21 April 2027 · Latin Rite
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“I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.” John 12:46
“The word of God continued to advance and gain adherents.” With this short line Luke closes the story of King Herod Agrippa, who had killed James and imprisoned Peter, and who then died miserably. Kings rise and fall; the word goes on. Then the scene moves to Antioch, where the Church has grown rich in gifts. Luke names five “prophets and teachers”: Barnabas from Cyprus, Simeon called Niger, which means “the black,” Lucius of Cyrene in North Africa, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul of Tarsus. An African, a Cypriot, a man of the royal court, a former persecutor: already the Church is a gathering of nations and classes. And it is while they are at prayer that the Spirit speaks: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”
The first great missionary journey is born in the liturgy. The word Luke uses for “worshiping” is the word from which we get “liturgy.” The Church did not choose missionaries by vote or by talent; it fasted, prayed, listened, and then obeyed. “Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” And Luke adds: “being sent out by the Holy Spirit.” The community lays on hands; the Spirit sends. The two go down to the port of Seleucia, sail to Cyprus, and begin to proclaim the word in the synagogues at Salamis, with young John Mark as their helper. The Psalm is the perfect prayer for this moment of mission: “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.” The blessing given to Israel is meant to shine out to every nation, so that “your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.”
In the Gospel Jesus cries aloud, almost his last public words in John before the Last Supper: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.” Jesus is not a messenger who points away from himself; to see him is to see the Father. “I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.” And he says that he did not come to condemn: “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” Yet the word he speaks is not empty. It will stand on the last day as the measure of our lives, because it is the Father's own word. Today the Church remembers St Anselm, the monk of Bec and Archbishop of Canterbury, who spent his life seeking to understand this light. His famous motto was “faith seeking understanding.” He did not believe because he had understood; he believed so that he might understand. He prayed: teach me to seek you, and show yourself to me when I seek. For Anselm, thinking about God was itself a way of praying, and prayer was the light in which thought could see.
Theme: “I have come as light into the world.”
A mission born in prayer, the light that shows us the Father, and a saint who believed in order to understand.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”” Isaiah 6:8
“While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”” Acts 13:2
Apply: Before your next important decision, give one day to prayer and a small fast, and listen.
“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9
“I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.” John 12:46
Apply: Bring one hidden thing into the light this week, in confession or in an honest conversation.
““Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Psalm 27:8
“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;” 1 Peter 3:15
Apply: Choose one article of the Creed and read what the Catechism says about it, beginning and ending with prayer.
The mission of the Church is born in worship and is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Christ is the light in which we see the Father, and like St Anselm we seek to understand what we believe.
Take-home resolution: This week, pray before every important decision and read one page of the Catechism.
Dear friends, in the church at Antioch the leaders are at prayer. They are worshiping and fasting. And in that prayer the Holy Spirit speaks: set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them (Acts 13:2). The greatest missionary journey in history began in a prayer meeting.
The Church did not choose Paul's mission by a committee vote. It prayed, it fasted, it listened, and it obeyed. Then they laid hands on them and sent them off. Whenever we have important decisions, in our families, our parishes, our lives, let us learn from Antioch: pray first, then act.
Look also at who those leaders were: a Cypriot, a man called Niger, the black, a man from Cyrene in Africa, a member of Herod's court, and a former persecutor. The Church was already one family of many nations.
In the Gospel Jesus cries out: I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness (John 12:46). He did not come to condemn but to save. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father.
Today we remember St Anselm, a monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury. He loved to think about God, but he always thought on his knees. He said: I believe, so that I may understand. He did not stop believing when he had questions; he took his questions into prayer.
Let us ask for that grace today: to let the light of Christ fill both our hearts and our minds, and to be ready, like Barnabas and Saul, to go where the Spirit sends us. Alleluia. Amen.
Children, when the leaders at Antioch were praying, the Holy Spirit chose Barnabas and Saul to go and tell the whole world about Jesus.
When we pray, God can tell us what he wants us to do too. Jesus is the light of the world. Let us say: Jesus, shine in my heart!
Lord Jesus Christ, light of the world, whoever sees you sees the Father who sent you. Shine into the darkness of our minds and hearts. As your Spirit set apart Barnabas and Saul while your Church was at prayer, call and send in our time missionaries, priests and religious, and make every one of us ready to go where you send. By the prayers of St Anselm, give us a faith that seeks to understand and an understanding that bows in love, so that we may know you more truly and love you more dearly. You live and reign for ever and ever. Alleluia. Amen.