Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 9, 2015 - 5th Week of Easter - Sat
[Acts 16:1-10 and John 15:18-21]"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you." [John]
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015 SATURDAY IN THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER
[Acts 16:1-10 and John 15:18-21]
"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you." [John]
By the time the Gospel of John was composed, the young Christian community had begun to attract opposition. This opposition was encountered not only in the synagogues from which Christians were beginning to be expelled, but in "gentile" contexts as well. This is very likely the reason why the Gospel of John seems to have an "adversarial" character to it - an "us against everybody else" attitude. Scripture scholars have called attention to the use of legal language like "judgment" or confrontational language like "crisis."
In our own time, we face a different adversary which some call "secularism." This has many faces, just as "the world" had many faces in the times that the gospel was written. Opposition to the values and faith of Christianity. The Catholic Church is a very big target and has a long history of ups and downs that provide material for criticism. Pope Francis, at least, has started to heal some wounds with his "medicine of mercy" (a phrase Pope John XXIII used at the beginning of the Second Vatican Council). Nevertheless, just as Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for what they might face, we have to be prepared as well to know our faith and share it with kindness and mercy. AMEN
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