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Acts 18: 1-8
Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus,
who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla
because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.
He went to visit them and, because he practiced the same trade,
stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue,
attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia,
Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word,
testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
When they opposed him and reviled him,
he shook out his garments and said to them,
“Your blood be on your heads!
I am clear of responsibility.
From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
So he left there and went to a house
belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God;
his house was next to a synagogue.
Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord
along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians
who heard believed and were baptized.
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 such 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 life, and certainly in priestly 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 hard 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) BBC (2) Charlestown Road church of Christ (3) Pinterest