18 May 2020 - all truth, not all success

Lydia, dealer in purple cloth.

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.

The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth (see John 16:13), he will remind us of everything Jesus said (see John 14:26), he will teach us to pray (see Romans 8:26), and give us words to say in testimony (see Matthew 10:20).

And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.

As amazing as the works of the Holy Spirit are, and as much as we are meant to rely on them, we each have a particular part to play. We do not become automatons speaking oracles from God. It is rather as partners with the Spirit that we speak. He reminds us of what Jesus has done in us since our own beginnings with him. Our own stories, insofar as they are centered on Jesus, become means through which the Holy Spirit calls others. He testifies to us, in us, and ultimately through us.

One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.

Paul's own story of conversion was never far from his mind. He knew that if God could convert him, chief among sinners (see First Timothy 1:15), then there was no one he could not save. He knew better than to second guess where God might be present and working after having been so wrong about the Christian movement. The Holy Spirit doubtlessly guided how he shared the good news with Lydia. Even after having said all, he still needed to rely on the Holy Spirit to open her heart to pay attention. No amount of words matter if the words are ignored or only shallowly heard. From one end of evangelization to the other the Holy Spirit does the work. But it is a work he does through us, using us. We can't just sit back and wait. We need to welcome him.

I have told you this so that you may not fall away.

Jesus warns us that the consequences of witness are not always those for which we would hope. We don't always meet with success. We often encounter rejection, and sometimes even violence.

They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.

It is in such cases that we are tempted to fall away from relying on the Spirit and turn to worldly wisdom about what seems practical or expedient or prudent. Yet it is clear that the Spirit sometimes guides us into situations where the outcomes don't seem worth the investment. It is only on a much longer timeline that such investments pay off. The blood of the martyrs does not always immediately seem to bear fruit. All of the thousands of particulars that go astray are eventually but not immediately taken up into the grand tapestry of God's design, though eventually they are all gathered. And so for us, we need to learn to invest in loss when we are called to do so. This means that we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us without forcing or insisting on certain outcomes, and to bear well as Christians any pain that comes.

God doesn't ask that we succeed in everything, but that we are faithful. However beautiful our work may be, let us not become attached to it. Always remain prepared to give it up, without losing your peace.

― Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living

The Holy Spirit has testimony to give us and words of reminder to refresh us when we begin to despair. Let us receive that testimony as comfort so that we will be able to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received (see Second Corinthians 1:4).

Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches.