Years back in my home country, a popular local diocesan priest disagreed with his local bishop and decided to found his own Church. His decision garnered immense news coverage in the country because the Catholic Church in the country is known for being highly organized and one tight knit entity. A whole news cycle developed around this priest and his new Church.
I wrote an opinion piece for our national news paper that argued how flawed the foundation of the new entity was, and how the Catholic Church by giving constant media attention to the new religious outfit was giving mileage to the concerned priest and his new Church. I borrowed the words and the wisdom of Gamaliel in our first reading today, “If it is of human origin, it will destroy itself but if it comes from God it will stay.” Unfortunately, history proved it was of human origin, and everything disintegrated.
Today in our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear that after the resurrection of Jesus and the rise of the “Jesus Movement,” the existing religious order was disrupted both in doctrine and in religious practice. The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders got concerned about the new Jesus religious movement. The religious leaders of the time cracked down on the new movement through arrests and imprisonments. In our first reading today, Gamaliel, one of the leaders, called for better discernment of the situation. He argued “if it is of human origin, it will destroy itself, but if it is from God it will stay.” Even with such persecution, the early disciples did not “stop speaking in the name of Jesus.”
From this reading we have two lessons for our benefit: The first is that history is the best judge of any spiritual initiative. If it is from God, nothing will ever stop it from flourishing throughout time. Not even persecution will ever destroy it! If it is of human origin, it will die out. The mere existence of the Catholic Church for more than two thousand years with all its internal imperfections bears witness to the divine origins of our Catholic Church. Great empires, emperors, and other leaders have come and gone like morning dew, yet the Church continues to gain wider and newer membership around the world. If it is from God it will stay, if it is of human origin, it will fizzle out with time.
Second, we have to constantly ask ourselves in what ways am I “fighting God”? Time and again, there arises promptings or stirrings of God’s spirit in our lives, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our communities but we can become an obstacle to the workings of the spirit of God. For instance, the Spirit may move a family to start regular prayer, but one person can become an obstacle. The spirit of God may stir a community or a country to treat kindly its homeless population, but one can join efforts to block such efforts. Is there any way I might be fighting God in my life or my community? It is a question worth pondering on.
May we today ask the Lord to strengthen and renew us in our faith. May His grace keep our eyes focused intently on the Risen One.
Father Fred Jenga, C.S.C. is the President of Holy Cross Family Ministries. Father Fred, a native of Uganda, has multiple degrees including theology, philosophy, and communications. His native language is Lusoga and he speaks English, Luganda, Kiswahili, and Rutooro. He has been a teacher, researcher, author and family minister. Father Fred is committed to helping build God’s masterpiece one family at a time.
