Today's first reading the difficulty that Paul and Barnabas [portrayed here rejecting the Greeks' attempt to deify them by Dutch artist Nicholaes Berchem in the 17th Century] have come upon while working within the Greek world. The people of Lystra have been so struck by the preaching of these two followers of Jesus's mission that they are worshipped by the Lystrian people as gods. It is a struggle for them to bring the people to see that the single purpose of their mission is to point to the life and works and teachings of Jesus Christ. We might consider how we endeavor to allow our lives and what we do point more to Jesus and his mission than to ourselves and our wants. We can doing that Jesus-pointing in two ways: by following the teaching of Jesus and by reaching out to others who have need.
