Acts 16:11-15 / Jn 15:26-16:4
“The hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.”
Jesus spoke these words to His disciples during His last discourse before His own death. His own disciples very quickly learned that they too were subject to death, not unlike what Jesus had to face. In our supposedly modern society, I would not be surprised to find ourselves facing similar problems in the years to come.
It is considered a simple fact that there were more martyrs during the twentieth century than all the previous nineteen centuries combined. We may not like to hear this, but I think it is a reality that we may face — if not in an actual martyrdom — is a dismissal of ourselves as being of any importance to our society.
Or am I speaking about something that has already happened?
When we look at the things that are going on in our society and the way in which our Christian faith is being dismissed as somehow irrelevant, what other conclusion can be drawn?
But just as Jesus’ disciples did not sit in a corner doing nothing, neither can we allow ourselves to be pushed aside by those in our society today who would say that we should keep our faith only in our churches or in our homes.
On Pentecost the disciples took their faith to the streets. They relied on the Holy Spirit to give them the words needed to turn many people’s hearts back to God. Since we’re coming so close now to the feast of Pentecost for this year, maybe it is time for us to pray for the same kind of thing to open up again for us.
Let the heavens open. Let the new fire fall. Let the people of God awaken. Let them — let us — not worry about what may come, but be more concerned about making Christ’s presence real in our world.
May the fire of the Holy Spirit rekindle in us a new evangelization, and may we not be afraid to be His voice today.