Monday, Sixth Week of Easter

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus warns his disciples in very stark terms of the hostility and opposition they can expect because of their allegiance to him. He tells them that he is giving them this warning in advance so that when it comes to pass their faith ‘may not be shaken’. We live in an age when our own faith can easily be shaken. Our faith has been put to the test by scandals within the church and by events in the world that have led to the suffering and death of so many innocent people. At such times, we need to remember not only the warning Jesus gives in today’s gospel reading but also the promise he makes there. He promises to send us the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, from the Father. Jesus says that the Spirit will come to us as his witness and will empower us to be his witnesses. The Holy Spirit will give us the strength to witness to our faith at those times when our faith is put to the test. Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows that when we do witness to our faith it creates an opening for the Lord to touch the lives of others. When Paul and his companions preached the gospel for the first time on the continent of Europe, in the city of Philippi in northern Greece, the Lord opened the heart of a woman called Lydia to accept what Paul was saying. As a dealer in purple cloth, she was a woman of some financial means, and she went on to offer Paul and his companions the gift of hospitality in her home. According to the reading, ‘she would take no refusal’. Through the witness of Paul and his companions, Lydia received the gift of faith, and she responded by offering Paul and his companions the gift of hospitality. The church was coming to birth in Philippi. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, continues to work powerfully today for the building up of the church whenever we bear witness to our faith in him.