Saturday, May 05, 2018 5th Week of Easter 1st Reading: Acts 16:1-10 Gospel: John 15:18-21
Jesus said to his disciples, “If the world hates you, remember that the world hated me before you. This would not be so if you belonged to the world, because the world loves its own. But you are not of the world since I have chosen you from the world; because of this the world hates you.
“Remember what I told you: the servant is not greater than his master; if they persecuted me, they will persecute you, too. Have they kept my teaching? Will they then keep yours? All this they will do to you for the sake of my name because they do not know the One who sent me.”
THE D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life Experience)
When Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading that the servant is not greater than the master, he wanted to tell his followers to take him as measure of conduct. Let us cite some scenarios where we can apply this teaching.
In the area of social life, a disciple should not expect social acceptance all the time because Jesus himself was not accepted by the people of his time. In his work of evangelization where he suffers rejection, a disciple perseveres despite the rejection if he recalls how Christ was also rejected. “Have they kept my teaching? Will they then keep yours?” Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading. Instead of getting discouraged, evangelizers can derive hope in Christ who did not abort his trip to Calvary but persevered until he won the sweet victory of the cross.
The case of suffering is another example. If Christ was persecuted, a disciple should not expect better treatment. He should be ready to be persecuted for being pro-life because Jesus is life. He should abhor lies because Jesus is the Truth. He should live an upright life because Jesus is the Way. A disciple persecuted for his Christian convictions will find the persecution easier to bear when he thinks of the heavier cross Jesus had to carry.
Forgiveness is another example. We put ourselves above Christ the Master when we refuse to forgive. If Christ was able to forgive our enemy, and even shed his blood for that person, who are we to condemn that enemy? Forgiving that enemy is our humble way of saying: If God could forgive him with a great sin, why can’t I forgive him with this smaller sin he has done to me?
Discipleship is about following a Master greater than ourselves. When Jesus said, “No servant is greater than the Master”, he was reminding his followers calibrate their lives according to how He lived. How funny it would be if in following a master carrying a cross we would be riding on a sedan! – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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