THE EVERLASTING ENTERPRISE OF GOD

 

FRIDAY, Second Week of Eastertide

Reflection from friar Nicholas Okeke, OP

Acts 4:34-42; Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Jn 6:1-15

Theme: The everlasting Enterprise of God

The appearance of the Maiden and her Son in human flesh initiated the salvation of man promised at the fall of man and woman. They started a divine project or enterprise among men for human salvation. The project of saving man was completed in its principle or foundation when Jesus rose from the dead. All who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ are saved and incorporated into the divine project of salvation of man. Faith in the Risen Lord makes us a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit within and among us, directing and overseeing the divine project. Since it is purely a divine project, with the believers acting as instruments, we have stressed the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit as the foreman supervising the project to ensure divine specification. Because the apostles and disciples of the Risen Lord were listening and obeying the Holy Spirit, they remained undefeated and indestructible by the Jews and Jewish religious authorities. The strength of the Christian faith and the Church built on it is its heavenly origin. The Jewish lawyer Gamaliel understood this principle clearly. “What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.” The Jewish senate immediately understood the truth of his explanation and followed his counsel.

From the wise counsel of Gamaliel, we can further deduce that the safety of the Christian faith and the Church is in listening to God, proclaiming, and living according to the revealed truths. The replacement of divine truth with human innovations destroys the Church among us. The Church recedes from us when the faithful cease listening and living the truth of the Gospel message. Given that the Church, as a spiritual or heavenly reality, is indestructible in her foundation, she recedes to the spiritual realm when people cease listening and living the word of God. So much is contained in this explanation. To safeguard the visible Church or make her indestructible, we must pay attention to what the Spirit says to the Church and each of us individually. Like the apostles, we must never fear the external threat of those who will inflict physical pain or death. We should be wary of those who will make us not listen to the indwelling Holy Spirit. We must fear those persons and things that take our consciousness off the divine truth and presence. The thought of perpetuating his divine presence within the Church made our Lord initiate the miracle of the five loaves and two fish we read in the gospel. He worked the miracle with his thoughts on the institution of his Eucharistic presence. Because the people were concerned with material satisfaction that prompted their desire to make him king, he fled from them. “Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped to the hills by himself.” He escapes from us whenever our thoughts and desires are removed from the will of God.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to be attentive to your Spirit dwelling within us, and to follow his inspiration in all things for the fruitful realization of your will for the salvation of men. 

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