God challenges us to go to new places to take his message to those who haven’t hear it. This can be scary and challenging, but he promises to be with us and help us. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from mass.
Readings for Tuesday of the 5th week of Easter can be found here.
One of the joys of going on holiday is to be able to spend a few days, or maybe even a week or two, in a place that’s different from where we normally live. It’s good to have a change and experience a different setting for a time. If our holiday destination is somewhere we’ve never been before, then there’s an added level of excitement. We can discover a new place and find out about its history, culture, and the best places to eat. Going somewhere new can also have its challenges, however. Will we like it? Will we find our way around? Do we need to speak the language? What will the weather be like? What currency do we need to take?
In our reading from Acts, Paul and Barnabas have come to the end of their first missionary journey. They have taken the Christian faith to new places, going beyond the border of Israel and visiting Cyprus then Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). The trip involved many blessings, as people embraced Christianity and new churches were founded. Yet it also had its challenges, as we see at the start of today’s reading. Paul is stoned by a crowd and dragged out of the city. He survives and carries on with his mission. In the Gospel, Jesus is preparing the disciples for a new and potentially unsettling chapter of their life, when he will no longer be physically present with them. “Let not your hearts be troubled”, Jesus says. “I am going away, and I will come to you”. This seems like a contradiction; but his departure from the world will enable the Spirit to come to the disciples, empowering them to take the Gospel to new and challenging places.
God is continually calling his church to move out of its comfort zone and proclaim his good news in new and different places. This can be scary and unsettling work. Like with Paul, we may face difficulties when we go to those new places and speak to new people. Yet in all this, Jesus leaves us his peace, the peace which helps us not to be afraid, and which strengthens us to do his work.
Mass today is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.
If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.
South Cardiff Ministry Area 