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Acts: 18: 9-18
One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision,
“Do not be afraid.
Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.
No one will attack and harm you,
for I have many people in this city.”
He settled there for a year and a half
and taught the word of God among them.
But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,
the Jews rose up together against Paul
and brought him to the tribunal, saying,
“This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.”
When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews,
“If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud,
I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews;
but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles
and your own law, see to it yourselves.
I do not wish to be a judge of such matters.”
And he drove them away from the tribunal.
They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official,
and beat him in full view of the tribunal.
But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
Paul remained for quite some time,
and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria,
together with Priscilla and Aquila.
At Cenchreae he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow.
The Word of the Lord.
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“Paul sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila.”
In our first reading, Paul is on the move again. He’s been preaching the Gospel across Greece, Syria, even as far as Asia.
Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Luke, Priscilla and Aquila — are just a few of the people who accompanied him on his journeys.
Imagine how much harder Paul’s life would have been if he had to preach the Gospel without these companions. Those sleepless nights on ships, in tents, in a stranger’s home, even in prison, could have been terribly lonesome otherwise.
Paul understood an important lesson in ministry: friends are essential.
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True friends support us; they listen to our struggles, they pray for us; and stick by our side through the good and difficult times.
Do I have that type of friend? Is the Lord calling me to be that kind of friend for another?
As it’s written in the Book of Sirach: “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter. Whoever finds one finds a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price; no amount can balance their worth.”
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May Paul and his companions, pray for us.
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Image credits: (1) First Church Coral Springs (2) Mission Bible Class (3) Pinterest