20260416 THE DYNAMISM OF OBEDIENCE BETWEEN SEEING AND BELIEVING
16 April 2026, Thursday, 2nd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 5:27-33 |
We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit
When the officials had brought the apostles in to face the Sanhedrin, the high priest demanded an explanation. ‘We gave you a formal warning’ he said ‘not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt of this man’s death on us.’ In reply Peter and the apostles said, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree. By his own right hand God has now raised him up to be leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel. We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’
This so infuriated them that they wanted to put them to death.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):2,9,17-20 |
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord turns his eyes to the just
and his ears to their appeal.
They call and the Lord hears
and rescues them in all their distress.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man
but from them all the Lord will rescue him.
This poor man called and the Lord heard him.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen, he who created all things,
and has granted his mercy to men.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn20:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 3:31-36 |
The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him
John the Baptist said to his disciples:
‘He who comes from above is above all others;
he who is born of the earth is earthly himself
and speaks in an earthly way.
He who comes from heaven
bears witness to the things he has seen and heard,
even if his testimony is not accepted;
though all who do accept his testimony
are attesting the truthfulness of God,
since he whom God has sent
speaks God’s own words:
God gives him the Spirit without reserve.
The Father loves the Son
and has entrusted everything to him.
Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life:
the anger of God stays on him.’
THE DYNAMISM OF OBEDIENCE BETWEEN SEEING AND BELIEVING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 5:27-33; PS 34:2,9,17-20; JOHN 3:31-36 ]
Today, we are called to reflect on the growth of faith. How can we grow in faith in our Lord? Faith depends more on witness than on study and research alone. One may study Scripture and theology extensively, and yet not come to faith. This is because, in our time — when the sheer volume of information available on the internet is virtually inexhaustible, study by itself cannot provide a firm foundation for belief. Even if we were to spend our whole life examining all available material, we might still struggle to arrive at a deep and certain faith.
In the final analysis, faith is dependent on witnessing. This is what St Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans. “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:14,15,17) The Risen Christ calls for witnesses — those who have heard Him and encountered Him, whether personally or through a deep, intimate knowledge formed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only those who have truly met Him can bear authentic witness to Him. Anyone who has encountered the Lord personally or in the depths of his heart, will experience a profound transformation in their way of life. This was what Pope Benedict wrote in his encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (DCE 1)
We see this in the transformed lives of the Apostles. Once timid and fearful, hiding behind locked doors in the Upper Room, they were radically changed after encountering the Risen Lord and receiving the Holy Spirit. Their fears gave way to courage, and they stood boldly before the Sanhedrin — the learned leaders of the faith and the high priest. Despite being warned “not to preach in this name,” they continued to proclaim Jesus, even going so far as to hold the Jewish leaders accountable. Their defiance was not born of pride or personal interest, but from a deeper question: whether the Sanhedrin had the right to command them to act against the law of God and the dictates of their conscience.
In their conviction of what they heard and seen, they could not act against their conscience. They were utterly convinced that “it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree. By his own right-hand God has now raised him up to be a leader and saviour, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins through him to Israel.” As witnesses to these truths, they knew that in defying the Sanhedrin, they were not opposing God, but fulfilling His will — calling all people, including the Sanhedrin, to obedience. Thus, they boldly declared, “‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.”
The courage of the Apostles can only be explained by their deep conviction that those who fear God have nothing to fear, while those who do not are in true danger. They understood that it is a greater wrong to commit injustice than to suffer it. Through the grace of God and faith in Him, they could love and serve God without fear.
What about us who have never seen God? How can we grow in faith? This is the other aspect of the question of faith in the Gospel. Whilst the first reading underscores the importance of seeing and hearing to arrive at faith in Jesus, the Gospel demands faith without seeing. This faith is given through the witness of those who share what they have seen and heard. For Christians, faith is received through such testimony — above all, from the early Christians, the Apostles, and the Scriptures.
In this case, the evangelist effectively places his convictions in the mouth of John the Baptist, who said, “I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:29f).
To affirm what John the Baptist says, the evangelist elaborates: “He who comes from above is above all others; he who is born of the earth is earthly himself and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven bears witness to the things he has seen and heard.” Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. Unlike John the Baptist, “the one who is of the earth,” Jesus’ origin is heavenly. As such, Jesus is the One who knows the Father and is able to reveal Him to us. “He whom God has sent speaks God’s own words: God gives him the Spirit without reserve. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him.”
Consequently, Christ’s testimony must be accepted. “Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life; the anger of God remains on him.” Only two responses are possible in the light of God’s revelation in Christ: we either accept His testimony or reject it. Clearly, therefore, our destiny is determined by our personal response to Jesus.
However, faith is more than simply believing in Jesus. The truth of what we believe is demonstrated in a life marked by obedience to His word, for the words of Jesus are the very words of God. Without such obedience, faith cannot be considered a saving faith. Thus, faith is more than a verbal confession of belief in Jesus when one’s way of life contradicts His lordship.
When we obey the Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit. As the Apostles said: “We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” For those who have not seen or heard Him, our faith grows by living out what He has taught us. It is in the process of living out His teaching that we receive the Holy Spirit, who helps us to know that Jesus is Lord.
This pattern of faith is also evident in the life and ministry of our Lord. In John’s Gospel, the Father’s love for the Son is a recurring theme. In His priestly prayer, Jesus declares that the Father gave Him glory because He loved Him before the foundation of the world (Jn 17:24). Again, the Father loves the Son because He lays down His life (Jn 10:17).
In the same way, the Father’s love is extended to us when we respond, as Christ did, to His will. In so doing, we come to experience the power of the Spirit, who is the love of the Father and the Son dwelling within us. As we obey the Lord and live out His teaching, we come to a deeper knowledge of the truth He teaches.
In light of what we have reflected on, it is clear that the dynamic between seeing and believing is grounded in obedience. Those who have seen and heard God, like the Apostles, are called to bear witness to their faith through a life of obedience to the teaching of Christ. Those who have not yet come to faith are likewise invited to respond in obedience to what they receive through the testimony of the witnesses — the Apostles, the teaching of the Church, and the Holy Scriptures — so that they too may arrive at faith in Christ.
Accordingly, regardless of the path we take and according to the grace God has given us — it will lead to faith in Christ if we respond in obedience. We return again to Romans, where St Paul reflects on why some fail to believe. He admits, “But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?'” He continues, “Have they not heard? Indeed they have; for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.'” And again, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” (Rom 10:16, 18, 21).
In the final analysis, faith expressed in obedience is the proper response to the Word of God as it is preached and shared with us. The purpose of witnessing, preaching, and testifying to the Gospel is to bring about the obedience of faith. The refusal to believe, as seen in the case of the Sanhedrin, stems from pride and disobedience. But when we respond in obedience to the Word of God — whether heard or read — we come to faith and receive the gift of eternal life.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
