DAILY REFLECTION

Liturgical readings are available here.

The Acts of the Apostles report about the Christians who scattered after persecution and some of them reached the city of Antioch. Antioch was the seat of the Roman Legate to Syria and the third largest city of the Roman Empire with 500,000 inhabitants.

No wonder, the Christians who reached the city were engaging with the population in a variety of ways.

• some were preaching the word to no one but Jews
• Cypriots and Cyrenians among the Christians who came to Antioch began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus

Christians since the very beginning recognized the variety of needs, approaches, and charisms. These are things that distinguish one person from everybody else, one situation from another. Yet, there is an internal principle of unity with the community: when Barnabas arrived to Antioch and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart.

Unity in diversity: being gathered around the same Lord makes us live as brothers and sisters. And that’s where we discover the variety of gifts and tasks. The same Lord who unites us also gives us the ability to respect each other.