Acts 4:23-31, Ps. 2:1-9,Jn. 3:1-8

In today’s first reading, the early church prayed to God for the strength it needed to preach the gospel in the face of the threats of their enemies, thus, the Jewish High Council which sought to restrain and prevent them from preaching anything in the name of the Lord. Despite the threats, pressures and coercions, these never deterred them from preaching and delivering the truth of God.

 The truth is that, the first disciples constantly needed fresh outpourings of the Holy Spirit, if they were to fulfil the mission the risen Lord had given them. It is the same for the church today and for all of us who are the Lord’s disciples. Also, the Apostles through their prayer reminds us all of the love that God had always shown his people through time and history.

The Lord will provide in abundance the means for us to take the path that leads to life. It is with confidence that we can pray, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts’.

In the gospel reading, the Lord speaks to us on how we must allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. For Unless we allow ourselves to be guided by the Lord and his counsel; we may end up failing. The Spirit is an indispensable help to us on our life’s journey.

Jesus calls on Nicodemus to allow himself to be born of water and the Spirit, to surrender to the movement of the Spirit – thus, He had to change his beliefs and relearn new lessons for his salvation. The Spirit of God must refine and remould us. Nicodemus was a ‘teacher of Israel’ and he related to Jesus as a fellow teacher, ‘we know that you are a teacher who comes from God’ he said.

In reality, Jesus was not just Nicodemus’ fellow teacher. As John the Baptist had earlier said, he is the one on whom the Spirit descended and remained and who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Like Nicodemus, we all need to keep opening our lives more fully to the Spirit whom the risen Lord is always offering us, so that we can boldly proclaim by our lives the good news of his life, death and resurrection.

Let us therefore discern carefully so that in our daily living, we spend much time and energy to do what is right and just. For unless we do our part and strive to follow the Lord, we can’t be faithful and dedicated disciples of the Lord.