Acts 14:5-18 / Jn 14:21-26
What a grand spectacle it must have been in that Greek town when St. Paul healed the crippled man. The crowd responded with such fervor, calling Paul and his companions “gods,” and trying to offer sacrifices to them! What a temptation it would be to relax and enjoy the glory of it all — just for a little while.
It’s the kind of temptation that comes to all of us at times, though usually in less glamorous forms. It’s the temptation to say, “This or that is about ME,” when in fact it’s not. The priest can know that temptation as he towers above the congregation at the pulpit or the altar. The teacher can know it in the classroom. The boss can know it; the parent can know it; the person with some special gift can know it. All of us can know the temptation to think that God’s gifts of life, talent, or power are our own, to be flaunted and used for our own gratification and exultation. It’s the sick temptation to say that this moment or this day is about me and not about God or the folks to whom he sent his gifts through me.
Paul had that temptation, and he knew how to respond to it, “We are only men” who were sent to bring you God’s gifts. So obvious, so right, but some folks never figure it out.
Give thanks to God for all the unearned gifts he’s given to you. Ask him to guide your hand in carrying them faithfully to those who need them. That’s a prayer he always answers.
