to
transmit them literally. The Gospels are pastoral writings which seek to embody
and update the words of Jesus in the new situations in which the communities
find themselves in the second half of the first century in Galilee (Matthew),
in Greece (Luke), in Italy (Mark), and in Asia Minor (John). In the Gospel of
John, the words and the questions of the disciples are not only those of the
disciples, in fact, they reveal the questions and problems of the communities.
They are the mirror in which the communities of that time as well as those of
today are recognized with their sadness and their anguishes, with their joys
and their hopes. And they find light and strength in the answers of Jesus.
•
John 16: 29-30: Now, you are speaking plainly.
Jesus had told his disciples: The Father himself loves you, because you have
loved me, and you have believed that I come from God. I came from the Father
and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world to go to the Father
(Jn 16: 29-30). Listening to this affirmation of Jesus, the disciples answered:
“Now you are speaking plainly and not using veiled language. Now we see that
you know everything and need not wait for questions to be put into words.
Because of this we believe that you came from God.” The disciples think that
they have understood everything. Yes, truly they got a true light to clarify
their problems. But it was still a very dim light. They got the seed, but at
that moment, not knowing the tree. The light or the seed was the fundamental
intuition of faith according to which Jesus is for us the revelation of God,
who is Father: “Now we believe that you came from God.“ But this was only the
beginning, the seed. Jesus himself was and continues to be the great parable or
the revelation of God for us. God reaches us and reveals himself to us. But God
does not enter into any schema. He exceeds all, goes beyond our schema and
gives us the unexpected surprise which, sometimes, is very painful.
•
John 16: 31-32 - You are leaving me alone and
yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. Jesus asks: Do you believe at
last? He knows his disciples. He knows that there is still much lacking for the
understanding of the mystery of God and of the Good News of God. He knows that
in spite of the good will and in spite of the light that they have just
received in that moment, they still have to face the unexpected and painful
surprise of the Passion and Death of Jesus. The small light that they got is
not sufficient to overcome the darkness of the crisis: Behold, the time will
come, indeed it has come already, when you are going to be scattered, each one
going his own way and leaving me alone; and yet I am not alone because the
Father is with me. This is the source of certitude of Jesus and through Jesus,
this is and will be the source of certitude for all of us: The Father is with
me! When Moses was sent to liberate the people from the oppression of the
Egyptians, this being his mission, he received this certainty: “Go! I am with
you” (Ex 3: 12). The certainty of the liberating presence of God is expressed
in the name that God assumes at the moment of the beginning of the Exodus and
of the liberation of his people: JHWH, God with us: This is the name for all
time (Ex 3: 15). A name which is present more than six thousand times only in
the New Testament.
•
John 16: 33 - Courage, I have conquered the
world! And now we have the last phrase pronounced by Jesus who anticipates the
victory, and which will be a source of peace and of strength for the disciples
of that time, as well as for all of us, up until now: I have told you all this
so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be
courageous, I have conquered the world.” With his sacrifice out of love, Jesus
conquers the world and Satan. His disciples are called to participate in the
struggle and the victory. To feel the courage which he gives is already to
overcome the battle.” (L.A. Schokel)
For Personal Confrontation
•
A small light helped the disciples to take a
step farther, but it did not light the whole journey. Have you had a similar
experience in your life?
•
Courage, I have conquered the world! Has this
phrase of Jesus helped you sometimes in your life?
Concluding Prayer
Protect me, O God, in you is my refuge.
To Yahweh I say, 'You are my Lord, my happiness is in none. My
birthright, my cup is Yahweh; you, you alone, hold my lot secure. (Ps 16: 1-2,
5)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét