Reflection on Today’s Readings, Monday of 5th Week of Easter, May 16th, 2022 Texts: Acts 14:5 -18; Psalm 115:1-4. 15- 16; John 14:21-26 Today we are to reflect on the different ways in which God is manifested in us. In today’s first reading, God manifested Himself in the ministry of Paul and Barnabas; He manifested Himself through sign and wonder. By the power of God, Paul made a person crippled from birth to walk. It is a kind of deed that is only possible for God to do, not man. For the people, that Paul did such a mighty deed, it means he was god. Hence, it is said, “And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, because he was the chief speaker, they called Hermes. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the people.” God wrought this mighty deed through Paul to attest to his message and thereby call the people to faith. God worked mighty deed to call us to faith. The mighty work is the affirmation of God’s presence with them, attesting to their message. We see in the Gentiles what Jesus Christ saw was lacking in the people of God. The Jews often refused to see the manifestation of God in Jesus Christ through His mighty deeds. He once said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11). Instead of seeing the manifestation of God in Him, they rather said He was using power of Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24). We may now ask, ‘how do you see God in your neighbours?’ our neighbours do not need to perform miracle before we see God in them, they are already the images and likenesses of God. Let us, therefore, honour and respect one another. Let us treat one another well. Let us see God in one another. Let us Love and serve God in one another. We also learn from today’s gospel reading that God manifests Himself in love. Hence, Jesus says, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” By love the Father and the Son make their home with us. When we love Jesus Christ, He manifests Himself to us and in us. Let us love God, let us love one another, let us love our neighbours, let us love both friends and foes. You may say, how am I to love God I do not see? It is by keeping His commandments.
May your right hand, O Lord, we pray, encompass your family with perpetual help, so that, defended from all wickedness by the Resurrection of your Only Begotten Son, we may make our way by means of your heavenly gifts. Amen (Collect)
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
