T he apostles weren’t super-heroes any more than we are.  As they show in the Passion gospel and throughout the New Testament they were often vain, dense and cowardly just like most of us. But in the end, they allow Jesus to transform them, just as we must.

Thursday in the Second Week of Easter

Acts 5:27-33

Ps 34:2+9, 17-18, 19-20

J ohn 3:31-36 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. (32) He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; (33) he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. (34) For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; (35) the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. (36) He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

Meditation by Eileen Wirth

We must obey God rather than men.--Acts of the Apostles

In Luke’s version of the Passion (which I heard at Mass this Palm Sunday morning), the disciples demonstrate what ordinary people they were.

During the Last Supper, they argued about who is the greatest. Then when Jesus told Peter that he would deny him, Peter says no way. He’d risk prison and even death before that – and we all know how that one comes out.

Then during the agony in the garden, the disciples keep falling asleep and Jesus has to wake them up to try to get them to pray. The apostles aren’t highly visible during the crucifixion either, unlike the women whom Luke mentions several times.

Fast forward to today’s reading from Acts and juxtapose it against Luke’s account of the Passion and you get a sense of the amazing impact of the Resurrection in the lives of these men – and by extension the potential for transformation of our lives.

What a different bunch of guys (forgive the slang) Peter and company have become as they tell the Sanhedrin that they’re going to go on preaching about Jesus no matter what it costs. Here’s Peter who denied knowing Jesus actually carrying out his original promise to risk imprisonment and death.  “We must obey God rather than men,” he says.

As I marvel at this transformation in the apostles, I have to ask if the Resurrection has made any change in my own life. Or is it just the annual joyful celebration that leads to business as usual after Lent?

The apostles weren’t super-heroes any more than we are.  As they show in the Passion gospel and throughout the New Testament they were often vain, dense and cowardly just like most of us. But in the end, they allow Jesus to transform them, just as we must.

We won’t confront the Sanhedrin but sur ely we can live the Easter message more fully if we focus on transforming those faults that keep us from living Jesus’ message. We can all work to be more patient and forgiving – more willing to stick our necks out for our beliefs. If men as ordinary as the apostles could transform themselves (or allow Jesus to do so), we can too.    

Supplementary Reading

Understanding What God Has Given

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has fre ely given us. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:12

G od desires for us to know what He has fre ely given to us. One of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is to reveal His plans and purposes to us. They may be hidden for a time, but if we seek Him with our whole heart, we can know what He has given to us.

John the Baptist understood this principle. When asked if he was the Messiah, he replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven" (Jn. 3:27). John understood his role in the Kingdom of God . He came to pave the way for the Messiah; he was not the Messiah himself. His ministry on earth was very brief, yet Jesus described his life in this way: " 'I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he' " (Mt. 11:11).

Once we understand what God has given to us, we can walk fre ely in our calling. However, if we strive to walk in a role that He never gave us, it will result in frustration and failure. God wants to reveal His plan to us by His Spirit. This requires a willingness to seek and accept what He gives us. It may be different from what we thought. It may require adjustments to follow His path for our lives. As we learn from the life of John the Baptist, obedience requires death to our own wills.

Ask God to reveal what He has fre ely given to you. Pray that you receive and embrace only those things He has reserved for you to receive and to accomplish in your life. Then you can be assured of a life full of meaning and purpose, and you can look forward to hearing those all-important words someday, "Well done, My good and faithful servant." (OS Hillman)

• 04/18/2010 02:37 - Apr 20, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (Be Stable Minded)
• 04/18/2010 02:32 - Apr 19, 2010 - Monday Meditation (What Are We Looking in Following Jesus?)
• 04/16/2010 05:12 - Apr 18, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Nobody Fills my Heart like JESUS!)
• 04/16/2010 04:27 - Apr 17, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (In Him We Live, Move and Have our Being!)
• 04/15/2010 05:07 - Apr 16, 2010 - Friday Meditation (You are His Sanctuary

• 04/08/2010 13:45 - Apr 14, 2010 - Wednesday Meditation (Be an Example...)
• 04/08/2010 13:43 - Apr 13, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (Power to Spread the Gospel : Holy Spirit)
• 04/08/2010 13:41 - Apr 12, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Be Born Again!)
• 04/08/2010 13:36 - Apr 11, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Willing to be Sent?)
• 04/08/2010 13:34 - Apr 10, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (Power of Testimonies!)