Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 269

Then someone came in and reported to them,
"The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people."
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them, but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, like the entire book and much of the Bible, is rich with humor. The joy of the angels and shepherds in Luke's second chapter has become comedy as the confused and cowardly disciples discover their role as confident evangelists. They fly like the angels for they take themselves and their mistreatment lightly. 

Saint Peter, who had boldly declared, "“Lord, I am prepared to go to prison and to die with you!" and then humiliated himself before a serving girl, was now laughing about his arrest and overnight confinement. He didn't even go home to wash up after the angel released him from the temple jail. He and his companions immediately resumed their preaching in the temple area, while their trial proceeded without them. 

So what happened? 

It wasn't just the Resurrection of Jesus. Seeing their Master alive, completely healed, and transparently divine was certainly incredible. Spectacles are certainly newsworthy and anyone who has seen one is eager to tell everyone about it. But they get over it. That was yesterday; it means nothing today, in the face of new troubles and unexpected challenges. The most important, history-changing events as told by expert witnesses with great conviction pall when we learn they happened last year, or ten years ago, or two thousand years ago. Does anyone remember the sea battle of Lepanto, the siege of Belgrade, the Holocaust, or Hiroshima? 

Spectacular miracles plus amazement and astonishment don't add up to faith, conviction, or courage. As Jesus said, 

"...neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." 

Easter was revelation but, moments before he followed Elijah into eternity, Jesus had explained, 

"...you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Easter was revelation; Pentecost was commission. Faith begins when we take up the cross and follow in his footsteps. Peter and the disciples had heard that command; and before Jesus's arrest they supposed they were ready for it. It's easy to feel good about yourself when you're sitting at table with the Lord and your pals. 

It's another matter when life resumes away from the altar and outside the church; when your duties are ill-defined, and your integrity is questioned.  

When the disciples came out of the Cenacle on Pentecost, and began to announce Jesus's resurrection to the same people who had crucified him, the disciples began to practice their faith. When Peter and John felt deep compassion for the beggar whom they'd seen many times already, sitting at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and commanded him, "...in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.” their faith took on a life of its own. 

When "they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name," they knew they were following in the footsteps of the Crucified.

Faith is engagement, which is more than knowledge. Our study and prayers prepare us to act with both wisdom and assurance. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we make a difference because we are different.