Acts 11:19-26 / John 10:22-30
During this season of Easter, one of the necessary reflections that we must make is to think about what being a Christian is all about.
The word Christian means "being anointed" or the "anointed ones".
So what are we anointed for, and what should we do as Christians?
In short, we are to proclaim the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is THE Anointed One.
A quick glance through the Acts of the Apostles will give us a picture of how this Good News was proclaimed.
The Good News was proclaimed with the mighty acts of the power of God.
These were manifested in the healing of the sick and driving out evil spirits and forgiveness and conversion.
Essentially it is the Good News of salvation, the Good News of God's love for humanity.
As we heard in the 1st reading, the people associated these acts of the disciples with Christ and hence they were called Christians.
In the gospel, we hear of the people asking Jesus this question - If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.
As for us, we need not tell people that we are Christians.
By what we do, they would know we are Christians.
They will know we are the anointed ones of God by our acts of love.