20261017 WITNESSING TO CHRIST IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
17 October 2026, Saturday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ephesians 1:15-23 |
Paul’s prayer for the enlightenment of the faithful
I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 8:2-7 |
You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Your majesty is praised above the heavens;
on the lips of children and of babes
you have found praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.
You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.
When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind,
mortal man that you care for him?
You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.
Yet you have made him little less than a god;
with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand,
put all things under his feet.
You gave your Son power over the works of your hand.
Gospel Acclamation | 1S3:9,Jn6:68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening:
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:8-12 |
If you declare yourselves for me, I will declare myself for you
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.
‘Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
‘When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.’
WITNESSING TO CHRIST IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EPHESIANS 1:15-23; LUKE 12:8-12]
Even in this modern world, witnessing to Christ is never easy. All through the centuries, Christians have been persecuted physically, emotionally, and psychologically. In some places, such witnessing requires the ultimate price of one’s life. But in a world dominated by social and digital media, cancel culture makes it difficult for us to speak up for Christ because we face criticism and merciless ridicule with words designed to destroy our confidence. Truly, peer pressure exists in every culture and community today, and the pressure to conform is overwhelming. For many of us–especially when we are weak in our faith or alone–we feel forced to conform to the mentality, values, and popular trends of the day. We see this in our schools, among our friends, and in our workplaces.
What we face today, of course, is not fully comparable to what the first disciples of Jesus endured. The persecution in those days consisted not simply of verbal threats; they were beaten, flogged, stripped, and stoned. Beyond these cruel physical and psychological punishments came severe economic pressure, as they were socially ostracized and sometimes even disowned by their families. Converting to Christianity cost them not only their safety, but often their loved ones and communities.
All of this was anticipated by our Lord. This is why Chapter 12 of Luke’s Gospel provides Jesus’ warning about the danger of conforming due to the opposition of crowds and officials. Earlier on, Jesus warned His disciples against hypocrisy and the desire to be popular. This remains a real danger for us today; we must not be deceived by cheap popularity or seek merely to please the crowd. When we chase popularity, we inevitably compromise the hard truth. This is why the Lord said, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.” (Lk 12:1-2) When we desire to impress people, we end up living a double life–pretending to be good while living a life of sin and falsehood.
Given this temptation to compromise the truth of the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that we should fear God rather than man: “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Lk 12:4-5) Indeed, the world can at most kill our physical body, but it cannot destroy our soul. Ultimately, life on this earth is brief, whereas the life to come is eternal. Hence, we should not fear rejection or even martyrdom. Clearly, to be a Christian means standing up for Jesus even at the cost of our comfort, convenience, and popularity. When we profess faith in Jesus, we must be prepared for opposition.
Yet we can be certain that Jesus will never abandon us. As the Lord assures us, we are worth far more than sparrows–which are sold for a few pennies and yet remain under God’s watchful care. If God cares for them, how much more can we rely on Him to look after us? “Even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Lk 12:7) God knows us better than we know ourselves.
Furthermore, God empowers us through the Holy Spirit given to us: “When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.” (Lk 12:11-12) This is the Lord’s assurance when we face trials in life. In John’s Gospel, Jesus adds: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (Jn 16:12-13) Therefore, if we wish to allow the Spirit to speak in and through us, we must remain receptive to Him and avoid placing obstacles in His path.
This explains why Jesus warned us against rejecting the Holy Spirit: “Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Lk 12:10) What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit if not an obstinate rejection of Jesus–including the rejection of the apostles’ preaching about Christ and the teaching authority of His Church? To fear God means accepting Jesus as the personal embodiment of His presence in our midst. To reject Jesus is to reject the Holy Spirit, who constantly testifies to us about Him.
For this reason, we need to grow in our faith and strengthen one another in faith, hope, and love. This is precisely what St. Paul did with the early Christian communities: “I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you.” (cf. Eph 1:15-16) He sought to encourage them in their spiritual journey, expressing gratitude for the faith of the Christians in Ephesus–a faith in God that was tangibly expressed through Christian love.
St. Paul did not merely preach, teach, and write; he also prayed. In today’s reading, St. Paul breaks into prayer while writing to the Ephesians about God’s plan for humanity, asking God to help the Christians remain focused on their spiritual life: “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him.” (Eph 1:17)
Growing in faith and understanding the wisdom of God’s plan for us in Christ is essential, especially when we must endure daily trials. As Christians, we must be certain of “what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit.” (Eph 1:18) Unless we are convinced of this hope–both for this life and the next–we will not be able to persevere. Hence, his prayer for them was: “May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see.” (Eph 1:18) Prayer is only effective when it is founded in Christ as God’s divine plan.
What then is Christian hope? It is our experience of being sons and daughters of God, liberated from slavery to sin and the worldly mindset. This freedom and capacity to love like God is what sets us apart from the world. Being filled with God’s love gives us joy in this life and prepares us for the next. Above all, we know that after death, we will share in the joy of the saints in God’s presence. Clarity regarding our calling gives us the impetus to live fully here and now. Even when we encounter suffering, as St. Paul reminds us: “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” (Rom 8:18) Furthermore, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.” (Rom 8:28-29)
This hope is ours only when we recognise “how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers.” (Eph 1:19) In other words, we can already see God’s grace at work in our lives, in the history of the Church, in the sacrifices and martyrdom of our forefathers, in the enduring legacy of missionaries and Christians before us. Miracles still occur around us every day; God’s love is actively manifested here and now.
This is possible only because we believe in the Risen Lord and in His Body, the Church. The Resurrection is the supreme proof that Jesus is Lord: “This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.” (Eph 1:20-23) Christ, who fills His Church with His risen presence, makes us living members of His Body. As the Responsorial Psalm says, “You gave your Son power over the works of your hands.” Therefore, we must declare our faith in Jesus openly, for He reminds us: “I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of God’s angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.” (Lk 12:8-9)
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.
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