PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS WITH ALL BOLDNESS IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

20170423 PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS WITH ALL BOLDNESS IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

First reading

Acts 4:23-31 ©

As soon as Peter and John were released they went to the community and told them everything the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard it they lifted up their voice to God all together. ‘Master,’ they prayed ‘it is you who made heaven and earth and sea, and everything in them; you it is who said through the Holy Spirit and speaking through our ancestor David, your servant:

Why this arrogance among the nations,

these futile plots among the peoples?

Kings on earth setting out to war,

princes making an alliance,

against the Lord and against his Anointed.

‘This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 2:1-9 ©

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

or

Alleluia!

Why this tumult among nations,

  among peoples this useless murmuring?

They arise, the kings of the earth,

  princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.

‘Come, let us break their fetters,

  come, let us cast off their yoke.’

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

or

Alleluia!

He who sits in the heavens laughs;

  the Lord is laughing them to scorn.

Then he will speak in his anger,

  his rage will strike them with terror.

‘It is I who have set up my king

  on Zion, my holy mountain.’

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

or

Alleluia!

I will announce the decree of the Lord:

The Lord said to me: ‘You are my Son.

  It is I who have begotten you this day.

Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations,

  put the ends of the earth in your possession.

With a rod of iron you will break them,

  shatter them like a potter’s jar.’

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

Col3:1

Alleluia, alleluia!

Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,

you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,

sitting at God’s right hand.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 3:1-8 ©

There was one of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a leading Jew, who came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.’ Jesus answered:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

unless a man is born from above,

he cannot see the kingdom of God.’

Nicodemus said, ‘How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

unless a man is born through water and the Spirit,

he cannot enter the kingdom of God:

what is born of the flesh is flesh;

what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Do not be surprised when I say:

You must be born from above.

The wind blows wherever it pleases;

you hear its sound,

but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’

PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS WITH ALL BOLDNESS IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 4:23-31; JOHN 3:1-8 ]

When we read of the courage of Peter and John in proclaiming the gospel with such boldness, we wonder where they got such power of witnessing from.  After being arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, threatened and warned, then released, they continued undeterred to proclaim the Good News about Jesus Christ.  The greater the opposition from the authorities, the more they were emboldened to proclaim about Jesus, without fear of man or for their lives.  Most of us would succumb to opposition.  How many of us can withstand fierce criticisms of our Catholic beliefs, especially with regard to morality when the secular world attacks us?  We are afraid to be unpopular.  Few would risk their reputation in the world, tolerate being misunderstood and ridiculed.  Going to jail and losing our family is not something we are willing to sacrifice for Jesus and our faith.   But the apostles and the early Christians were ever ready.

What is the source of their strength and motivation if the not the power of the Holy Spirit?  Jesus in the gospel told Nicodemus that if we want to enter the Kingdom of God, we must be reborn again in the Holy Spirit.   He said, “I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”   This Kingdom of God, unlike what the Jews thought, is not so much an earthly territorial spatial kingdom.  It is the rule of God in our hearts.  Great things happen to anyone who allows the rule of God to happen in his or her life.  To enter the Kingdom is to live by and under the power of God’s rule.

That was what the apostles prayed in the early Church.  They saw themselves under the rule of God. “They lifted up their voice to God all together, ‘Master, it is you who made heaven and earth and sea, and everything in them.’”  First and foremost, they acknowledged that God is the supreme ruler and the creator. Everything is under His rule. God is therefore sovereign in all things.  Quoting from the psalm, they recognized the fulfillment of the prophecy of King David when he said, “Why this arrogance among the nations, these futile plots among the peoples? Kings on earth setting out to war, princes making an alliance, against the Lord and against his Anointed.”  Applying this opposition to Jesus, they said, “This is what has come true: in this very city Herod and Pontius Pilate made an alliance with the pagan nations and the peoples of Israel, against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, but only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen.”  So nothing is not within the radar of God.

No matter what happens, God is in charge. Again quoting from the psalm, the early Christians saw how God was supreme over all peoples and that nothing could derail the plan of God for humanity.  The psalmist said, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord is laughing them to scorn. Then he will speak in his anger, his rage will strike them with terror. ‘It is I who have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’”  True enough, this prophecy is fulfilled in Christ.  He was ridiculed, mocked, wrongly condemned as a criminal but the authorities on earth could not bind Him.  God raised Him from the dead and proved His enemies wrong.

How, then, can we enter into the heart of God if not through His Holy Spirit?  This was what the Lord told Nicodemus.  Jesus said, “Unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God: what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  So it is through baptism that we are reborn in the Holy Spirit.  Baptism has always been the ordinary means when God would fill His people with His Holy Spirit.  He comes to dwell in us in the Holy Spirit and recreates us as His children and makes us into a new creation.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God.  He is the force of God.  Jesus said, “The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.”  With the Holy Spirit, God works beyond human calculation and our limitations.  The Holy Spirit can empower us, enlighten us, and give us the gift of speech and eloquence as He did to the uneducated apostles when they could argue and defend their position confidently and convincingly before the educated scholars of religion.  Instead of putting faith in themselves, they put their faith in God.  This is what the responsorial psalm says, “Blessed are they who put their trust in God.”

The Holy Spirit also leads us to Jesus.  In their prayer to God, they said, “Lord, take note of their threats and help your servants to proclaim your message with all boldness, by stretching out your hand to heal and to work miracles and marvels through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  The disciples were fully aware that whatever they did or said, it was never from their own strength or their capacity.  They were exercising the ministry in the name of Jesus.  The miracles and healings they worked were never attributed to themselves but always in the name of the Lord.  The Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Jesus, continued to work in their ministry.  That they could perform the same miracles that Jesus did, proved beyond doubt that He had risen and that He lived and reigned in the hearts of His disciples.  As Nicodemus said, “’Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.”

So we need to be connected with the Holy Spirit if we are to do what the apostles did.  We need to be born again in the Holy Spirit.  Like Nicodemus, many of us are weak and timid in our faith.  We read that he came in the dark to meet Jesus so that he would not be seen by others, especially his fellow rabbis for fear of losing his position and credibility.  His faith in Jesus was not perfect but he was a sincere seeker of truth.  He did not believe in making judgment without first clarifying and coming into personal contact with the Lord.  He believed that judgment must be fair and just.  Indeed, he came into the defence of Jesus when the chief priests and Pharisees sought to have Jesus arrested.  He said, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” (Jn 7:51)

What is admirable about Nicodemus is his humility to learn from others even though he himself was a very learned rabbi.  He knew the scriptures well.  But unlike his fellow colleagues, he was not afraid of Jesus’ popularity undermining his position and status in the eyes of the people.   He came to the Lord to learn.  He did not allow his prejudice or study to be docile to people who thought differently.  He was not defensive of his ideas or beliefs.  If only we can be more like Nicodemus, we too would be able to experience the power of the Holy Spirit.  Pride and skepticism are always the obstacles to encounter the dynamism of the Holy Spirit.  In my ministry, whenever I pray for the release of the Holy Spirit, I always encounter resistance from people.  Many lack the faith that the Holy Spirit as experienced by the early Church is still the reality in our lives.  So they are cynical about the Holy Spirit and the gifts that come with the bestowal of the Spirit.  Some make fun of those who pray in tongues or receive healing miracles.  But for those who open themselves up in faith, in surrender and in humility, they truly experience the release of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  No longer do they doubt the power of the Holy Spirit and the reality of the Risen Lord.

If you feel powerless in witnessing to the Lord or are timid in sharing Jesus with others, it is clear that you are not conscious of the Holy Spirit at work in you.  You are using your own strength and human reasoning.  This is where we need to pray for an awakening of the Holy Spirit.  Get someone to pray over you in faith so that you can feel once again the Holy Spirit in your heart as you experience joy, love, peace and courage.  Most of all, you feel that you are confident and able to do your work and ministry well.   We must learn from the apostles.  “As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly.”

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved