Saturday 8th
June, 2019. Read Acts 28:16-31, Psalm 11 and
John 21:20-25
_*“Peter
turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved… he said to Jesus, ‘Lord,
what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remains
until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!’” (John 21:20-22)*_
In
yesterday’s Gospel passage, we saw how Jesus predicted the death of Peter as
part of the sacrifice he would have to make in the course of following him.
Having been told of his fate, Peter wanted to know if this would be the case
for others. So he asked about John saying: “What about this man?”
To a very
large extent, we act like Peter sometimes; we find it difficult to just mind
our business and focus on our own relationship with God. We like to compare and
contrast with others all the time. From the response of Jesus to Peter, we can
now see that all such comparison is completely unnecessary. Even if I say he
will remain till I come, what is that to you? Just follow me.
God calls
us individually to different tasks. This is why our gifts and abilities are
different. In the same way, our sufferings for the sake of God are not going to
be the same. For instance, while some
are called to minister to Christians in war-torn zones, poverty-stricken
regions, others are called to minister to Christians in high-brow/wealthy areas
yet it is the same God who called them and it is to the same mission of evangelization.
Not too
long ago, I was at an occasion where a priest gave a cash gift of N2million to
two other priests having a particular celebration. Meanwhile, a day earlier,
another priest told me how he couldn’t drive out of his house because he didn’t
have up to N1,000 to buy fuel for his car. Yet, it is the same God who called
us to the same ministry and in heaven, I am sure both Peter and John would have
the same kind of chair.
Sometimes
we would wonder if God is partial but in truth, what matters is that we follow
Jesus along the very path he is leading us. Comparing ourselves with only
creates room for jealousy and dissatisfaction. Do not be like Peter asking
about John? It is not your business that your cross is heavier than that of
anyone else. Carry yours till you get to the finish line.
Our first
reading tells us how Paul arrived in Rome and continued the work of
evangelisation there. Paul was not even among the twelve disciples but he was
equally called and he responded. Paul and Peter had different gifts, they both
worked to spread the Gospel but their crosses were different; they did not
suffer the same faith. In the end, we do not know who suffered more, all we
know is that they were both faithful to their calling and great things happened
through them.
Finally,
as John reports, the Bible does not contain everything Jesus did and said.
“Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could
not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25). This statement
perfectly introduces us to tomorrow’s Feast of Pentecost. Since the Bible does
not exhaust all that Christ said and did, there is only way we can know that
the Bible in its limitedness does not contain. And that is through the presence
and power of the Holy Spirit.
As Jesus told
us, “But when the
Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me.” (John 15:26)
Let us
pray: Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart and enkindle in me the fire of your love.
Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 7th Week
of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 28:16-31, Psalm 11 and
John 21:20-25).
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