April 18, 2012 Acts 5: 16-26; John 31: 16-21
Today’s first reading presents a dramatic scene …
The Apostles have been thrown into prison for preaching about Jesus … and during the night … they are miraculously set free to go right back and preach again!
The readings over the last several days have told of the trials the apostles encountered … persecution … prison … beatings … and exile …
Yet … they never lost hope or the sense that it was an honor to preach the love and mercy of Jesus.
The apostles lived to proclaim the gospel … and because of their faith … they were involved in miraculous happenings.
They were instruments of God’s love.
In our everyday lives … we too need to be instruments of God’s love … recognizing need around us … responding … and yes … like the apostles … maybe even suffering for it.
If we claim to be followers of Jesus … we need to show His love in how we live and act each day.
The apostles experienced the power of God’s love, as they were set free to continue their work.
Let us be open to the Holy Spirit working in and through us that we too may be free to live the Gospel … to persevere … and to see the miracles happening around us.
Acts 5: 16-26;
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out, and said,
“Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life.”
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
When the high priest and his companions arrived,
they convened the Sanhedrin,
the full senate of the children of Israel,
and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison,
so they came back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
