Standing Apart with Jesus

Reflection for Monday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 6:8-15; Jn 6:22-29)  

  

Stephen was silent, but the voice of his accusers roared. They had many accusations to sell their jealousy. Stephen was full of grace, wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, he was operating at a level his accusers could not access. So their jealousy increased. The same kind of malicious intent with which they crucified Jesus was applied to Stephen. Thus, they influenced public opinion against Stephen, and accused him of blasphemy. Often times, those who are eloquent, who have power or access to public media can easily influence public opinion. And every now and then, our faith is place on the judgment seat of what is trending...If we are not inspired by faith but by popular opinion, we may end up fronting the grace, wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit.

Stephen remained silent before the council as accusations against him continued to fly. “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place...” But the silence of Stephen spoke to the council. They were drawn to a contemplative gaze at him. “All in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Without words, his innocence shined out.

But the crowd will often want to have their way! Public opinion can set you up or blackmail you into succumbing their idea.  So after eating to their fill, the crowds made great efforts to find Jesus. They travelled from Tiberias to Capernaum looking for Him to befriend Him to their side. The popular opinion about the Messiah was the one that would perform such miracles as feeding them with bread and fish. But Jesus will not fall for popular opinion, which germinates from selfishness. He insists we must be motivated by whatever will lead to eternal life. “Do not labour for the food which perishes but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you.”  And the work we must do to earn this eternal nourishment is faith in Jesus Christ. “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

Taking responsibility in faith sets one apart from the crowd and positions him for a personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus. This is the testimony of Stephen. The grace, wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, gifts and promises of the risen Saviour, awaits all who will step out of the crowd and embrace Him in faith. What is the prevailing opinion in the media today? What is the trending social life style you see around? What is the popular idea about religion and worship? Etc. Most of these are laced with hidden agenda which are not in line with our faith in Christ Jesus. If we stand like Stephen on the foundation of the Holy Spirit, even the sound of our silence will overcome the noise of every problem we face.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Monday April 27^th, 2020.