May 4, 2026
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 285
Reading
I
There was an
attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.”
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
“The gods have come down to us in human form.”
They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes,”
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.
The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
“Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.”
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.
Responsorial
Psalm
R.
(1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your
name give glory
because of
your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is
their God?”
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to
your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he
wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the
handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to
your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made
heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the
earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to
your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
“Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name --
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050426.cfm
Commentary on Acts
14:5-18
Paul and Barnabas continue their first missionary journey of
spreading the gospel. We last saw them in the Galatian town of Iconium. At
first, they had great success with their preaching, and we are told (in verses
prior to today’s reading) “that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became
believers.” But then, as happened in Antioch, some Jews who refused to accept
their message managed to also stir up some Gentiles against the two Apostles.
Even so, the disciples persisted and “remained for a long time speaking boldly
for the Lord.” Their message was confirmed by signs and wonders being performed
by God through their healing hands.
The result was that the people were divided in their
opinion—those who, a priori, rejected what Paul and Barnabas had to say, and
those who were convinced by the actions which seemed to confirm the
missionaries’ message. And that is the situation as we begin our reading today.
Again, as in Antioch, a conspiracy of Jews and Gentiles came
together to attack the two Apostles and to stone them to death. Stoning was the
Jewish mode of execution for blasphemy. Earlier we saw the fate of Stephen for
words that were taken as utterly blasphemous by the Jewish leaders.
When Paul and Barnabas got wind of this they fled from
Iconium. They then went to the cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding
country in Lycaonia and continued proclaiming the gospel in these places.
Lycaonia was a district east of Pisidia and north of the
Taurus Mountains in southeastern Turkey. It was part of the Roman province of
Galatia. Lystra was a Roman colony, and apparently the home town of Timothy,
whom we will meet on the Second Missionary Journey. Derbe was about 100 km (60
miles) from Lystra. The events of today’s reading take place in Lystra; we will
see Paul in Derbe tomorrow.
On arriving in Lystra, Paul saw a man there, who was “lame
from birth”, listening to his preaching. Seeing that he was a man of faith,
Paul ordered him to stand up, which the man immediately did. He was totally
healed of his inability to walk.
The onlookers were utterly astounded and immediately saw the
Apostles as gods in human form: Barnabas as Zeus and Paul as Hermes (whom the
Romans knew as ‘Mercury’), the spokesman of the gods.
The New International Version of the Bible
comments:
“Zeus was the patron god of the city, and his temple was
there. People who came to bring sacrifices to Zeus apparently decided to make
an offering to Paul and Barnabas instead. The identification of Zeus with
Barnabas may indicate that his appearance was more imposing and Paul was
identified as the god Hermes (the Roman Mercury) because he was the spokesman.”
This incident may have been occasioned by an ancient legend
that told of a supposed visit to the same general area by Zeus and Hermes. They
were, however, not recognised by anyone except an old couple. So the people of
Lystra were determined not to allow such an oversight to happen again.
Even the priest of the local temple of Zeus, located just
outside the city gates, was preparing to offer sacrifices in their honour.
Horrified, the Apostles tore their garments, a sign of their displeasure and a
Jewish way of expressing great anguish. They insisted they were ordinary human
beings.
Paul then addresses the crowd and tells them that his
mission, along with Barnabas, was precisely to lead the people away from such
idolatrous superstitions to a belief in the:
…living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the
sea and all that is in them.
In preaching against a belief in many gods (held by most
Greek-speaking people), it was Paul’s custom to contrast the true God with the
false, the living God with impotent idols, and to call for a change of heart.
Paul wants to tell them about the one living God, who is the
source of everything in heaven and earth. While allowing Gentiles to go their
own way, God gives them abundant witness of his presence—he gives:
…rains from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you
with food and your hearts with joy.
Paul tells them of the true Source of all these good things.
But the people were not easily convinced and could barely be prevented from
carrying out their plans to offer sacrifice to the two Apostles.
Here we see two more elements in our work for Christ:
- Persecution
in one place meant that the message was brought elsewhere. We see this
happening frequently in the Acts of the Apostles.
- While
persecution often is the lot of the worker for Christ and his gospel, an
even more dangerous trap may be people’s adulation.
We see this in the life of Jesus himself, who sometimes fled
from such situations (see John 6:15). Here we see Paul and Barnabas firmly
rejecting an apparently favourable situation which they could have been tempted
to exploit. As we will see tomorrow, it was just as well they did not.
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Commentary on John
14:21-26
Jesus continues his farewell message to his disciples at the
Last Supper. Those who really love him are those who carry out the teachings he
has given them. Words alone will not be enough. Where there is real love from
the disciple, Jesus will return that love and reveal himself to his disciple.
He will do this by coming with his Father to dwell in that person.
Now it is Jude’s turn to ask a question. Jude, in the
reading referred to as “Judas (not Iscariot)”, is also called “Judas son of
James”. He is listed among the Twelve in Luke 6:16 and he appears again (in a
list) in Acts 1:13. He is believed to be the ‘Thaddaeus’ of Matthew 10:3 and
Mark 3:18.
He wants to know why Jesus only reveals himself to his
disciples and not to the world. Jesus is rather elliptical in his reply, but
basically he is saying that anyone who responds to Jesus with love will
certainly experience the love of Jesus (which is always there). The ‘world’ by
definition in John’s Gospel consists of those who turn their back on Jesus, his
message and his love:
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the
word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.
Jesus again reminds his disciples that everything he passes
on to them comes ultimately from the Father and not from him alone. He is the
mediator; he is the Way; he is the Word of God. And later, after he has gone,
this role will be taken over by the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
The word ‘paraclete’ (Greek, parakletes) has
many meanings. It can mean a defence lawyer in a court of law who stands beside
the defendant and supports him in making his case. It means any person who
stands by you and gives you support and comfort. (See 2 Cor 1:3-7 where, in one
brief paragraph, the word parakletes, in various forms of the original Greek,
is used 7 or 8 times in the sense of ‘comfort’ and ‘support’.) The Spirit will
play that role in the Church after Jesus has returned to his Father—and the
Spirit continues in that role still.
The Spirit’s role is to help the disciples keep in mind all
that Jesus has told them. He is the inner voice of God who will lead those who
listen to the fullness of truth (something which no one possesses at any given
time). The Spirit will help them to understand the full meaning of Christ for
them and for the world. The Spirit will show them that Christ is the fulfilment
of the Scriptures, and will help them understand ever more deeply the meaning
of Jesus’ life, his actions and his ‘signs’.
All this the disciples barely understand at this stage—a
deficit that continues on into our own day.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1052g/
Monday, May 4, 2026
Easter Time
Opening Prayer
Lord God, loving Father, we look
for your presence in the temple of nature and in churches built by our hands,
and you are there with your people.
But above all, you have made your temple right in our
hearts.
God, give us eyes of faith
and love to recognize that you live in us with your Son and the Holy Spirit if
we keep the word of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord for ever.
Gospel Reading - John 14: 21-26
Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever holds to my commandments
and keeps them is the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I shall love him and reveal myself to him.' Judas -- not Judas
Iscariot - said to him, 'Lord, what has happened, that you intend to show
yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus replied: Anyone who loves me will
keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a
home in him. Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word
that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me. I have
said these things to you while still with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and
remind you of all I have said to you.
Reflection
As we said at the beginning,
chapter 14 of the Gospel of John is a beautiful example of how the catechesis
was done in the communities of Asia Minor, at the end of the first century.
Through the questions of the disciples and the responses of Jesus, the
Christians formed their conscience and found an orientation for their problems.
In chapter 14, we find the question of Thomas and the answer of Jesus (Jn 14:
5-7), the question of Philip and the response of Jesus (Jn 14: 8-21), and the
question of Judas and the answer of Jesus (Jn 12: 2226). The last phrase of the
answer of Jesus to Philip (Jn 14: 21) forms the first verse of today’s Gospel.
•
John 14: 21: I shall love him and reveal myself
to him. This verse presents the summary of the response of Jesus to Philip.
Philip had said: “Show us the Father and then we shall be satisfied!” (Jn 14:
8). Moses had asked God: “Show me your glory!” (Ex 33, 18). God answered: “My
face you cannot see, for no human being can see me and survive” (Ex 33: 20).
The Father cannot be shown. God lives in inaccessible light (1 Tim 6: 16).
“Nobody has ever seen God” (I Jn 4: 12). But the presence of the Father can be
experienced through the experience of love. The First Letter of Saint John
says: “He who does not love does not know God because God is Love”. Jesus tells
Philip: “Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and
reveal myself to him”. By observing the commandment of Jesus, which is the
commandment to love our neighbor (Jn 15: 17), the person shows his love for Jesus.
And whoever loves Jesus, will be loved by the Father and can be certain that
the Father will manifest himself to him. In the response to Judas, Jesus will
say how this manifestation of the Father will take place in our life
•
John 14: 22: The question of Judas is the
question of all. The question of Judas: “Lord, what has happened that you
intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” This question of Judas
mirrors a problem which is real even today. Sometimes, among us, Christians,
there arises the idea of being better than the others and of being loved by God
more than others. Do we attribute to God the distinction among persons?
•
John 14: 23-24: The answer of Jesus. The answer
of Jesus is simple and profound. He repeats what he had just said to Philip.
The problem is not if we, Christians, are loved more by God than others, or
that the others are despised by God. This is not the criterion for the
preference of the Father. The criterion for the preference of the Father is
always the same: love. “If anyone loves me, he will observe my word, and my
Father will love him and we shall come to him and make a home in him. Anyone
who does not love me does not keep my words”. Independently of whether the
person is Christian or not, the Father manifests himself to all those who
observe the commandment of Jesus which is love for neighbor (Jn 15: 17). In
what does the manifestation of the Father consist? The response to this
question is engraved in the heart of humanity, in the universal human
experience. Observe the life of the persons who practice love and make of their
life a gift for others. Examine their experience, independently of religion, of
social class, of race or color, the practice of love gives us a profound peace
and it is a great joy that they succeed to live and bear together pain and
suffering. This experience is the reflection of the manifestation of the Father
in the life of the person. It is the realization of the promise: “I and the
Father will come to him and make our home in him.
•
John 14: 25-26: The promise of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus ends his response to Judas saying: I have said these things to you while
still with you. Jesus communicates everything which he has heard from the
Father (Jn 15: 15). His words are a source of life and they should be
meditated, deepened and updated constantly in the light of the always new
reality which surrounds us. For this constant meditation of his words, Jesus
promises us the help of the Holy Spirit: “The Consoler, the Holy Spirit that
the Father will send in my name will teach you everything and remind you of all
I have said to you.
Personal Questions
•
Jesus says: We will come to him and make our
home in him. How do I experience this promise?
•
We have the promise of the gift of the Spirit to
help us understand the word of Jesus. Do I invoke the light of the Spirit when
I prepare myself to read and meditate the Scripture?
Concluding Prayer
Day after day I shall bless you,
I shall praise your name for ever and ever. Great
is Yahweh and worthy of all praise, his greatness beyond all reckoning. (Ps
145: 2-3)
