WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:04.400 Well, we arrive on Saturday of the last day of the octave of Easter. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.000 We see that the authorities look at Peter and John and say, They are uneducated, ordinary men. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:15.599 And yet they are shaken by them. 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:16.559 Why? 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.600 Because they recognize one thing. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:21.760 They had been with Jesus. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:22.879 That's it. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:27.920 No degree, no status, not influence, presence. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:29.679 They had been with him. 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:32.560 And then comes the line that defines everything. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:38.479 It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:43.200 Not difficult, not inconvenient, impossible. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:46.560 Now hold that and look at the gospel. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:55.200 Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene, she tells the others, and they don't believe her. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.200 Then to two others on the road. 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.799 They come back and still they don't believe. 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:05.760 And then finally Jesus stands in front of them. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:07.280 And what does he do? 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:12.959 He rebukes them for their unbelief, for their hardness of heart. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:14.319 That's important. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:18.159 Because we tend to romanticize the apostles. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:22.799 But at the beginning, they struggled to believe, they hesitated, they doubted. 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:29.200 And yet those same men become the ones who say we cannot stay silent any longer. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:31.120 So what changed? 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:32.480 One thing. 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:35.200 They encountered the risen Christ. 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:39.040 That's the thread that runs through both readings. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:43.200 Not talent, not intelligence, encounter. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:54.879 And that's where this gets very real for us because a lot of people think, well, I'm not qualified, I don't know enough, I don't know the Bible, I haven't really read scripture, I'm not holy enough. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:58.480 Peter and John were ordinary. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:00.560 And that was enough. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.760 The real question is not, are you capable? 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.040 The real question is, have you been with him? 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:11.280 Have you had an encounter with Jesus Christ? 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:15.199 Because if you have, you don't need to be pushed. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:16.960 You don't need to be convinced. 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:18.879 You can't stay quiet. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:23.680 And let's all be honest, for many of us, that's where the tension is. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.639 We believe, but we're quiet. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:33.280 We've encountered something, but we've kept it private, safe, contained. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:36.960 And the gospel today won't let us stay there. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:41.919 Jesus doesn't just appear and say, I'm glad you figured it out. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:43.439 No, he says, go. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:45.840 Go into the whole world. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.280 Proclaim what you have seen and heard. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:51.280 Don't keep it to yourself. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:53.599 Not live your faith quietly. 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:56.639 No, proclaim it to the whole world. 00:02:56.960 --> 00:03:00.080 And that doesn't mean standing on a street corner and shouting. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:10.719 It means live differently, speak honestly, love boldly, live with integrity, refuse to hide your faith when it matters. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.520 Because people are not converted by arguments. 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:15.439 People are converted by witness. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:16.960 I want what you have. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:19.680 I want to know that Jesus. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:20.479 Why? 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:22.879 Because they see something real in you. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:25.199 And that's exactly what shook the authorities. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:27.120 They could not deny the miracle. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.280 They couldn't deny the change. 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:31.520 So what did they try to do? 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:33.680 Well, they tried to silence it. 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:35.439 That hasn't changed. 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:37.759 The world doesn't always agree with faith. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:39.840 Sometimes it just tries to quiet. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:45.360 Hey, hey, keep it private, keep it personal, keep it contained. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:49.680 And Peter says that's not possible anymore. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.319 So here's the question for all of us today. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:04:02.319 If someone looked at your life, would they know that you've been with Jesus, that you've had an encounter with Christ, that you have a personal relationship with Jesus. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:09.599 Not because you say so, but because they see it in you and the way that you act, behave, and react. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:11.919 Because that's the goal. 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:17.040 Not to become to impress people, not to become recognizable. 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:22.720 And here's the beautiful part: you don't have to be extraordinary. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:25.600 You just have to be close to Jesus. 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:32.079 Because ordinary people who have truly encountered Christ become impossible to ignore. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:34.720 So don't underestimate your life. 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:36.879 Don't underestimate your witness. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:42.800 Don't underestimate the power that you have to preach Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:45.600 Don't stay silent. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:48.480 Don't live in fear. 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:50.720 Don't try to control everything. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:54.000 Don't try to just live in comfort. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:05:07.519 Because if this is real, if Jesus Christ truly is risen, and he is, he's been raised from the dead, then silence is no longer an option. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:19.519 So go into your home, into your marriage, into your workplace, into your friendships, into every place, and don't try to be perfect. 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:21.199 Just try to be real. 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.879 Because at the end of the day, this is what matters. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:27.279 You don't need to have all the answers. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:29.519 You don't need to have it all figured out. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:34.560 You don't need to impress anybody with fancy talk and all of the scripture of the world. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.800 You need to live His witness. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:45.920 People need to see that Jesus Christ has transformed your life by the way you live. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:46.959 Amen.