WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER
- Br. Luis Zé Bento, OFM, Cap
- Apr 27, 2022
- 3 min read
27TH APRIL 2022
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue with the Easter season, we are reminded once more of the Risen Lord, whose coming into this world revealed God's most amazing love for us, and Whose death and resurrection had broken the chains of sin and death that had once enslaved and held us captives. And as Christians, we will certainly experience obstacles, hardships, and oppression as a result of our trust in the Lord. We may have to go through the same trials and tribulations that the disciples and Apostles went through because of their faith in Christ.
The Jewish High Council, was angry with the actions of the Apostles and the many other disciples of the Lord who had continued to carry on His works, proclaiming His truth and love among the people, many of whom were convinced and witnessed the miracles they had performed, according to our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. The same Jewish High Council was afraid of the Apostles and the Lord's continuing influence, which, despite their success in having the Lord Jesus condemned to death, by the Romans, on the Cross, had only energized the Lord's followers.
Hence, we hear of how the Jewish High Council attempted to crush the early Church as much as possible by arresting the Apostles and the other disciples. However, the Lord was with His servants and His beloved ones, and He protected them, sending them His Angels to rescue them from their prison, breaking free their chains.
In today’s Gospel narrative, we hear of Jesus' remarks to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who was sympathetic to Him and His teachings. Nicodemus had come late at night to ask the Lord questions and discuss matters with Him, and the Lord revealed to him many things about Himself, including the truth that He is the only begotten Son of God, and that, this same only begotten Son of God, has been sent to us to be with us and to show us God's amazing love. The Lord loved His people so much that He was ready to put up with the most difficult problems and hardships, to bring us back into the Light.
He has presented to us the path of righteousness, the path of light that all of us; the children of God, should follow faithfully. Unfortunately, more often, many of us Christians, have not walked on the right path, and many of us do not act and do things according to what our faith commands.
That is why many of us are still hypocrites in our way of living our faith. Many of us are warm and not serious at all about living our lives by God’s will. Too often, we are more concerned with our worldly pursuits and desires than listening to God and His words of truth. In the way we live our lives, many of us even bring scandal to our faith, making people find it difficult to believe in God because it is we Christians who live our lives in ways worse than what other non-Christians are doing. Then, how can we be an inspiration for them to follow? How can we evangelize to them if we have not sorted out our own actions and way of life?
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