THURSDAY, SECOND WEEK OF EASTERTIDE
Acts 5: 27-33 Ps 34: 2, 9, 17-20 Jn 3: 31-36
OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN
Easter does not remove the cross from the Christian’s life; it gives it meaning. In today’s first reading, Peter and the apostles stand before the Sanhedrin, threatened, silenced and warned. Yet Peter answers with words that still shake the world: “We must obey God rather than men.” These words are not rebellious words spoken out of pride, but words born of faith, prayer and deep obedience to the risen Lord who sent them. From the very beginning, Christianity has walked the road of opposition. The apostles were not well-educated; they were ordinary men, yet their loyalty to God unsettled religious authorities. Throughout history, this pattern has repeated itself, early martyrs facing death, missionaries rejected and misunderstood, believers mocked or sidelined for choosing conscience over comfort. Still, faith endured, not because Christians were strong, but because God was faithful.
In our times, persecution is often subtle but powerful. We are pressured to compromise values in the name of progress. Society tells us that life in the womb is disposable, that relationships need no commitment, that pleasure matters more than responsibility. Young people are constantly told that drug use, premarital sex and moral indifference are signs of freedom. Jesus reminds us, in the gospel, that He came “from above” and speaks the words of God. To accept Him is to choose life; to reject Him is to choose darkness. Obedience to God, therefore, is not blind submission, it is trusting the truth revealed in Christ, even when it is costly. Faith is not just believing certain ideas; it is allowing those truths to shape how we live.
The apostles were few, but their obedience changed history. They did not know how far their witness would reach, yet they spoke and lived with courage. We too may feel small and powerless. Still, every act of honesty, every defense of life, every choice for justice, every quiet witness to Christ matters more than we imagine. Easter assures us that obedience leads not to defeat, but to life. So, in every age, the Church continues to whisper, and sometimes shout, the same conviction: Better to obey God than men.
Response: The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.
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