Evangelista

Acts 4:19-20 - Peter and John answered, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight  for us to obey you rather than God. Surely we cannot help speaking of what we have heard and seen."

Thoughts:  Today I read in the gospel of John about Peter and John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) going to the tomb to see what Mary had told them about the tomb being empty. These two had walked with Jesus on a daily basis, literally. They had seen the many miracles performed by Him, literally. 

Oh to have had that type of closeness to the Lord. This closeness they had is what drove them to proclaim what they had heard boldly and against opposition. But what was the purpose behind them sharing with others? I believe it was the command from Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations. It was the desire of the God made man to have all come to the Father through Him. 

While we will probably never walk with Jesus in physical form like the apostles did, we do have the opportunity to be with Him physically in the Eucharist. What a fabulous gift he left us at the last supper. We hear His words recounted to us through the Bible. We receive revelation and consolation through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit promised us by Jesus at Pentecost. 

It is through the gift of the Holy Spirit that I have been strengthened by the Lord. Armed with this gift I am called and feel privileged to share the same gospel message shared by the apostles long ago. Along with recounting all of the marvelous deeds done by Christ so long ago, I must also share what the Lord has done for me. For the gospel is not just something that happened thousands of years ago. It is the living gospel of life for Christ was risen from the dead. If Jesus had died of the cross and not risen then the gospel might have ceased at that moment. But this is not the case.

Our Lord rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and sent his Holy Spirit down to us to be our guide forever. It is because of this that the gospel lives on today through our daily lives. We only need to stop and look at our lives to see Jesus at work in and around us. So, let's go out there and share the gospel message from two thousand years ago and even more importantly to share the living gospel from today.  

Surely we cannot help speaking of what we have heard and seen.