Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Acts 18,9-18

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, 'Be fearless; speak out and do not keep silence: I am with you. I have so many people that belong to me in this city that no one will attempt to hurt you.' So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months. But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, 'We accuse this man of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.' Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, 'Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, it would be in order for me to listen to your plea; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves -- I have no intention of making legal decisions about these things.' Then he began to hustle them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the tribunal. Gallio refused to take any notice at all. After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

In a short time, the Corinthian community grew in number of believers, but at the same time problems also grew. The two Letters that Paul wrote show how vivacious the community was. However moments of grave tension were not lacking and they even jeopardized the unity of the community. Paul was probably caught by discouragement several times. We know it from the narration of a nocturnal dialogue he had with the Lord. At one point the Lord told him: "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you." Luke adds that Paul immediately decided to remain a year and a half more in Corinth to preach the Gospel there. The Apostle had understood that only the Lord was the rock on which to base effective and robust pastoral action. It was the Lord who was the true protagonist of the life of the Christian community, so much so that he said to him in the vision: "There are my in this city who are my people." In this statement there is an indication for the preaching of the Gospel in the city. It is here, in these meeting places, crossroads of different lives, that the Lord wants to raise up a people to make them more human and more united in solidarity.