Reading 1
Acts 18:23-28
After staying in Antioch some time,
Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence
through the Galatian country and Phrygia,
bringing strength to all the disciples.
A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,
an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus.
He was an authority on the Scriptures.
He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and,
with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus,
although he knew only the baptism of John.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue;
but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him aside
and explained to him the Way of God more accurately.
And when he wanted to cross to Achaia,
the brothers encouraged him
and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.
After his arrival he gave great assistance
to those who had come to believe through grace.
He vigorously refuted the Jews in public,
establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.
Gospel
Jn 16:23b-28
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
“I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Meditation: Acts 18:23-28
The brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. (Acts 18:27)
Can you imagine belonging to the early church? Your “parish” would have been a small group of believers who met in someone’s home to celebrate the Eucharist behind closed doors. Perhaps you would have seen or heard about powerful conversions and astounding miracles in other places like Philippi, Antioch, or Lyconium. Maybe you yourself experienced such a miracle, too, and shared it with the members of your own house church.
Today’s reading shows us just how much the believers in the early church felt connected to one another. Paul “traveled in orderly sequence,” bringing “strength to all the disciples” (Acts 18:23). Surely his presence would have bolstered the church communities he visited.
We also see Priscilla and Aquila reaching out to the newly converted Apollos. This married couple, who hosted Paul in Corinth and worked with him as tentmakers, realized that Apollos didn’t know the whole story about Jesus, even though he was an eloquent speaker and well educated in the Hebrew scriptures. They “took him aside” to complete his instruction, and he became an important part of their common mission to spread the good news.
Though the church has changed in many ways over the centuries, we still need one another. Maybe, like Priscilla and Aquila, we need to help someone understand their faith better. Who knows? That very person may one day be the one sharing Christ with others—just as Apollos did! Or perhaps, like Paul, we need to strengthen a brother or sister in Christ. We may, for example, need to encourage our spouse to develop a daily prayer time—and then give him or her the time and space to do so. Or we could offer to watch a friend’s children while she attends a retreat.
These may seem like small actions, but they can make a great difference in another person’s life. The church flourishes when its members are committed to one another. Just as Apollos became a more effective disciple because of his encounter with Priscilla and Aquila, so we will all benefit when we turn to one another for strength, encouragement, wisdom, and love.
“Lord, help me to see how much I need my brothers and sisters, and how much they need me. Give me a generous heart to meet those needs.”
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