Monday of the Second Week of Easter
“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Acts 4:31b
What follows are the words of a pastor’s last sermon:
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter to me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And he has allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”
Of course the pastor quoted is Martin Luther King, Jr. This was his last “sermon” as he would be assassinated the next day. King was called to give himself to the poor, the oppressed, and people of color. This was his mission and it cost him everything. He wasn’t gripped with fear because, as he said, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!” In this he was, as Luke described the first disciples in Acts, “speaking the Word of God with boldness.”
How are we to be bold in our circumstances? Like MLK, those first disciples we meet in Acts put into action the words of scripture that they must “obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). In meditating on the scriptures, celebrating the sacraments and seeking the spiritual guidance of others we must do the same. The way of the believer in Jesus and the way of the world are naturally in conflict. A bold faith is demanded of us.
Next, the first disciples sought boldness in community. We need one another. We are not saved in a vacuum apart from one another. We are not commissioned by Christ as individuals alone. Thus we walk alongside one another on this journey of faith, bearing one another's burdens and sharing one another’s joy.
Most importantly, the early Jesus believers prayed boldly to put the Lord central in all things. As the Psalmist sings today, “Blessed are they who take refuge in the Lord.” Prayer does that.
Prayer isn’t just words we say. Our stance and way of being in the world, as counter to the values of the world, is in and of itself prayer. Thus, we “pray in all things” (1 Thes 5:16).
Those first believers expected that what happened to the Lord Jesus would happen to them. This is a constant theme in Acts. Boldness happens when Christians accept and understand that they are not experiencing anything that has not happened to the faithful who went before or to the Lord Jesus himself.
Finally, the disciples sought boldness in facing what is and not what should be nor ought to be. This requires acceptance that God meets us where we are in our present circumstances and even that God puts us in our current circumstance. And they asked for boldness to face good days and bad.
May a certain pastor’s last sermon inspire us to this end.
—Timothy J. Cronin
As I upload this reflection we have lost our dear Pope Francis. Those with hearts of good will and especially those who seek justice for those on the margins, those who are rejected, those who are scorned, have heavy hearts. Who will be the voice to the world that speaks truth to power now that we have lost him? Let us be full of gratitude that we had him and trust that the Lord will provide another who will “speak with boldness.”