THE SUFFERINGS OF PAUL

PRAYER MOMENT (Apologies for the break due to internet problems)

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

THE SUFFERINGS OF PAUL

Reading. “The crowd joined in and showed its hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged.” Acts 16:22-34

Reflection. The last days of Easter time are laced with the promise of the Spirit which would enable the disciples to understand and act as Jesus did. Led by the Spirit Paul and Silas reach Europe and receive a warm welcome from Lydia. Then things turn nasty and they are dragged before the magistrates for driving out a particularly lucrative spirit. We are told they are flogged and thrown into prison. Paul was flogged and stoned and shipwrecked many times and it is astonishing to recall what he “had to suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16). Sometimes we descend into gloom and self-pity when suffering comes to us. Paul was proud of suffering for the name.

Prayer. God, our Father, teach us not to panic when suffering and frustration come our way. Teach us that this is “the way” we grow into you and reflect in our life the creative Spirit of your Son. Amen

Monday, 26 May 2014

SHE WOULD TAKE NO REFUSAL

Reading: Lydia saidto Paul, “If you really think me a true believer in the Lord, come and stay with us.” And she would take no refusal. Acts 16:11-15

Reflection. “The eternal Father’s plan was to dignify men and women with a participation in his own divine life.” So opens the most central document of Vatican II (Lumen Gentium). God reaches out to his creation and invites us to share in his life. Lydia’s response, in one of the most moving passages in the Acts, was to insist with Paul that, yes, she wanted this share. It is the beginning of Paul’s ministry in Greece, in Europe, and it finds immediate acceptance in this woman whose name has been preserved by the early church, She was gripped by the gospel on day one and she is one of those countless women down the ages who welcomes the Father’s plan with joy and determination and oopens the way for others. It is something to celebrate on Africa Day.

Prayer. Lord, give us that same enthusiasm for the good news that we see in Lydia. Help us to welcome your into our house and “take no refusal” in excuses and half measures. Amen.