SPEAKER_00: Well, we arrive on Saturday of the last day of the octave of Easter.
SPEAKER_00: We see that the authorities look at Peter and John and say, They are uneducated, ordinary men.
SPEAKER_00: And yet they are shaken by them.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because they recognize one thing.
SPEAKER_00: They had been with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's it.
SPEAKER_00: No degree, no status, not influence, presence.
SPEAKER_00: They had been with him.
SPEAKER_00: And then comes the line that defines everything.
SPEAKER_00: It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.
SPEAKER_00: Not difficult, not inconvenient, impossible.
SPEAKER_00: Now hold that and look at the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene, she tells the others, and they don't believe her.
SPEAKER_00: Then to two others on the road.
SPEAKER_00: They come back and still they don't believe.
SPEAKER_00: And then finally Jesus stands in front of them.
SPEAKER_00: And what does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He rebukes them for their unbelief, for their hardness of heart.
SPEAKER_00: That's important.
SPEAKER_00: Because we tend to romanticize the apostles.
SPEAKER_00: But at the beginning, they struggled to believe, they hesitated, they doubted.
SPEAKER_00: And yet those same men become the ones who say we cannot stay silent any longer.
SPEAKER_00: So what changed?
SPEAKER_00: One thing.
SPEAKER_00: They encountered the risen Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That's the thread that runs through both readings.
SPEAKER_00: Not talent, not intelligence, encounter.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Peter and John were ordinary.
SPEAKER_00: And that was enough.
SPEAKER_00: The real question is not, are you capable?
SPEAKER_00: The real question is, have you been with him?
SPEAKER_00: Have you had an encounter with Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Because if you have, you don't need to be pushed.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to be convinced.
SPEAKER_00: You can't stay quiet.
SPEAKER_00: And let's all be honest, for many of us, that's where the tension is.
SPEAKER_00: We believe, but we're quiet.
SPEAKER_00: We've encountered something, but we've kept it private, safe, contained.
SPEAKER_00: And the gospel today won't let us stay there.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't just appear and say, I'm glad you figured it out.
SPEAKER_00: No, he says, go.
SPEAKER_00: Go into the whole world.
SPEAKER_00: Proclaim what you have seen and heard.
SPEAKER_00: Don't keep it to yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Not live your faith quietly.
SPEAKER_00: No, proclaim it to the whole world.
SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean standing on a street corner and shouting.
SPEAKER_00: It means live differently, speak honestly, love boldly, live with integrity, refuse to hide your faith when it matters.
SPEAKER_00: Because people are not converted by arguments.
SPEAKER_00: People are converted by witness.
SPEAKER_00: I want what you have.
SPEAKER_00: I want to know that Jesus.
unknown: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because they see something real in you.
SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what shook the authorities.
SPEAKER_00: They could not deny the miracle.
SPEAKER_00: They couldn't deny the change.
SPEAKER_00: So what did they try to do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, they tried to silence it.
SPEAKER_00: That hasn't changed.
SPEAKER_00: The world doesn't always agree with faith.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it just tries to quiet.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, hey, keep it private, keep it personal, keep it contained.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter says that's not possible anymore.
SPEAKER_00: So here's the question for all of us today.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: Not because you say so, but because they see it in you and the way that you act, behave, and react.
SPEAKER_00: Because that's the goal.
SPEAKER_00: Not to become to impress people, not to become recognizable.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the beautiful part: you don't have to be extraordinary.
SPEAKER_00: You just have to be close to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Because ordinary people who have truly encountered Christ become impossible to ignore.
SPEAKER_00: So don't underestimate your life.
SPEAKER_00: Don't underestimate your witness.
SPEAKER_00: Don't underestimate the power that you have to preach Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: Don't stay silent.
SPEAKER_00: Don't live in fear.
SPEAKER_00: Don't try to control everything.
SPEAKER_00: Don't try to just live in comfort.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: So go into your home, into your marriage, into your workplace, into your friendships, into every place, and don't try to be perfect.
SPEAKER_00: Just try to be real.
SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, this is what matters.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to have all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to have it all figured out.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to impress anybody with fancy talk and all of the scripture of the world.
SPEAKER_00: You need to live His witness.
SPEAKER_00: People need to see that Jesus Christ has transformed your life by the way you live.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.