WORD 2day - Thursday, 2nd week after Easter
April 20, 2023: Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36
One of the clear signs of Easter people growing to be the People of the Spirit, is the quality of Obedience. The Spirit moulds, the Spirit forms and the Spirit prepares us to yield to the will of the Lord. A lesson on this virtue of Obedience can be understood in three phrases:
1. Obedience makes Jesus the beloved Son of God. As St Paul would say, it is because of his obedience that the Father raised him as the highest and gave him a name above every name. The Spirit that filled Jesus, made him call out, "Abba Father" and grow to be a worthy child of that Father!
2. Obedience made the apostles mighty. By nature the apostles were not bold. But when they began to obey God they became uncontrollable. Today we hear them say, Obedience to God is much more important than anything obedience to the forces of the world. They were so Spirit-filled that they dared say that.
3. Obedience makes us free. When we obey we need not worry. Obeying reduces the burden off our shoulder. Because God cares instead of we being worried about something. In obeying we allow the Spirit within us to work. We would never be in want, as the Gospel says, the Father would give us the Spirit without reserve... and the Spirit moulds... making us obedient and yielding children of God.