This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
The Sanhedrin, the religious leaders of Israel in Jesus’ time, appear formidable and daunting in the Gospel. We know that the path of Jesus’ public life ultimately leads Him to Calvary, and the Pharisees are ever present, looming, as they draw nearer and nearer to their goal of putting Him to death.
This is daunting for good reason. It involves the death of God Himself, God made man.
Why is it, then, that that very same Sanhedrin seems so puny and silly when we read about it in the book of Acts? Why do they seem so harmless, when we consider that ultimately, the apostles whom they are threatening will in fact suffer the death of martyrs?
The truth is, once we see them in Acts, they have done their worst; they have crucified God in the bloodiest manner, and God has turned their worst into glorious victory through the Resurrection. The apostles are addressing them, filled with the Holy Spirit, against the backdrop of proven victory. Yes, leaders, you killed this Jesus, but through the death He suffered at your hands, and through His Resurrection, He has reopened the door to eternal life.
Do with us what you will; if God is with us, who can be against us (as St. Paul will later write–cf. Rm. 8:11)?
Our own life is the very same; it is no different from that of the apostles. The world has thrown everything it has against Christ and the saints; they have invariably turned it into victory for those souls willing to take His path. This is the backdrop of victory against which we live our lives.
The great work of our lives is simply to awaken: To awaken to the gift we have in our hands, to awaken each day more, and to shed each day more the beleaguering burden of slavery to a legacy of sin which no longer holds any right over us. If God is with us, who can be against us?
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: In today’s gospel, Jesus assures us that God “does not ration His gift of the Spirit.” Be bold in your request to Jesus. Ask Him for the gift of His Spirit in an unfair allotment, until you are as full of the Holy Spirit as the apostles just after Pentecost. Ask Him to send you His Holy Spirit to crowd out any lingering sense of your subordination to the tyranny of sin.
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