Reading 1 Acts 14:5-18
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.
Gospel Jn 14:21-26
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.”
I went to visit my friend yesterday evening (Sunday) and the children were sharing with me what they were taught at Sunday’s school. They were taught about God’s plan for our lives using Paul and Barnabas as biblical characters.
I think I love that choice of topic and the chosen characters. Last week we read Act 13:2 in which the Holy Spirit specially requested that Paul and Barnabas be set-aside for a pre-ordained mission.
The mission that turned out to be the mission of spreading to the Gentiles (most particularly), the message of salvation in Jesus. Paul and Barnabas didn’t just discover their mission but faithfully carried it out.
They faced serious oppositions, confrontations and even refutations borne out of envy, but they won’t give up.
Today, they faced another round of temptation and this is where we may need to reflect more soberly. The devil tried to stop the apostles by persecutions, they loved Jesus even more than their lives, for them death is gain.
The devil decided to test them by vainglory. The point is if they won’t relent because of persecution, the attraction of earthly affirmation, acceptance and glory should distract them from their mandate.
Dear friends, as simple as the temptations of the disciples, it is a great lesson for all of us. People’s praises, admiration and acceptance could become a very dangerous temptation to us, it can either get us distracted, proud or shift our focus from God to yourself.
In Matt 5:16, Jesus himself tells us to shine so that people seeing our good works may glorify God. Let us be careful to avoid contesting glory with God, let us be careful of popular acceptance that admiration that may become a distraction in our lives and our relationship with God.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Okami on May 20, 2019.