Easter Saturday
Readings:
Acts 4: 13-21
Mark 16: 9-15
Reflection:
In the first reading from Acts we see the disciples, in this case Peter and John have got to work and are performing miracles in the name of Jesus. The people are giving glory to God. You might think this is amazing, yet the authorities are worried because these ‘uneducated laymen’ are causing a bit of a stir! We still see examples of this thinking when authorities, be they civil or religious, want to stop peaceful protest, often organised because people feel their ideas and feelings are dismissed. When people are not taken seriously they protest, unfortunately sometimes violently (which is not helpful) or they walk away disillusioned!
The Gospel shows that the disciples too were slow to listen to the evidence of their own companions who had experienced the presence of the Risen Jesus. Finally Jesus appears to the Eleven while at table. While he reproached them for their disbelief he still gave them the task of proclaiming the Good News. However inadequate we might feel, we are all commissioned with this task and called to be witnesses.
What is more, we know that when we drop our prejudices and judgments, we do see daily miracles and often in places where we do not expect to see them. They come in many forms, in a kind word, a helping hand, a moment of forgiveness, a home shared, a person acknowledged. Today, may we respond to the opportunities that come our way and, by way of contrast with much of what is happening around us, be proclaimers of GOOD NEWS!
Sr. Brigid Murphy CP, Sisters of the Cross & Passion, Melbourne