A Reflection for Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Find today’s readings here.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue;
but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him aside
and explained to him the Way of God more accurately. (Acts 18:26)
My grandmother was the most devout person I have ever met. And yet she could hold a grudge like no other.
Saturdays spent with avó (grandma) consisted of Mass, Confession, the rosary, and long monologues complaining about friends and relatives. Everyone from my mother (Sorry for airing the family’s dirty laundry, Mom!) to the neighbors. Anyone who had ever wronged her. Still, no matter how imperfect, my grandmother remains the major reason why I have a relationship with Christ. She introduced me to the mystery of the Eucharist and a life centered around God and God’s church.
Apollos, who we meet in today’s reading, was one such devout and imperfect follower of Christ, like my grandmother. A Jew from Alexandria, he was willing to go to a different land, Ephesus, to reach souls. While he had many talents and an ardent heart, we learn that he would preach incorrectly about Jesus. Priscilla and Aquila—companions of Paul—“took him aside to explain to him the Way of God more accurately.” Does Apollos’ faith not sound like the way most of us live? Trying to live a devout life, faithful to God, but not always getting it perfectly right.
We receive an essential encouragement in today’s readings: God does not need us to be perfect before God can use our lives to lead others towards Godself.
Like Apollos, we are not alone in this calling to a devout life. We are reminded of this in today’s psalm, our “God is the king over all the earth”—God is supreme. We see this king intervene in the life of Apollos through gentle nudges, first through Priscilla and Aquila, and then through the brothers who write to the disciples in Achaia to welcome Apollos. These nudges helped Apollos arrival in Achaia where “after his arrival he gave great assistance to those who had come to believe through grace.” The king of all the earth was able to use my grandmother, even with her imperfections, to point me towards the love of God, in the same way God used Apollos to encourage those believers in Achaia.
So for all of us biological or spiritual grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, partners and friends trying to share our faith with others, we receive an essential encouragement in today’s readings: God does not need us to be perfect before God can use our lives to lead others towards Godself. God reigns supreme and is always present in our lives, nudging us and others through us toward a greater understanding of God.
