Daily Reflections
Acts 18:1-8
From the first reading today, it is possible to place an historical context to the mission. The edict by the Emperor Claudius against Jews is mentioned by the Latin historian Suetonius. He related that there were disturbances by the Jews at the instigation of ‘Chrestus’. ‘Chrestus’ is thought not to refer to a person, but to Christian Jews holding debates with Jews and others in Rome, causing disturbances. The fact that the edict was issued in 49 AD helps place today’s first reading around 51 AD.
We are also given an insight into the nature of Paul’s preaching. We are told that debates were held every Sabbath day in the synagogues. This shows that, for Paul, winning people over to Christ involved a dialogue. He engaged with people and, through skilled rhetoric and a spontaneous reaction to counter-arguments, persuaded people that Jesus was the Christ. Christ tells us not to worry about what to say when defending the faith, because the Holy Spirit will speak for us (cf. Luke 12:12).
It is easy to think that Paul was so eloquent that he had 100 per cent success everywhere he went. But the readings in Acts make it clear that Paul was confronted by derision, laughter and outright hostility. This is just as true today. Evangelization is a mixture of misunderstanding, discrimination, but also of miracles.
It is alien to our Western culture to be public about our faith and we may well feel too intimidated to speak out. But we cannot use this as an excuse. Corinth in Paul’s time was a place of debauchery, idolatry and materialism. It was a bustling, intimidating city. But Paul finds the right places to engage in debate and to win people over to Christ.
We need to be prepared to speak for Christ. We need to call on the Holy Spirit to provide the words we can speak to people who ask us for the reasons for our hope (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15). Sometimes we need to do this in our own parishes, as we can be too embarrassed to even speak to fellow believers of our faith.
But the language chosen will inevitably lead some to misunderstand. Our faith is simple and mysterious, which are two words at odds with the cynical post-modern approach to knowledge. There is a certain despair in current trends of philosophy, and a suspicion of any notion that faith and knowledge are within our grasp, through God’s grace.
Acts 18:1-8 • Psalm 97(98):1-4
John 16:16-20
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