Daily Retreat 04/27/06

2006 Apr 27 Thu: Easter Weekday

Acts 5: 27-33/ Ps 34: 2 and 9. 17-18. 19-20/ Jn 3: 31-36

From today’s readings: "We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.... Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the LORD delivers him.... Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him."

Obey God, rather than men!

By now, we are familiar with the pattern found throughout the Acts of the Apostles: time and time again, the disciples suffer persecution or other obstacles in spreading the faith, but nonetheless, they always find a way to proclaim the Gospel with zeal and boldness. Yesterday, sacred scripture recounted the miraculous release of the apostles from prison, which enabled them to overcome that formidable barrier, and as soon as they were free, they returned to public proclamation of the good news (Acts 5:20-21). Today, Holy Writ relates how the Apostles were again dragged before the Sanhedrin, and again stood their ground ("We must obey God rather than men!") in the face of the gag order imposed by the Jewish leaders (cf. 4:13-31, and reflection on April 17).

The Apostles insist that Jesus was exalted by God "as Leader and Savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins." Once again, that central focus of Christ’s ministry is stressed: His call to repentance and discipleship for the forgiveness of sins! This crucial aspect must never be lost or overshadowed by other dimensions of living out our faith, and since now the proclamation of the Gospel at this time has been entrusted to you and me, with our words, and more importantly, with our deeds, we must give faithful Christian witness in the face of whatever obstacle or persecution we account, for we too "must obey God rather than men!"