Monday of the 5th Week of Easter
May 19, 2014 6:30am
Something in the first reading,
from the Acts of the Apostles, catches my attention this morning.
Paul and Barnabas are able to
bring healing to a crippled man.
Better stated, they are able to
be instruments of God’s healing for this man.
The people in response think that
Paul and Barnabas are gods and want to treat them this way.
Paul and Barnabas maturely and
wisely rebel at this and do not allow it.
I find this to be a good model
and example.
For us priests, yes, this is a
vocation, a calling by God to do the work of Jesus.
It is a sacred duty and
privilege.
But we remain human, every bit on
the journey to God as anyone else.
In fact, our embracing and being
one with that and staying aware of that is not just living the truth of the
situation.
It is the best and most authentic
way for us to minister in the Lord’s name.
So, it is good for us to remember
this and for all of us to remember this.
We are to be bridges to the Lord,
to a fuller and fuller living in the Lord.
For us to pretend to forget our
own humanity or for others to forget that, as began happening in today’s first
reading, will actually make us barriers instead of bridges to God.
So, maybe it is an obvious
insight this morning, but it is one rooted in today’s Scripture and probably
good to recall.
