offered the same chances of salvation as the “children of Abraham”. They wanted to have a special redemption for themselves, and refused to have anything to do with a Redeemer who offered salvation to all alike. Many of the so-called enlightened men of our own time have rejected the saving faith preached by the Church, for the very same cause, namely, jealous pride, and have thereby made themselves unworthy of everlasting life.
4. Speaking against faith. The sorcerer sinned in this way by seeking, for his own interests, to set the pro-consul against the Christian faith. The Jews of Antioch in Pisidia committed the same sin when they contradicted the doctrine of St. Paul, and even uttered blasphemies against it.
Sacrifice can he offered to God alone. The two apostles were, therefore, justly indignant when the Lystrians wished to offer sacrifice to them. Filled with righteous anger they rushed into the midst of the idolaters, to stay them in their sin.
To convert the sinner, and prevent him from sinning, is one of the spiritual works of mercy. It is an act of love of God, because an offence against Him is prevented; and it is an act of love of our neighbour, because his soul is thereby saved from injury. Herod Agrippa complacently accepted his deification by his flatterers, whereas Paul and Barnabas were indignant at the attempt to pay them divine honour, and cried out: “We are mortals, men like unto you!”
Among the many great virtues of St. Paul, the following shine forth conspicuously in this chapter:
1. He was full of zeal for the glory of God, which made him oppose the Jewish sorcerer, and forbid the idolatry of the Lystrians.
2. Being armed with patience and fortitude, he did not shrink from the fatigue of his long journeys, nor did he fear the hatred of the Jews, or let even the fear of death restrain him from preaching faith in Jesus Christ.
3. His humility made him seek God’s glory in all things, and declare, after his return to Antioch, that it was God who had done such great things through him and Barnabas; thus giving God the glory, and taking none to himself.
Application. Do you seek God’s glory in all things? Do you perform the duties of your state of life faithfully, or neglect them from a slothful dread of exertion? Be careful to direct your intention to God every morning!
