2d Week of Easter
May
2, 2019
Acts
5: 27-33Nativity, Washington, D.C.
“We are
witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those
who obey him” (Acts 5: 32).
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| St. Peter before the Sanhedrin (artist unknown) |
Being
witnesses and giving testimony is a theme in today’s readings. Jesus is the witness of God’s love for human
beings and of his fidelity to the covenants he made with Abraham and Moses (cf.
John 3:32). The apostles bear witness to
God’s new covenant with humanity made thru the death and resurrection of Jesus
and confirmed by the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples (Acts 5:30-31).
To be
witnesses and give testimony that Jesus is risen and lives both in heaven and
in our souls is our task now, as it was the task of Peter, John, and the
others. We too have been given the Holy
Spirit to assist us—at our Baptism, at our Confirmation, and ever on call when
we ask him to assist. Many Christians
pray daily, “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in
them the fire of your love.”
We too
are on trial, tho not in a law court.
We’re on trial before our families, friends, colleagues, fellow
parishioners, the people we work with.
If we’re joyful, if we’re truthful, if we speak kindly of and to others,
if we pray daily, if we confess our sins every month—we give witness to our
faith in Jesus, who has been raised to life, who lives in us, and in whom we
hope to live forever with God his Father (cf. John 3:36).
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