Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
May 8, 2021
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 290
Reading I
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
R. (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
R. 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
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.”
Reflection: LOVING THE WORLD THAT HATES
Recall a time when you had to purchase insurance for your vehicle or had to enrol in a health insurance scheme. After you express your consent to the terms and conditions of the policy, you will be asked to sign. As you turn the pages of the insurance, you will notice that there are some parts of the policy mentioned in a rather small font size. You can barely read what it is, but if you are not careful to read them, you would find yourself at a loss when you had to claim benefits. The discourse on love that Jesus painstakingly explains to his disciples is quite the opposite to the insurance policies. Every letter of the discourse on love clearly states that upon embracing love of Jesus, things would not be all that smooth. Jesus makes sure to let his disciples know that the world might turn its face from them and even hate them. The notion of belonging to this world has truly little or nothing to do with what Jesus emphasizes on love. We can truly be in the world, but not attached to the world and the models that it throws at us. Jesus points to the highest form of love, the heavenly love which flows from the Father into the world, drawing us all back to the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ. The dynamics at work here are quite many: the world and the realities around us are not totally absent. The test of our love for Jesus and the proclamation of the gospel become more evident in the time of trials and hate that world begins to bring about. While we live in the world, we are not against the world. However, what makes us different from the rest of the world is our commitment to love despite the hate prevailing. When we remember that love triumphs, we are assured that no power of the world can ever lead us astray.