Daily Gospel Reflection – Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
May 13, 2023
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Gospel: Jn 15:18-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
"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.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
'No slave is greater than his master.'
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me."
*United States Conference of Catholic
Bishop Robert Barron
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus warns us to expect persecution. But do not be afraid, because in Jesus Christ, we are connected to the very power of God, to that which is here and now creating the universe. No matter how much violence and mayhem is going on, we have a place of safety.
How wonderfully Jesus expresses this: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." The body passes, but the soul, that place where you are in contact with the living God, lasts forever. So get your fears in right order: "Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna."
Now think of the saints, especially the martyrs. They might be defined as those rare human beings who had rightly prioritized their fears. Of whom were they afraid? Not the wickedest human beings around them. Rather, they feared God. They worried not about what people wanted them to do but about what God wanted them to do.
None of these great figures lived a serene life, a life free of worry, threat, persecution. Instead, they found courage in the struggle. Their courage got them through the negativity.
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