Word to the Wise
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 6th Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 16:11-15 and John 15:26-16:4a]I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God....
The gospels were written not only to inform people about Jesus, but also to help those who believe to remember what Jesus said. The Gospel of John says today that the believers undergoing persecution need to remember that Jesus told them this would be the case. They have to remember that Jesus is with them through the Sprit - the Advocate - who would lead them and guide them. The last line of the quote above is chilling in its prescience. There were people then and there are people now who believe that God has licensed them to kill "infidels" or non-believers!
There is also an adversary that is less violent but which can cause people to "fall away." This is the cultural and secular world that offers very tempting "options" I saw this time and time again in campus ministry. The strong faith of a student becomes more and more eroded or weakened by the various physical and emotional "options" that they learn about in the dormitories or "bull-sessions" that are so much a part of college life. Some students, in order to protect their faith, join groups that are extreme in their expression of faith. Others simply begin to see faith as just one more option and not a complete identity or way of life.
Today's gospel (and the other three as well) remind us that faith has consequences that can be difficult and challenging. We must have confidence that the Holy Spirit will see us through these challenges. Hope is always better than despair! AMEN