RBWords

     Confrontation and conflict were the lot of the early church up to the 4th century when the conversion of Constantine brought an end to persecution by the Roman empire.  Of course, there have been and still are others who act violently toward Christianity.  The Cold War/Iron Curtain era of the 20th century was a classic example. In the case of Peter and the Apostles, and the community in the Gospel of John, the confrontation and conflict were not with the Roman authorities so much as with their Jewish brothers and sisters who objected to their preaching about Jesus.  Indeed, St. Paul was among those who gladly joined in official persecution of Christians on behalf of the religious authorities.  In the Gospel of John, confrontation is a constant theme.  The dialogue with Nicodemus, which has been featured in the gospel selection for the past several days, shows this.  Yet, the community persisted in the face of all the opposition.  What can account for this?

     It seems clear to me that the confidence shown in the preaching in the New Testament (and that is truly what the New Testament is:  a long preaching) comes from a belief that God's Spirit was active in their faith and that they were speaking "the words of God."  In today's first scripture from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter AND the Apostles all say: "We must obey God rather than men....We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those that obey him."  

     In our own culture when religious belief is being more and more relegated to the level of private opinion, the presence of the "Holy Spirit working in our hearts through faith in Christ," [St. Thomas Aquinas], seems to have become an absence in the way we express faith.  Public witness to faith is seen as "imposing one's beliefs on another."  From what I'm hearing, people have no qualms about imposing political beliefs, but suddenly get queasy if there is any religious content!  The excitement and power of the early preaching by the Apostles takes on a museum quality.  This is a terrible loss to Christianity.  We do not want to repeat the violent conduct that history shows in religious matters.  Christians have been persecutors as well.  But we need not go to the opposite extreme and say nothing at all!   AMEN