Acts 18:9-10: Do Not Be Silent
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
We are afraid to risk loss – loss of a friendship, loss of status, loss of youth, loss of vigor, loss of value in any way.
We are afraid to speak up and to speak out. We shrink from what my Dad used to call Stand up time. We do not want to be shunned. We want to be part of the whole. We want someone else to voice what we are thinking and fearing, believing that if we do not say the words we can disown the fear.
We do not like uncomfortable silence. We avoid pregnant pauses and knowing looks. We know that the dictator’s greatest weapon is fear engendered in others and yet we succumb to the tyrant’s whippings by hiding our words and thoughts. We unknowingly – or knowingly – hope to keep ourselves safe by using passive aggression but this always backfires on us and leaves us less than whole.
We want to either solve our own problems or totally give our worries away to let them bother someone else. Solutions stand before us but we humans seem bent on avoiding the Spirit’s help at all costs. And it need not be so.
Jesus tells us to shake away the dust of those who reject us; he tells us to move on in our mission and leave to him the task of converting hardened hearts. (Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5)
Matthew’s Gospel (10:18-20) records Jesus’ words to his disciples: On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Luke’s account is similar (12:11): When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.
Jesus himself relies on the Father for both words and nuance (John 12:49-50): For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.
It is clear that we are never alone and yet we childishly refuse the help offered by our creator, our redeemer and the gentle abider. We cling to wrong thinking because we do not want to make waves or cause turmoil . . . yet how much turmoil does wrong-headed thinking cause? All we need do is steady ourselves and rely on the creator of all things.
It is obvious that we are in constant company of the Spirit . . . yet we do not use the words we are given because we fear we are not up to the challenge. How much more difficult is the struggle when we fail to act as we are asked? All we need do is to quiet ourselves and listen.
It is evident that we are not alone . . . and yet we refuse to recognize the company of our brother and constant companion in life. How much anxiety is caused by our refusal to see who stands before us? All we need do is settle ourselves . . . and speak.
We are not alone. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: all three remain even though we reject their advice and deny their presence.
A re-post from May 21, 2012.
For an interesting story about the image above, click on the photo or go to:http://www.oocities.org/saibaba_risenchrist/eng.htm
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