LISTENING TO THE DAILY NEWS EVEN AS THE APOSTLES DID

“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,
they sent them Peter and John,
who went down and prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:5-8, 14-17

What a statement of openness to embracing Samaritans who were considered to be outcasts by most “respectable” first-century Jews! (Surely, not outcast in the eyes of God! Think about that. Who are the “outcasts” we hear about in today’s news?)

“Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If you love me, . . . I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept. . .’”  John 14:15-21

The Apostles got what Jesus meant when he said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” And they also got that Jesus wanted thier partnership with him to be a two-sided effort: God and humanity working together toward making the world a peaceful home for all of us.

For most of their Jewish lives, family and friends and, probably they themselves, stayed far away from the hated Samaritans. And now, after Jesus’ Ascension, they are not only sticking up for the Samaritans, they are sending Peter and John to pray for them, that they may join with the Christians in the community of believers.

DEVELOPING AN APOSTLE’S WAY OF SEEING

The next time we listen to the News, let’s note who, of the news’ subjects, are the Samaritans of today – the shunned, the foreigners, those condemned to lives of misery. What comes into our minds when we see and hear about them? Then remember that the Risen Jesus, and perhaps Peter and John, are there with us, along with the Advocate, the Spirit of God, breathed into us when at our God-enabled conception.

He asked us to be the apostles who would come after him, that, through us, the forever-flowing love of the Trinity would be in our minds and heart and would flow upon everyone – those considered by others to be beautiful or ugly, the good or the bad, the in-crowd or the outcasts. (Those are judgements we have made to keep them bound.) The God who loves us wants us to use our eyes, arms and hearts to shower nothing but God’s love on everyone we meet and see, those near and far, even those on the News.

Let’s make listening to the News, a time of prayer: remember that Jesus is there with us, the apostles and disciples of today, whispering to us, even while we watch, “If you love me, . . . the Father will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept. . .”

God is always present here. Let’s tune in more often.

Sister Loretta