Here is Fr. Sostenes Vieira’s Latest English Language Homily.
Fr. Vieira is a priest ordained for the New Song Canção Nova Community of Brazil.
God makes us free
I don´t know if some day you felt as you were a prisoner, for example when you were a child in your home or even as an adult, in a car, during some flood or storm, you could remenber the anguish, the agony, the affliction; if we could remeMber this, certainly we can remenber when someone made us free. The time passed and nowadays others chains or jails want to imprison us, but another will make us free.
It´s true, the Apostles were in a “public jail”, probably they weren´t in quietness, surely they could be feeling as a child when he hears the roar of the thunder. Maybe like a father who must defend his house and his family, but sees the storm coming and feels himself useless, because he can´t do anything to save the your house. But our God wanted to make them free. So “during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison”, they were physically free, but not yet in their feelings, so the Angel said: “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” They needed some “push”, because there are other prisons besides that from jails. The “high priest” and “party of the Sadducees” were in this other prison, exactly because they were “filled with jealousy”.
God listened to the cry we prayed: “The Lord hears the cry of the poor” (our Psalm 34);God listened to their voices and made them free. “I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.” But God didn´t want to make free them, only, but all the world: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” He didn´t come to put anyone in a prison, but He remains with us making us free. What are the sort of things putting us in a prison today? “wicked things”? Sins? Vices? People? Places? “darkness”? Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave” (Jn 8,34), dont´want to be a slave.
Jesus Christ is our liberator, He is the that God made for us, and through Him, only Him, we´ll be indeed free, we will hide under his wings, and soar with Him, to fly to freedom. No fear, you can rest in Him. Remain in Him and you will be free.Nothing could make you a slave again, no matter the jail inside or outside, have be sure God made us free through his only-begotten Son, and the name of the liberty is: Jesus Christ
Fr. Sóstenes Vieira
Community Canção Nova
[April 22, 2009 – Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter, Acts 5: 17-26; Ps 34:2-3, 4-5; Jn 3:16-21]