Lenten Reflections

Today’s first Scripture reading from the Acts of the Apostles concludes with this sentence. All day long, both at the Temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

After the Resurrection of Jesus, his disciples were together in a house behind closed doors because they had great fear of the authorities. To their surprise, the Risen Lord comes in … unexpectedly and unannounced.

As the youngest of a family of twelve, I grew up in a very large house. Because of this, when a small child, if ever I became sick in the middle of the night, I had to take a long, dark, creepy trek down a long hallway, through the playroom, down the stairs, past the kitchen and down yet an even longer second hallway to my parents' room to receive the help I needed from them. Braving my fear of the dark, once I arrived there, I would be allowed to climb in their bed. I would spend the rest of the night sleeping cozily between my mother and father so they could keep a watchful eye on me and take care of me.

As preachers, we should perhaps have a special attachment to the Acts of the Apostles. Is there a better guidebook for us? In Acts 4: 1-12 we find Peter and John causing a scene in the temple. Their actions of healing a crippled man in the name of Jesus has attracted the attention of the religious authorities. The apostles were teaching the gathered crowd and preaching about the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees, a religious sect within Judaism, did not believe in life after death, and were also what one could call “sola scriptura” adherents. And despite being a smaller sect, many were in positions of power and authority.

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

My first job after graduating from college was working as a residential counselor in a community-based rehabilitation program run by Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, PA. The program was designed to provide supportive care for both chronically mentally ill homeless as well as drug and alcohol offenders. They needed a supportive environment to become clean and sober. Their hope was of securing not only their sobriety but also gainful employment and an independent living situation and become productive members of the community upon discharge from the program.