20210412 PROCLAIMING THE WORD OF GOD WITH BOLDNESS
12 April, 2021, Monday, 2nd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 4:23-31 © |
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly
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 © |
Unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God
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.’
PROCLAIMING THE WORD OF GOD WITH BOLDNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 4:23-31; JOHN 3:1-8]
Professing ourselves as Christians today takes courage. Proclaiming the gospel with boldness is to invite persecution, ostracization, ridicule and opposition. So we can understand Nicodemus, a Pharisee and “a leading Jew, who came to Jesus by night.” Many of us, especially if we are holding high positions in public life, whether in government, politics, big corporations and especially in the entertainment world, would fight shy of announcing that we are believers of Christ. This is because people will either measure us according to whether we live up to our faith on one hand, and on the other hand, use our faith to discredit us. So the most diplomatic course of action is for us to avoid revealing our faith affiliation, and least of all even to mention God or Christ in our conversations or public speeches. In other words, the majority of faith believers in the world today have succumbed to the ten or twenty percent of secularists.
Indeed, Nicodemus was caught in a bind. On the one hand, as he confessed, “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.” On the other hand, he was afraid to acknowledge Jesus publicly because it would cause consternation, rejection, ridicule and disciplinary action from his peers in the Sanhedrin; and most of all, to lose his status and respect in the community. We too are afraid to lose our position in society. We compromise our values and our faith as well so that we can be accepted by society and be considered “normal.” We are more than willing to please society and the world. Instead of standing up for the gospel and for the truth, we bend the gospel to suit the world so that we will not lose our standing in society.
Yet, deep in our hearts, we know where the truth lies. Like Nicodemus, we are hungry for more. We want to live an authentic life. We know that only God can fulfill our hunger for meaning in this world. Like Nicodemus, we also ask, “How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Yes, we want to grow to be a child of God more than just a grown man. We want to be in the Kingdom of God. That is why those who compromise their faith, suppress the truth of the gospel that they have received will never find peace, much as they pretend to have, after rationalizing their faith.
The secret to living the fullness of life is what the Lord said to Nicodemus. “I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” How can one be born from above? 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.” In other words, we must be filled with the Spirit of God to know God, for it is the Spirit that leads us to recognize Jesus as the Son of God and through Jesus, we come to know the Father. Baptism is the gateway to the reception of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is the fulfilment of the prophet Ezekiel when he said, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.” (Ezk 36:25-27)
How, then, do we know that we have received the Holy Spirit? By the effects of the Spirit at work in our lives! Jesus said, “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.” From the transformation in our lives, we know that the Spirit is at work in us. We see this clearly in the lives of Peter and John and the early Christians. Peter and John were arrested by the authorities and then threatened and intimidated not to preach in the name of Jesus before they were released. In spite of the fact that they were uneducated laymen, they testified courageously before the powerful Sanhedrin without fear or compromise. All this was possible only because they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that gave them the power to witness in truth and in love, with utter conviction and wisdom.
Indeed, through the Holy Spirit, they came to know the power of God. They knew that God was greater than all earthly powers. “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.'” Truly, they knew that God was in charge. No worldly and earthly powers can overcome or derail the plan of God. Citing from the psalm, the apostles prayed, “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.” (cf Ps 2:1-9) Whilst Herod and Pilate did not deliberately put Jesus to death, as political powers, they colluded with the Jews just to secure their status quo and their political safety. “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.”
However, no matter how evil and corrupt men act, God’s plan in Christ would be fulfilled. Indeed, God would have the last laugh when they put His Son to death, for by His death, it makes possible the resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit. “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.'” Truly, the evil deeds of men serve “only to bring about the very thing that you in your strength and your wisdom had predetermined should happen.”
And their faith was emboldened and rewarded by God acting in their lives, performing healing and miracles. In the gospel the Lord told His disciples, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Jn 14:12f) And this gave them the confidence to pray, “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.” Indeed, they prayed for greater boldness to proclaim the gospel and to have their message authenticated through miracles and healings so that the world will know that it is the Lord who saves and heals us. They were certain that God would be on their side and evil and falsehood would be defeated by goodness and truth.
So if we want to be renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit, especially for those of us who have been baptized long ago and have neglected our relationship with the Holy Spirit, then we must once again pray fervently for a renewal of the Spirit in our lives. We must ask for a greater personal experience of the Holy Spirit seen in the gifts that we have received from Him. Without a new release of the Holy Spirit, our faith would become stale. The Church would just remain as a dead institution, authority becomes legalism, sacraments merely a symbol but lacking in power to transform, bread and wine in the Eucharist remain unchanged. So, like the early Church, we must pray fervently for a new release of the Holy Spirit for we are told, “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.” Only the Holy Spirit can make us bold witnesses to the gospel, for as the Lord said, “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Mt 10:20)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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