Do we sometimes feel like we are guided
by a higher authority that contradicts that law of the land? That is what the apostles were following – a
higher authority that dictated their consciences and influenced their
actions. The Sanhedrin may have issued
an edict that they refrain from preaching the Good News of Jesus, by Peter and
the other apostles declare that they must obey God and not man. We Catholics in modern America live in a land
where capital punishment is practiced and condoned by our secular society,
where abortion is a common practice and a way to get rid of an unwanted or
inconvenient pregnancy. Even the
government is now telling us what we have to pay for in our insurance plans,
even when those items are violate the laws of God that we are trying to
follow. And from what we see in the Acts
of the Apostles today, this is not anything new, is it? By refusing to obey the
Roman authorities and by refusing to keep quiet, Peter and the others are
putting their lives in danger. Remember,
they had just seen their Lord crucified.
But, this does not matter to
them. God is calling them to do the
right thing. They knew that God had raised
up Jesus, but that human beings had killed him.
Standing up for what is right is
sometimes very challenging and very difficult, and sometimes very
dangerous. Yet, we are called to stand
up for the Gospel, to not deny our faith.
We thought we were safe living here in modern America where we take the
freedom to practice our faith for granted.
But perhaps we cannot take that for granted any longer.
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