Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle

One of the things I find amazing about reflecting on the daily readings is how I often get drawn into a word, a phrase, or a sentence. Sometimes it feels very random to get so drawn to a short phrase that on the surface seems meaningless at the time. But, as I sit with it for a while, God’s intended message comes through. So, in today’s reading I didn’t get very far before I was drawn in. In fact, I was there after the first three words of the First Reading in Acts 11. The reading starts out with, “In those days.” We often use phrases like this when we talk with others, “Back in the day” or “In the good ‘ol days” or some other phrase that somehow seems to create a separation between that time period and the present. It is easy to think of time periods that we were not part of as seeming disconnected and unrelatable from our own.

It is often easy to feel disconnected from our past, and even from scripture. But, relative to our common home (the earth), we may not be as disconnected as we think. So, if I ever have doubts about the relevance and relatability of Jesus and his words and teachings in the world today, I just need to think back to what I was doing 14 seconds ago for the answers. He is a lot closer than we may realize.