The Gentiles Will Listen

Jesus Calls for Justice and Mercy

Parableof the Great Dinner

Acts 28:23-28 The Message 

23 They agreed on a time. When the day arrived, they came back to his home with a number of their friends. Paul talked to them all day, from morning to evening, explaining everything involved in the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them all about Jesus by pointing out what Moses and the prophets had written about him.
24-27 Some of them were persuaded by what he said, but others refused to believe a word of it. When the unbelievers got cantankerous and started bickering with each other, Paul interrupted: “I have just one more thing to say to you. The Holy Spirit sure knew what he was talking about when he addressed our ancestors through Isaiah the prophet:
Go to this people and tell them this:
“You’re going to listen with your ears,
    but you won’t hear a word;
You’re going to stare with your eyes,
    but you won’t see a thing.
These people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
    so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
    so they won’t have to look,
    so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
    and let me heal them.”
28 “You’ve had your chance. The non-Jewish outsiders are next on the list. And believe me, they’re going to receive it with open arms!”

For Reflection

Not all will be saved from themselves.  Some will hear but not listen and see but not understand. Some will take the plunge. Others will not risk the transformation open to them.

This does not mean we who believe should demean them or shun those who reject salvation. On the contrary, we who have been transformed by the light have a responsibility to love them and by example heal them.

Pray

Pray so that you may serve in humility. Pray that you will strive to heal the afflicted, comfort the estranged, and forgive.

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