The Advocate Aflame

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week in Easter time

May 24, 2022: Acts 16:22-34; John 16: 5-11

Beaten, bruised and bound, they sang the praises of the Lord! Will not the glory of the Lord be revealed there? The act of Paul and Silas in the prison was such a powerful witness that the prison guards expected anything anytime. They were capable of it, because of the Spirit that filled them, fueled them and fired them. They were ordinary men, but rendered extraordinary by the Spirit of the Lord, the advocate from their Master.

Yes, the Spirit was the Advocate that Jesus promised to his disciples, who made the entire difference and the difference was enormous, it still remains unbelievable! We see this in the very first moment when the apostles come out to speak in public. The frightened band of messengers had been turned into fiercely blazing firebrands. How does the Spirit render someone powerful? It is through an internal dynamism that is marked by integrity and total availability. The apostles had become persons of integrity - that is, there was nothing but truth, honesty and purity with regard to their lives and their perspectives. Secondly, they had totally surrendered themselves into the hands of the Lord, that the Spirit of the Lord, used them powerfully. 

Because of these traits, Jesus says, when the Spirit comes, the Spirit shall convict the world. Every heart is given the possibility to know what is true, good and just; every human heart has a longing for someone beyond oneself; every person called by the waters of baptism realises at the core of one's being, the need to be a righteous witness. Sin, righteousness and judgement - they decide the quality of one's witnessing life. Our integrity and availability to the Lord will prove what quality we possess as people of God. It is in these qualities that the Spirit is manifested and these qualities come from the very Spirit!