Saturday 5th week of Easter
"Jn 15:18-21"
"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you...Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all this they will do to you on my account, because they do not know him who sent me."
Ignorance is the great enemy of God. Those who hate Christians or Jesus Christ do so "because they do not know him who sent me"; they just don't know! Do you remember the words of Jesus on the Cross? "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing." St Stephen, too, as he was stoned by a mob, said a similar prayer (Acts 7:60).
Consider the humble reaction of the centurion when Jesus died. He said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" And among the people stoning St Stephen to death was the young Saul of Tarsus, who eventually became St Paul. Some people who don't understand our faith may feel attracted by our 'deeds'. They may think 'Let me see what you believe' or 'Do you believe in God? Show me!'
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste were a group of Christian soldiers condemned in 320AD to freeze to death in an icy pond. The executioners set a warm bath in front of the pond to tempt them to give up. Anyone who wanted to renounce his faith would be invited into the warm bath. One of them yielded, leaving his companions; coming out of the waters, he accepted the offer to renounce his faith. But at that, one of the guards watching over the martyrs (who had seen their example and faithfulness) proclaimed himself a Christian, threw off his garments and joined the other martyrs to complete the number of 40. In the icy waters of the pond he was baptised and in those waters he died with the other martyrs. You see? The centurion, Saul or the guard in the story weren't evil people; they were just ignorant. To convert they didn't need any speech, just the example of Jesus (Master) and the saints (disciples).
My Mother, may I learn to prove my faith with deeds: "There is a story of a soul who, on saying to our Lord in prayer, 'Jesus, I love you', heard this reply from heaven: 'Love means deeds, not sweet words'" (St JosemarÃa).
