St. George, martyr I St. Adalbert, hishop  & martyr 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Acts 5: 27-33

So they brought them in and made them stand

before the Council and the High Priest questioned them,   “We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Savior; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend charging us with the killing of this man.”  To this Peter and the apostles replied, “Better for us to obey God rather than any human authority!

 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a wooden post.   God set him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.   We are witnesses to all these things, as well as the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

 When the Council heard this, they became very angry and wanted to kill them.

 

Pa 34: 2 & 9, 17-18, 19-20

The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

John 3:31-36

 He who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth and his words, too, are earthly. The One who comes from heav­en speaks of the things he has seen and heard; he bears witness to this but no one accepts his testi­mony.   Whoever does receive his testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of God.

 The one sent by God speaks God’s words and gives the Spirit without measure.   For the Father loves the Son and has entrusted ev­­erything into his hands.  Whoever believes in the Son lives with eternal life, but he who will not believe in the Son will never know life and always faces the justice of God.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

“The ways of God are different from the ways of men”, scripture tells us. (Is. 55:8) And the ways of the world are different from the way of Christ. The disciples knew this. And so when confronted by the High Priest and his

Council, they boldly proclaimed that it was God they obeyed and not men. In a similar vein, Jesus (speaking to Nicodemus in the Gospel reading) tells him that what is “from above” is different from that which “belongs to the earth” .  They may not always appear so different, but they are nevertheless not the same, and a Christian must always choose God’s way.

Too often, because the ways of the world appear similar or even mimic the way of Christ, we think that it is possible to simply adopt these and apply them to the manner by which we live our faith.

But while the ways of the world (in relationships, in business, in our day to day affairs) are not always misguided, wrong, or evil, they remain different from the way of Christ who has told us that we “do not belong” to the world. Recognizing the difference and acting accordingly is the task of every true believer, every true follower of Christ.