Of this we are witnesses

The exerpt from the Acts of the Apostles proposed for today's mediation tells the second part of a story that began with yesterday's reading.  The apostles have returned to the Temple to pray.  They are Jews gathered to pray with Jews, but the apostles are somehow changed by their encounter with Jesus.

Yesterday's liturgy recounted the meeting of Peter and John with a cripple who had been carried and placed at the gate of the temple called 'the Beautiful Gate' (cf Acts 3:2).  This man had been there, in the same place, for quite some time.  Peter and John saw him, had pity on him, and offered him that which they had to give - I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk (cf. v. 6).  The people who witnessed this cure were amazed and came closer to see what had taken place.

In the second part of the story, which is recounted in today's extract, Peter explains to the gathered crowd: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus ... (by raising him) from the dead; of this we are witnesses (3:13-15).

The words that Peter speaks betray deep faith and trust, and like him, we are invited to strengthen our own faith, our own belief, in the light of the Resurrection.  How often do we feel as though we have not the strength to face the challenges of the day, yet we have the great gift of Christ's gift of faith and love to guide us, to work through us and to enliven us.

Before they themselves had met the Risen Christ, Peter and his companions were tempted to believe that the promises spoken of by Jesus were empty, yet in the light of that first day of the week, two of the disciples had encountered the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus, and had returned to Jerusalem where they found the other disciples and were in the midst of recounting their experience their hearts burning within them as he had spoken to them on the road.  Even as they were speaking, he stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you' (Lk 24:36).

Our hearts too will burn within us with zeal if we listen for the voice of Jesus that speaks to us every day: Peace be with you.  At times this voice within us is quiet, calling gently and urging us to believe; at times it can be drowned by the concerns of the world, but it continues to call to us with the promise of faith.  We ourselves must find the courage to listen deep within for this quiet voice, for even as it greets us with gentle words, it also challenges us to courageously witness to the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our Fathers who glorified his servant and son Jesus.  God also promises to glorify us and to strengthen within us the gift of faith so that we can be witnesses to him who rose from the dead.

Do not be afraid to proclaim your faith, to witness joyfully to the Risen Christ - by loving those who God puts in our path, by telling the story of our faith as the disciples did, and by sharing the story that we have learned in the quiet of prayer with those who have not yet come to believe.