Monday, May 16, 2022

Acts 14:5-18 Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16 John 14:21-26

“On one occasion he was listening to Paul preaching, and Paul looked directly at him and saw that he had the faith to be saved.” —Acts 14:9

Would you have the courage and the assurance to yell at a person in a wheelchair: “Stand up! On your feet!”? (Acts 14:10) By that bold command, St. Paul healed a crippled man who had never walked a step in his life (Acts 14:8).

Paul didn’t always have such boldness. For example, for several days, he put up with the disruptive behavior of a girl with a clairvoyant spirit (Acts 16:16). “Finally Paul became annoyed, turned around, and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you, come out of her!’ Then and there the spirit left her” (Acts 16:18). Sometimes it took Paul days to give the command that would heal and deliver.