"He Is Risen" -- Artist Dr. He Qi (2001)The Resurrection of Jesus captured the hearts and minds of the apostles. The reality of the message was so powerful that the followers could not keep their thoughts and inspirations to themselves. They had, in a way, accepted the torch handed on to them by their friend, their teacher, their rabbi, Jesus Christ. They did not delay sharing the good news that had taken their hearts.
The authorities were concerned about the success of the new missionaries who were teaching the Jesus message. These ordinary, uneducated men were impacting the community and threatening their power. They ordered the likes of Peter and John to desist. They instructed Peter and John to put a lid on their speaking and preaching.
The response from the two firebrands is a powerful demonstration to the community and to us today of the power God bestows upon those who are free and willing to allow that presence into their lives.
Our spiritual journey daily contains the same kinds of confrontations that Peter and John and others encountered. For us it is not so much community leaders as it is the impact of powerful influences that distract us and pull us away from living and proclaiming God's message.
There are many today who struggle to make the message of Jesus Christ alive in our community. The recent parish mission by John and Kathy Colligan is an example of grace-filled men and women committed to the good news of the gospels. Who can hear them and not recognize that powerful influences that attempt to suppress the treasury of graces Jesus taught. Imagine for a moment one simple reality we expect to find each time we read a newspaper: the personal violence individuals wage upon one another. How? Sadly the ways are numerous. Here are a few: the sale of drugs to the weak, the encouraging of abortions, the advance of immoral lifestyles, the sexual exploitation of young people over the Internet and the murders that are recounted in each day's news.
Might we not ask several questions: "Where are the voices of Peter and John bringing the good news? Where are the followers of Jesus among us today? How committed am I to being a true follower? What can I do to affirm that I truly believe that Jesus has risen from the dead and calls us still to follow him and his teachings?"
