Bible Reflections

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3/28
STARTING OVER?

"I am going out to fish." —John 21:3


Jesus told Peter to leave the fishing business and follow Him (Mt 4:19). Even after meeting the risen Christ several times, Peter denied Christ again and went back into the fishing business. Peter denied Jesus, the Light, and chose the night. "All through the night they caught nothing" (Jn 21:3). Peter was naked (Jn 21:7, NAB) and not clothed with power (Lk 24:49), righteousness (see Eph 6:14), and life in Christ (Eph 4:24). Peter chose night, nothing, and nakedness.

Jesus, in all His mercy, forgave Peter another three times and proceeded to again start from the beginning with Peter. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him (Jn 21:15-17). Then Jesus did what He had done when He first met Peter: He commanded Peter to follow Him (Jn 21:19). A few days after this, Peter received the Holy Spirit at the first Christian Pentecost and led three thousand people to be baptized into Jesus (Acts 2:41). Peter became the first leader of the Church and a fearless witness for Jesus (see Acts 4:8ff).

Have you squandered your Christian life? Have you lost your first love? (Rv 2:4) Have you forced Jesus to start over with you? If you repent, there is hope. Even if you're starting over, the risen Lord can make you a great leader in His kingdom. Repent!

Prayer: Lord, have mercy on me again.
Promise: "This Jesus is 'the Stone rejected by you the builders Which has become the Cornerstone.' There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved." —Acts 4:11-12
Praise: After continuous failures and battles with drug addiction, Larry opened up to receive prayers to begin his life anew.

Reflections courtesy of Presentation Ministries

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3/29

Acts 4:13-21
Psalm 118
Mark 16:9-15

AMAZING GRACE

"The questioners were amazed." —Acts 4:13


People who have met the risen Christ are amazing. "Observing the self-assurance of Peter and John, and realizing that the speakers were uneducated men of no standing, the questioners were amazed" (Acts 4:13). Almost everyone must have been amazed that the risen Jesus "first appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons" (Mk 16:9). How could Peter who denied Christ three times, stand before thousands of people, preach fearlessly, and lead three thousand people to Christ at one time? Amazing! How could the persecutor Saul change into the apostle Paul? He must have met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3ff). Amazing grace!

What about Barnabas selling his farm and donating the money from the sale to the Church? (Acts 4:37) That's amazing, especially for people who think tithing is a big commitment. When Stephen was stoned to death, we can't help but be amazed that he forgave his enemies (Acts 7:60).

One of the most amazing things of all was that Gentiles, such as Cornelius and his family, received the Holy Spirit and thus were obviously included in God's kingdom (Acts 10:44). This was unthinkable to the Jews after centuries of strict separation from Gentiles. The Lord even raised up a church of Gentiles, the church of Antioch (Acts 11:20ff). Absolutely amazing! The amazing people who have met the risen Christ prove how utterly amazing is His resurrection from the dead.

Prayer: Risen Jesus, so transform my lifestyle that others are amazed at me.
Promise: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation." —Mk 16:15
Praise: Jake was once drug-addicted and homeless. Jesus set him free from his addiction. Now Jake has found peace in a religious order.

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3/30

CONFESSION

"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them." —John 20:22-23


In the evening of the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus came to His disciples, showed them His nail-scarred hands and wounded side, breathed on them, gave them the Holy Spirit, and sent them out (Jn 20:19-22). Jesus sent His disciples out not to just make a general announcement of His resurrection but to specifically invite us to confess our sins and be forgiven (see Jn 20:23; Lk 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38).

One of the first acts of the risen Christ was to begin to develop the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the forgiveness of sins. One of the first things we need to do this Easter season is to repent and go to Confession. When we have removed the planks of sin from our own eyes, we can then remove the specks from the eyes of others by calling them to repent, forgive, go to Confession, be forgiven (Mt 7:5), and immerse ourselves in the limitless mercy of God.

Without Confession, our celebration of the Easter season will be aborted and not come to full term. With Confession, we will meet the risen Christ, be sent to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, and celebrate the risen Christ for the full Easter season and for eternity.

Prayer: Father, may my first Confession in this Easter season be life-changing. On this Mercy Sunday, may I experience the depth of Your ocean of mercy as You reconcile me to Yourself.
Promise: The brethren "devoted themselves to the apostles' instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." —Acts 2:42
Praise: Praise the risen Jesus, the pure, spotless Lamb of God! Jesus, Mercy of God, I trust in You and praise You forever.

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3/31

LOVE LETTER

"You shall conceive and bear a Son and give Him the name Jesus. Great will be His dignity and He will be called Son of the Most High." —Luke 1:31-32


Today we remember the astonishing fact that God became a baby — a tiny human being attached to the wall of a teenage girl's uterus. The almighty, infinite God became human flesh smaller than your fingernail. No one ever imagined it or prayed for it.

God's Incarnation was so astounding that to the present day we don't know what to think of it. Why would He do such a thing? The only response we can make to the mystery of the Incarnation is: "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:16). He does the unimaginable because He is Love. He became a man because He is Love. He let Himself be crucified and put to death because He is Love. He gives us His body and blood in Holy Communion because He is Love.

The announcement of the Annunciation is: "The virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and shall name Him Immanuel" (Is 7:14). The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadowed her, hence her holy Offspring was called Son of God (Lk 1:35). "The Word became flesh" (Jn 1:14). Love became a human being. Alleluia!

Prayer: Father, thank You for loving us so much as to give Your Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16).
Promise: "We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." —Heb 10:10
Praise: "Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?" (Catechism, 457) Alleluia!

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4/1

WHAT!?!

"The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common." —Acts 4:32


Go back and re-read the above verse. Then close your eyes for a moment and picture the lifestyle of the early Christians. Our ancestors in faith "were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common" (Acts 4:32). "Nor was there anyone needy among them, for all who owned property or houses sold them and donated the proceeds. They used to lay them at the feet of the apostles to be distributed to everyone according to his need" (Acts 4:34-35). This is the lifestyle in faith we inherited from the early Christians.

You might say it's impossible to live a lifestyle like that in today's world. You would be correct. To live like the early Christians, you'd need to "be begotten from above" (Jn 3:7). You'd have to daily live the "radical newness of the Christian life that comes from Baptism" (Lay Members of Christ's Faithful People, 10). You would need to have a moment by moment, unfailing trust in the constant providence of your heavenly Father to provide everything you need (Mt 6:8, 11). Does this lifestyle of faith resemble yours?

If we listed each of our possessions, we could probably manage to justify to ourselves a reason for owning each item. However, could we justify it to the poor, who need our help now? Could we justify ourselves to the early Christians? Can we justify our lifestyle to Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, do I really trust You? Do I truly believe Your promises to provide for me? May I live my Baptism in radical newness.
Promise: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that all who believe may have eternal life in Him." —Jn 3:14-15
Praise: Imitating the simple lifestyle of Jesus, Joseph sold his car and now rides to work and church on a bicycle.

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4/2

OVER THESE PRISON WALLS WE SHALL FLY!

"We found the jail securely locked and the guards at their posts outside the gates, but when we opened it we found no one inside." —Acts 5:23


Listen to the guards talking outside the prison walls...

"Look at him! That bum's been an alcoholic for twenty years! What's he doing holding down a steady job? Look, he's witnessing to his co-workers about how Jesus delivered him from the bottle. He can't do that. Let's talk some sense into him..."

"What's happened to her? She's been shy and meek all her life. What's she doing praying in front of the abortion clinic? She can't do that. It's making people angry. We've got to stop her..."

"Look at Father! He's been a quiet priest all these years. Why is he suddenly trying to renew our parish? He must have a hidden agenda. We'd better talk to the bishop..."

The world thinks it has overcome Christians by putting them in jails called "acceptable behavior." How surprised they are when Jesus snaps the chains that bind us and sets us free in the open! (Ps 18:20) When we receive the Holy Spirit, we act in truth and come into the light to glorify God by our deeds (Jn 3:21). Since the world hates the light (Jn 3:20), they will want to throw us back into our old prisons (Acts 5:26). But Jesus has set us free, and we are free indeed! (Jn 8:36)

"So stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery a second time!" (Gal 5:1) "Go out now and take your place" (Acts 5:20).

Prayer: Father, You so loved the world that You sent Your only Son to save us (Jn 3:16). I am all Yours. Use me as You will.
Promise: "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." —Jn 3:17
Praise: St. Francis broke through the culturally-imposed jail of a typical teenager and gave his life to Jesus at the age of 13.

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4/3

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND THE SPIRIT

"We gave you strict orders not to teach about that name, yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching." —Acts 5:28


Peter and the apostles proclaimed that the Holy Spirit was given to those who obey God (Acts 5:32). Jesus promised an unrationed outpouring of the Holy Spirit to those who believed in and obeyed Him (Jn 3:34, 36). Receiving the Holy Spirit is intimately connected with obedience.

Peter and the apostles replied to the Sanhedrin: "Better for us to obey God than men!" (Acts 5:29) When the apostles mentioned obedience to God, they contrasted this with civil disobedience, that is, disobedience to man. In effect, the apostles were saying that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God by disobeying the Sanhedrin's prohibition of witnessing for Jesus. The Sanhedrin did not miss the point. Upon hearing the apostles' comment, they "were stung to fury and wanted to kill them" (Acts 5:33).

To receive the Spirit, we must obey God rather than men. For example, we must stand up for life even when the government demands taxes to finance abortion. We must not laugh at "dirty jokes" or participate in gossip, even when the unwritten laws of the office pressure us into compliance. We must witness for Jesus, even if it is considered out of place by our classmates or co-workers. We must disobey the written and unwritten laws of men which contradict the will of God. Then we will receive an unrationed outpouring of the Spirit (see Jn 3:34).

Prayer: Father, may I consider it a privilege to suffer for love of You (see Acts 5:41). Come, Holy Spirit!
Promise: "Whoever believes in the Son has life eternal. Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure the wrath of God." —Jn 3:36
Praise: Obeying the Church, Linda spoke to a fellow parishioner who was perpetuating a faulty liturgical practice.

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4/4

FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

"Day after day, both in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus the Messiah." —Acts 5:42


When Peter and John proclaimed Jesus' resurrection after healing the man born lame, the Sadducees' reaction was anger (Acts 4:2). As the apostles proclaimed the risen Christ through signs and wonders, the high priest and the Sadducees reacted with jealousy (Acts 5:17). They expressed this by having the apostles whipped (Acts 5:40). When Stephen proclaimed the risen Christ, the onlookers responded with violence. They ground their teeth, put their hands over their ears, attacked Stephen, and beat him with stones until they murdered him (Acts 7:54-58).

The more Jesus' disciples proclaimed His resurrection, the more their persecution intensified. The more intense the persecution, the more the disciples continued to proclaim the resurrection. They considered it a privilege to be judged worthy of ill-treatment for the sake of Jesus' name (Acts 5:41). "Both in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus" (Acts 5:42).

Are you witnessing for the risen Jesus? Are some people responding with faith and love? Are others filled with anger, jealousy, or violence toward you? How are you taking this? Are you rejoicing in suffering rejection and hostility for love of Jesus? Are you intensifying your proclamation of the risen Christ?

Prayer: Father, may I react to rejection by forgiving and by witnessing for Your Son with increased zeal.
Promise: "A vast crowd kept following Him because they saw the signs He was performing for the sick." —Jn 6:2
Praise: St. Isidore taught, "When God's grace touches our inmost minds to bring understanding, His word which has been received by the ears sinks into the heart."

(For a related teaching, order our leaflet, Accepting Jesus as Lord, Savior, and God, or on audio AV 43-1 or video V-43.)

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4/5

WHEN SHEEP MAKE SHEPHERDS

"Look around among your own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual." —Acts 6:3


"They presented these men to the apostles." —Acts 6:6

Did you notice that the leaders of the early Church placed the responsibility for finding deacons on the "community of the disciples"? (Acts 6:2) That's us! We are to be on the lookout for those who would make good leaders in the Church.

This was new for the early Christians. Jewish priests and Levites were born into their positions. The apostles were called and chosen by Jesus Himself. The early Church, however, called the lay people to raise up future leaders from "among [their] own number" (Acts 6:3).

Our priests and bishops today cannot possibly know each person who may have a call to religious life and other forms of leadership in the Church. They depend on each one of us to do our part in building up the Church. We can do this by:

* asking God to reveal to us those "deeply spiritual and prudent" men and women (Acts 6:3),
* pointing out to these people their gifts,
* encouraging (Heb 10:25) them and praying for them,
* discipling them to be more "spiritual" (Acts 6:3),
* presenting these people to Church leaders by offering to introduce them to vocation directors, paying for them to go on retreats, etc. and
* making disciples (Mt 28:19) by having as many children as God calls us to have and raising them in the faith.

The leaders of the Church are depending on you. "Look around" (Acts 6:3).

Prayer: Father, may I be for You a scout who is full of encouragement (Nm 13:2, 30ff).
Promise: Jesus "told them, 'It is I; do not be afraid.' " —Jn 6:20
Praise: St. Vincent advised priests to ask God "to fill you with charity...; with it you can accomplish what you desire."

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4/6

THE MASS OF THE RESURRECTION

"Then they recounted what had happened on the road and how they had come to know Him in the breaking of bread." —Luke 24:35


On the afternoon of the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, the risen Lord gave us the pattern for Christian worship. We begin with the liturgy of the word. We walk about seven miles with Jesus as He interprets for us "every passage of Scripture which referred to Him" (Lk 24:27). This causes our hearts to burn and be purified (Lk 24:32). Then our eyes are opened to recognize the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread (Lk 24:31).

However, our worship is not over yet. Following the liturgy of the Eucharist, we get up immediately, return to the circumstances of our everyday lives, and recount what has happened to us and how we came to know Jesus "in the breaking of bread" (Lk 24:33, 35). We spread the gospel of God so that those who believe our message "may be offered up as a pleasing sacrifice, consecrated by the Holy Spirit" (Rm 15:16).

Our major way of worshipping God is called "Mass," that is, "Sent." When we worship the Lord in Spirit and truth (Jn 4:24), we not only receive God's word and Holy Communion, we also are sent forth to proclaim the good news. For a complete Mass in the pattern of the risen Jesus, we must go when we are sent and then offer up "as a pleasing sacrifice" those who accept the gospel we share (Rm 15:16). May we make our Mass true to its name.

Prayer: Father, may our Masses have such an impact on society that non-Christian governments will be threatened by them.
Promise: "Conduct yourselves reverently during your sojourn in a strange land." —1 Pt 1:17
Praise: Praise the risen Jesus, Whose life, death, and resurrection empower us to "go forth in His name."