The True God Among Us: Recognizing the Source

Voice over by Angeline Chue Chue

Acts 14:5-18, Psalm: 113, Jn 14:21-26

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The Easter season continually teaches us that the Risen Lord acts through His Church. But today’s readings offer a sobering warning: we can easily mistake the messenger for the source. When God works powerfully through human beings, the temptation to idolize the instrument is always near. Yet Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth and helps us to love rightly.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas are in Lystra, a city of Lycaonia. Paul sees a man crippled from birth, unable to walk. Recognizing his faith, Paul commands in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” The man springs up and begins to walk. The crowd’s reaction is immediate and enthusiastic—but misguided. They cry out in their native language, “The gods have come down to us in human form.” They call Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes,” because Paul is the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus brings oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to offer the sacrifice.

Paul and Barnabas tear their garments and rush into the crowd, shouting, “Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings.” They redirect the people to the living God, “who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.” Even with this urgent correction, they barely restrain the crowd from sacrificing to them. The miracle, intended to point to God, nearly becomes an occasion of idolatry.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of a different kind of recognition. He says, “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” Judas (not the Iscariot) asks, “Lord, why will you reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answers that love and obedience are the conditions for divine self-revelation. Then He makes the promise that sustains the Church: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

The crowds at Lystra lacked this Spirit-guided discernment. They saw power and assumed it belonged to the human instruments. They worshiped the creature rather than the Creator. But the Holy Spirit teaches us to see beyond the instrument to the source, to love Jesus by keeping His word, and to recognize that every good gift comes from the Father of lights.

Pope Francis warns us against the idolatry of celebrity, even within the Church: “When we are more concerned with human praise than with God’s glory, we lose our way.” St. Augustine, contemplating the Lystra incident, wrote, “God alone is to be worshiped; His servants are to be honored, but not adored.”

For us today, the message is practical. When we witness a powerful preacher, a healing ministry, or any spiritual gift, we must not attach ourselves to the person as if they were the source. We give thanks for the instrument, but we worship only the living God. And we rely on the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to teach us and remind us of Jesus’ words, so that our love may be genuine and our obedience complete.

This Easter season, let us pray for the gift of discernment. Let us love Jesus by keeping His commandments. And let us welcome the Spirit, who alone can prevent us from mistaking the servant for the Lord. Amen.

May God bless you all!