Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Introduction

The world that has rejected Christ hates Christ and his disciples; it persecutes them because the lifestyle of a good Christian is a silent condemnation of the world. Think, for example, of the films by Luis Buñuel, the Spanish director, who is obsessed with everything Christian and holds it up to bitter sarcasm.

Perhaps, more deadening than persecution is the attitude of a world that has not discovered Christ or has a distorted view of him and of Christianity. To these people, we are ridiculous, old-fashioned, irrelevant, out of touch with reality, and worthy of a pitying smile.

Yet this was the lot of Christ. We share in his love and in the treatment he receives from the world. The disciple is no better than the master. In the disciple, the world still rejects Christ, the Master. At least, we are in good company…

Opening Prayer

Lord, our God,
it is good to live in the friendship
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Make us realise that also in this love,
we are committed to him and share with him
for better and for worse,
in misunderstanding and contradiction
as well as in joy and intimacy.
Help us to rejoice, even when treated
with indifference or ridicule on account of him,
for it means that he is still with us,
who is our Lord forever.