Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 2, 2019 - 2nd Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 5:27-33 and John 3:31-36]"We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." [Acts] "For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit." [John]
MAY 2 ST. ATHANASIUS, (bishop and doctor of the church)
One of the primary motivating forces in the preaching of the apostles and first missionaries of the faith was their immediate experience of the Holy Spirit that made them witnesses, even at the risk of their lives. We see this conviction in both the scriptures for today's Eucharistic liturgy.
In the first scripture, from the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit is invoked as a witness. The Acts of the Apostles is really the second volume of the evangelist Luke's gospel. Throughout that gospel there is reference to the Holy Spirit, which becomes more prevalent after the Pentecost event.
The gospel scripture for today continues the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. Scripture scholars debate where the actual words of Jesus begin and end and where the gospel author is reflecting on the encounter, but the witness is the same. The one whom God has sent gives the Spirit to those who believe in him. The gospel scripture for this past Sunday showed Jesus breathing on the disciples and giving the Holy Spirit to them.
That very same Spirit is given to us in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. Certainly our social, political, cultural and economic circumstances are quite different than in the early years of Christian preaching and later. However, we are still called to bear witness to our faith with the confidence that the Holy Spirit will enable us to speak the truth and bear witness to it in our daily lives, even at the risk of disapproval by those whose faith is weak or non-existent. The gift of the Spirit is not "rationed." AMEN