Acts 16:1-10
Psalm 100
John 15:18-21
The Holy Spirit is always at work in the church and in us. In today’s first reading, we are given an insight of Paul’s mission being directed by the Holy Spirit of the risen Lord. They travelled in response to the promptings of the Spirit. At the end of the reading, the Spirit directs Paul through a vision: One night, while Paul was in Troas on the north west coast of modern Turkey, he had a vision. Someone from the Roman province of Macedonia (northern Greece today), appeared to him and appealed to him in these words, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’. Without questioning, Paul promptly responded to this invitation and it resulted in the gospel being preached on the continent of Europe for the first time. The Holy Spirit continues to guide and direct us and the church today. We are aware that we are in a time of great transition and persecutions in the church. Though this can be an unsettling and disturbing time, but it is also an exciting time for us to defend our faith, a time when the gospel can still be preached against all odds. We can be sure that the Holy Spirit will direct us in these trying days. The Spirit is always at work in the life of the church, and in our own personal lives, bringing new life out of death, opening up new opportunities when past opportunities seem to have run their course.
In the gospel reading, Jesus alerts us to the likelihood that his disciples, the church, will experience the same hostility and persecution as he did. As he says, ‘A servant is not greater than his master....’ We are all trying to be the Lord’s servants, and Jesus says plainly that if they persecute him, it is sure that they will persecute his servants. Yet, just as the Spirit was with Jesus in his moments of struggle, so the same Spirit is with his church, and all of us, in our moments of struggle, and we can trust the Spirit to bring us to where the Lord wants to take us. What the Lord needs from us is a willingness to be brought where the Spirit is leading us. This is something we all need to pray for especially at this time. It is no longer news to us as we have become very much aware in recent times of christians who suffer for their belief in Jesus Christ, especially in parts of the Middle East, and in the northern parts of our country, Nigeria. Many have been put to death because of their refusal to renounce their christian faith, churches have been burnt down. Jesus is speaking to his disciples on the night before his own execution, his crucifixion, warning them and all future disciples that if the world hates and persecutes him, it will hate and persecute them too. Here, the term ‘world’ represents those in the world who have said a capital ‘NO' to Jesus and his message. Though the persecution in this part of the world may not be compared to that of the time of Jesus and many of his first followers. Yet, we can experience more subtle forms of hostility, persecution and rejection, to the point where it is possible that we can be afraid to witness publicly to the values of Jesus and of the gospel. We can be very tempted to keep our heads down and to stay silent. We can be intimidated by the forces at work in the culture that appear to be so intolerant of any form of religious faith and of any institution that promotes it.
What often comes across in the story of those early Christians is their courage in the face of hostility. They seemed to rely not on themselves and their power but on the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Lord, whom they experienced within and among themselves. This same Holy Spirit is available to us all even today, like the early disciples, rather than relying on our own power, let us do so on the power of the spirit. We need the Spirit if our faith is to be as courageous as that of the first believers. We are all called by God in some way, and we should always try to discern this call in our lives. One thing we can be sure of is that insofar as we respond to the Lord’s call to us, the lives of others will be greatly blessed. As we step out this weekend, let us be sure of and get ready for some sort of persecutions that may arise in various ways as a result of our living our christian life, our defense of our faith. Let us also be sure of the fact that the Holy Spirit will not leave us alone, that he will always direct and strengthen us in the face of all the persecutions that await us. Be faithful. Be courageous.
PEACE BE WITH YOU
-PadreCharlesLwanga
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