In the first reading for mass today from the book of Acts, Jesus came to Saint Paul in a vision and said “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.”
Jesus knew that some of the Jews were treating Paul harshly because he taught them about Jesus, but Jesus didn’t want Paul to be afraid of them. It was necessary that he continue to teach the people, even if some of them did oppose his efforts. Their opposition was not serious enough to cause him bodily harm. Saint Paul trusted what the Lord Jesus said, and stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching the word of God to them.
However, the Jewish people’s opposition against Paul escalated during this time. They orchestrated a united attack on Paul, and drug him before the tribunal. They demanded that Gallio, the proconsul (governor) do something about Paul, who was persuading people to worship God in ways that were contrary to their laws.
Paul was just getting ready to speak up for himself to the tribunal, when Gallio stopped him. He saw right through the whole petty affair and didn’t want a thing to do with it. This matter was none of his concern. They needed to settle the matter themselves, because it had to do with their religion and no one had actually broken the law. Gallio dismissed everyone from the tribunal. When he did that, a fight broke out right in the middle of the tribunal, but he didn’t let that little disturbance affect him at all, even though the synagogue official was severely beaten right in front of him.
How many times have we found ourselves being drug into the middle of an argument, fight, or drama, that we really have no need to be involved in? This man Gallio may not have been a Christian or a Jew, but he sure set the standard on how to handle petty squabbles like this. Don’t get involved in things that do not concern you, period, dot. Leave the squabble where it is, don’t take sides, and sometimes it is better to just walk away from the whole affair until the situation calms down on it’s own.
The scriptures are a good guide for our lives, because they never fail to offer us practical advice, and examples to follow on how to live a good, christian life. But, if you are ever in a quandry and do not know the right thing to do, even after much prayer, then you will never go wrong if you follow the example of Jesus Christ’s life. There are many holy men and women in the bible, the apostles and saints, our pope and leaders of our church, that also offer good examples of christian living, but Jesus Christ takes precedence over them all. We are all imperfect people, even the saints were. Love is perfected in Christ alone. Why should we model our lives on an imperfect person, when Jesus Christ is the source of all love, of all perfection? Who could be a better example to follow than the son of God?
Today is the feast day of Saint Joan of Arc, by the way. If you read back through the readings for Mass today, you can’t help but see her life reflected there. Her own people turned against her, just like Saint Paul (and just like Jesus), the courtroom drama, the fighting, and the terrible suffering and torment that Jesus describes in today’s gospel …
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived, but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.”
Saint Joan of Arc’s great suffering, weeping and anguish gave birth to a new nation, the newly united country of France. Her parents taught her the christian faith, the priests gave her their blessing, a king honored her in court, she had the guidance of Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret and Saint Michael the Archangel, but they could only take her so far. The Holy Spirit took her the rest of the way.
Saint Joan of Arc’s own people turned against her. A Catholic bishop presided over her tribunal and condemned her to death. Joan could have saved her life if she lied and said it was all her own doing, if she retracted her statement that she acted in accordance with God’s will, and that the saints had guided her actions. But, Saint Joan of Arc looked to Christ’s own life as the ultimate source of guidance and the best example to follow. Jesus Christ never retracted his statement that he was the son of the living God, because it was the truth. They crucified him for telling the truth. Saint Joan of Arc is a saint because she followed Christ’s own example, and held fast to the truth, that it truly was God, who directed her actions.
You can’t help but wonder if Saint Joan of Arc had followed the advise or example of other people in her life, if France would have ever become united as a single united nation?
Daily Mass Readings:
Acts 18: 9-18 / Ps 47: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 / Jn 16: 20-23
