Today's first Bible reading comes from the fifth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. In the reading, the apostles are in front of the Sanhedrin who wanted to put them all to death. One of the Sanhedrin stood up and urged caution to the rest of the Sanhedrin so instead being killed, the apostles were merely flogged and ordered to stop preaching about Jesus.
The apostles were dismissed and it says that the apostles left, "rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name." Then they went back out and continued preaching about Jesus.
These men were flogged and told to stop preaching but their love for God was so great they continued to do what got them flogged. They didn't just keep preaching---they rejoiced for being worthy enough to suffer for Jesus.
Yet, we are afraid to proclaim Jesus in our society aren't we? We are afraid of people thinking we are odd. Afraid of being questioned. Afraid of being considered hateful if we profess God's word. Heck, the Obama administration [Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano] has come out and said that people who are pro-life are potential domestic terrorists (along with armed forces veterans).
It's not easy being a Christian in today's world but we must raise up to the challenge and to live our life as Jesus teaches us. We should model ourselves after the apostles and not be afraid to proclaim Jesus' word even after being persecuted. Sometimes, though, the best evangelization is just living a virtuous life. We must be like a stained glass window and allow Christ's light to shine through us so that people are attracted to Him.
The apostles were dismissed and it says that the apostles left, "rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name." Then they went back out and continued preaching about Jesus.
These men were flogged and told to stop preaching but their love for God was so great they continued to do what got them flogged. They didn't just keep preaching---they rejoiced for being worthy enough to suffer for Jesus.
Yet, we are afraid to proclaim Jesus in our society aren't we? We are afraid of people thinking we are odd. Afraid of being questioned. Afraid of being considered hateful if we profess God's word. Heck, the Obama administration [Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano] has come out and said that people who are pro-life are potential domestic terrorists (along with armed forces veterans).
It's not easy being a Christian in today's world but we must raise up to the challenge and to live our life as Jesus teaches us. We should model ourselves after the apostles and not be afraid to proclaim Jesus' word even after being persecuted. Sometimes, though, the best evangelization is just living a virtuous life. We must be like a stained glass window and allow Christ's light to shine through us so that people are attracted to Him.
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I really love reading from the Acts of the Apostles throughout the Easter Season. It's amazing to compare the apostles weak-kneed responses to Jesus in the Gospels to being ON FIRE and willing to undergo persecution and ultimately martyrdom for Jesus after the Resurrection.
ReplyDeleteGreat post RC Coop!