Fifth Week in Easter
Rejected With Christ
Introduction
The world that has rejected Christ hates Christ and his disciples; it persecutes them because the lifestyle of a good Christian is a silent condemnation of the world. Think, for example, of the films by Luis Bunuel, the Spanish director, who is obsessed by everything Christian and holds it up to bitter sarcasm.
Perhaps, more deadening than persecution is the attitude of a world that has not discovered Christ or has a distorted view of him and of Christianity. To these people, we are ridiculous, old-fashioned, irrelevant, out of touch with reality, and worthy of a pitying smile.
Yet this was the lot of Christ. We share in his love, and also in the treatment he is given by the world. The disciple is no better than the master. In the disciple, the world still rejects Christ, the Master. At least, we are in good company…
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God,
it is good to live in the friendship
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Make us realize that also in this love,
we are committed to him and share with him
for better and for worse,
in misunderstanding and contradiction
as well as in joy and intimacy.
Help us to rejoice, even when treated
with indifference or ridicule on account of him,
for it means that he is still with us,
who is our Lord forever.
Reading 1: Acts 16:1-10
Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra
where there was a disciple named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city,
they handed on to the people for observance the decisions
reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith
and increased in number.
They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once,
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.
Responsorial Psalm 100:1B-2,3,5
(2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Col 3:1
Alleluia, alleluia.
If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.”
Intercessions
– That our missionaries may be guided by the Holy Spirit to bring the joy of Easter to other people and cultures, we pray:
– That like the early Christians, those who are persecuted on account of the Lord may retain their joy of witnessing to the Lord, we pray:
– That like Jesus, our Lord, we may be willing and eager to render service to people, we pray.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, our God,
your Son Jesus, pours for us
the cup of joy,
but it can also become at times
a cup of sorrow to be emptied to the dregs.
May his Spirit guide us
to stay with him when the going is rough
as he stays always with us,
who is our Lord forever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, we thank you
for the joy of sharing the table of your Son
in this Eucharistic celebration.
Make our faith strong enough
to share all of the life of Jesus,
even when he is rejected or ignored,
and we with him.
Make us understand that his Paschal Mystery
is both death and life
and the way we have to live
with Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
The message of Christ is not always a comfortable message; it also has to speak of the cross. But speak we must, even in the face of ridicule and contradiction. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection
4 May 2024
John 15: 18-21
Do not conform to the world
“If the world hates you, realise that it hated me first” (v. 18). In his prayer for the disciples at the Last Supper, he asks the Father not to take them out of the world but to defend them from the spirit of the world (John 17: 15) or “worldliness.” What is this worldliness capable of hating and destroying Jesus and his disciples and of corrupting the Church?
Worldliness is a culture of momentary happiness based on appearance, makeup, and inconsistency. Its values are shallow and superficial. It is a culture that knows no fidelity because it changes according to circumstances; everything is negotiable. This is the culture of worldliness. Jesus insists on defending us from this and prays that the Father will defend us from this culture of worldliness, which is a throw-away culture focused on convenience. It’s a way of life for many who say they are Christians but are still worldly without roots or fidelity.
As we know, Christ’s message is not always comfortable; it always speaks of the cross. Let us not run away from the cross, but remain lambs forever because then we will have a shepherd to defend us.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit in these days of the Easter season for the grace to discern what is worldliness and what is the Gospel and not be deceived. The world hated Jesus, and now it hates us, and Jesus prayed that the Father would defend us from the spirit of the world.