God Is In Charge

These past few Easter Sundays, we have been hearing from the Book of Acts of the Apostles. Last week, we saw the disciples rejoice in suffering for their faith. This week, we see that they now turn away from their persecutors and begin to preach not to the Jews but to the Gentiles.

Even though they are expelled from the city, they are still filled with joy. Rejected by their own people, they are happy that the pagans listen to them and spread the word of the Lord. Interestingly, the disciples’ joy stems from their failure to convert the Jewish leaders in Antioch. If those Jews had become believers and had not rejected Paul and Barnabas, the disciples would probably never have thought of preaching to non-Jews about Jesus. God always works in very mysterious ways, even if we cannot immediately understand them.

If we reflect carefully, we can see that the failure to convert their own people allowed the disciples to see how God’s power was working for them. They realized that it is God who is in charge of evangelization and they are simply God’s instruments. This is why their joy was so great. They not only congratulated themselves on how well they were preaching, but they also saw how God was doing the real work. And this took the pressure off of them when evangelizing.

The disciples could now stop worrying about every word of their preaching. They no longer had to wonder if they seemed holy enough to impress people. They no longer had to be afraid that someone might mock them or start checking their backgrounds. For example, Paul no longer had to worry if people would murmur that he was Saul, the one who used to persecute Jesus’ followers. To the disciples, none of that mattered now, because they knew that the Spirit was leading them, as our second reading says, “to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The disciples knew they were in God’s hands, as we heard in this weekend’s Gospel.

So the question that arises is, can we be like those disciples? Instead of getting angry about frustrations, can we see them as an opportunity to experience God’s grace? Do we let our failures get us down, or do we let God carry us through them, teaching us to trust in the Lord? When people reject us, do we give up or trust that God will help us? Are we ashamed of our past sins or grateful for God’s forgiveness?

Of course, the disciples didn’t go around looking for ways to suffer. But they did look for ways to share the great news that Jesus had risen from the dead. Let the Holy Spirit show us how we can and should spread that same news today.

May the Lord always grant you his peace!

Fr. Lalo Jara, OFM Pastor,
Mission San Luis Rey Parish