(Audio)
The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will,
to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;
for you will be his witness before all
to what you have seen and heard.
What is true of Paul is also true of us. God has designated us to know his will.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (see Ephesians 1:7-10).
We too hear the sound of his voice, for he is the one speaking in scriptures.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (see Second Timothy 3:16-17).
Scripture is not dead letters on a page. It is God speaking. That is why it "is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (see Hebrews 4:12) and why it is the "sword of the Spirit" (see Ephesians 6:17).
We are blessed with a more complete and easily accessible compilation of Scripture than was Paul, who lived while the New Testament was still taking shape, and who lived before easy Internet searches. We have the same Spirit Paul received when he was baptized. We needn't fear, then, that we also have the same call to "be his witness before all" to what we have seen and heard.
Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
May the light of the LORD shine on us today to change our ways of seeing so that we can learn to follow Jesus and to put him first in our lives. If needed, may he knock us to the ground and blind us to those things which were only distractions until we discover the riches we have in him. May Paul pray for us that we become disciples filled with the same zeal that motivated him. Transformation is available to us if we want it.
All who heard him were astounded and said,
"Is not this the man who in Jerusalem
ravaged those who call upon this name,
and came here expressly to take them back in chains
to the chief priests?"
The Spirit will make up for whatever shortcomings we have if we simply trust in the one who calls us.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
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