Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter (May 23, 2017): The saving hand of God

Acts 16:22-34
Ps 138:1-3, 7c-8
John 16:5-11
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052317.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/17_05_23.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”

Psalm 138:7 declares that “Your right hand saves me, O Lord.” In biblical symbolism, the “right hand” of God means the power of God reaching out to help us. In today’s first reading, we see how this helping hand of God works in unexpected ways.

God does not do everything that we want him to, when we want him to do it, the way we want him to do it. For Paul and Silas, God’s powerful hand did not pop open the prison doors just because they asked for help. More was at stake than the lives of these two men. Notice the others who were touched by God’s intervention.

God is always mindful of the bigger picture and the bigger purposes that can be accomplished in all situations. He cares about the needs and the souls of all those who are causing our trials as much he cares about us. The question is, are we willing to wait for his help when others are slowing down the process?

Paul and Silas cooperated with God’s plan by remaining focused on Jesus through prayer and joyful hymns. They could have allowed themselves to be distracted by the terrible conditions of their imprisonment and the disaster that had stopped their ministry and, as far as they knew, would end their lives. They could have been resentful and angry toward those who had arrested them. They could have been lamenting that it was all so unfair.

Like we so often do.

However, they chose to trust God no matter what had happened or might happen. They believed that, since he was more powerful than the forces that had put them into prison, their current troubles had become part of a plan that would somehow benefit his kingdom. And because they wanted nothing more than to be a benefit to his kingdom, they closed their eyes to the evidence of evil and opened their eyes to the presence of God.

We can do this, too!

Only when we’re open to and focused on the presence of God are we able to know what to do next when the saving power of God finally manifests itself. If we had been in Paul’s and Silas’ sandals, would we have run out of the prison as soon as the doors popped open? In Acts 12, Peter was in a similar situation, and God (through an angel) had him do just that. But not this time. Through the predicament of Paul and Silas, God stretched his hand out to the jailer and his family. Because Paul and Silas were sensitive to God’s will, they cooperated with his saving hand and became the partners he selected to bring others to salvation.

How awesome to allow God to turn our problems into a plan that helps others!

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, make hope root deeply in my heart and may I keep your Word, even in the most difficult times. Amen.

© 2017 by Terry A. Modica