5 May 2015
It must have been quite a shock for St. Paul. I mean, almost getting stoned to death is one
thing. But the ones who did it had been
his friends not too long before. They
were fellow Jews, fellow believers in the One God. But between them and God, St. Paul chose God. It was a tough choice, perhaps. But it was also an overwhelmingly positive
and even joyful choice, for sure.
Jesus describes his own going back to the Father as a happy
occasion. He’s choosing the Father over
his disciples, his friends. But it’s a
happy thing to put God first. And so, it’s
also a joyful thing for St. Paul to choose newness of life in God over his
former ways of error. Even at the
expense of his friendships with other Jews, he relishes in his choice.
As we know: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the
sake of righteousness.” Happy are those—happy
are we—who choose to follow God, even—and
especially—when it’s hard. We will
experience pain in our souls when others think we’re nuts because we follow
Jesus Christ. We will experience the
weight of insults piled on top of us if we try to stand up for our Catholic values.
But the pain of
being a Christian, the pain of
choosing God over friends, is outweighed by the joy of being a Christian, the joy
of choosing God, who is our Friend of friends.
And, of course, choosing God doesn’t necessarily
mean leaving friends behind.
On the contrary, bring ‘em along, if you can! It’s a happy thing to unite ourselves more
closely to the Lord. Why not invite
others to share your joy? Of course, if
they decline, if they think you’re nuts for asking, well . . . pray for them in
all charity. And then keep on choosing
God; every day, choosing the ways of peace and unity; every day, choosing the
path of joy.
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