Tuesday 16 May 2023

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Today is Tuesday the 16th of May, in the sixth week of Easter.

Maximilian sings, ‘Even So Come’.

You came to cast a fire on the earth

And how You wish it were already blazing

The one thing You require are hearts that thirst

And You’ll respond without hesitating

All creation groans to see the promise

Afflicted by anticipation

Dressed in righteous robes with lamps that are burning

The bride is waiting and stands to attention

Even so come

Even so come

One thing I desire, one thing I ask

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

Always to inquire in Your temple

Beholding Your beauty is my reward

One thing I desire, one thing I ask

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

Always to inquire in Your temple

Beholding Your beauty is my reward

Today’s reading is from the Acts of the Apostles and will be read in two parts during the reflection…

Acts 16.22-34

The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

Today’s story of Paul and Silas in prison reminds us that being a disciple of Jesus can be very demanding.

What challenges do I face being a Christian today?

I tell Jesus about these challenges now.

How does Jesus respond?

I listen as the story continues:

When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

‘What must I do to be saved?’ What is stirring in me as I hear this question?

What do I learn about faithfulness from this story?

In these quiet moments, I give thanks for the bravery of the first disciples and ask the Lord to grant me courage too.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.