OBEDIENCE TO GOD BEFORE OBEDIENCE TO MEN

St. Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr  

Reflection from friar Nicholas Okeke

Acts 5:27-33; Ps 34:2,9,17-20; Jn 3:31-36

Obedience to God before obedience to Men

The apostles understood one central truth when they received the Holy Spirit; that is, their life thenceforth is to do the will of God revealed to them through the teachings of Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit. On this basis, we have understood the Christian life to be the heavenly life lived on earth. The ritual of baptism pointed to this fact: a Christian is a new creature in Jesus Christ, for our old self died with Christ for the new self to rise in Christ and with him. Our new or heavenly life is that of the Risen Lord, for we live it through the Holy Spirit given to each of us at baptism. The reality of the life of heaven shines out the more we say yes to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is present to us today as it was in the time of the apostles. The apostles understood their lives as lived under obedience to God and their activities as inspired by the Spirit. Their reply to the Sanhedrin implies this. “In reply Peter and the apostles said, ‘Obedience to God comes before obedience to men; it was the God of our ancestors who raised up Jesus, but it was you who had him executed by hanging on a tree.’” We have no reason to doubt the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He ceases to dwell in us when we gravely disobey him in committing a mortal sin. Sin consists of this disobedience to his inspiration, for he inspires us to do the will of the Father as taught by Jesus Christ our Lord. The source of disobedience is a lack of faith in the word of Jesus Christ. “Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him.”

Every action, therefore, done in disobedience to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is sinful and attracts punishment. We must not think that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is a rare and esoteric experience. No, it occurs within the ordinary thoughts of a soul in a state of grace. The fact that the Christian life is heavenly implies that it is a sharing in the life of the Risen Lord. Hence, there is a continuity between the life of the Risen Lord and that of a soul in the state of grace. If we consider God to be an ocean, then the individual Christians are like small rivers and streams whose waters come from the ocean. John testified to this truth in the first reading. “He who comes from heaven bears witness to the things he has seen and heard, even if his testimony is not accepted; though all who do accept his testimony are attesting the truthfulness of God, since he whom God sent speaks God’s own words: God gives him the Spirit without reserve.” Every soul in the state of grace attests to the truthfulness of God by his words and actions. We are usually like babies when we convert to spiritual life. We struggle to understand the signs and language of the Spirit. Our perseverance will make us grow proficient in the heavenly or spiritual life. Such was St. Stanislaus, the bishop of Krakow; he was born in 1036. He ruled his church as a good shepherd and led his flock according to God’s will. He rebuked the king for his crimes and vices; he excommunicated him when he remained adamant, an action that made the king kill him in 1079 as he was celebrating Mass. His obedience to God led him through the path of martyrdom. He laid down his life for the love of Christ. We must learn to obey God in all things, for that is our heavenly life

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, that through the prayers of St. Stanislaus, we may listen each day to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and live in accordance to your divine will as he did.    

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