Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Like a bell that continues to resonate long after it has been struck, our reflections on the Word of God during this Easter season cause us to stop and linger in the silence. We can wonder what it must have been like for the early Church to ponder and digest the most drastic fluctuations of grief and hope. Dealing with the death of Jesus on the cross and then dealing with his rising from the dead had to be transforming. It meant learning a new attitude and a new language of hope.
The power of the unimaginable takes people of faith to a new level of response. It is not surprising that the early Church inspired and energized by this electrifying experience should soon begin to show gifts and insights flowing from the Spirit of Jesus within them.
The first reading in today’s liturgy presents the inevitable conflict sparked when a Spirit-driven group of faithful Jews spoke the truth about the past and the present in a new way. Stephen was the first to give witness to Christ Risen, the light to the nations, by facing the blindness of a dark and unbelieving crowd.
Today’s Gospel, viewed through the lens of the Spirit-filled community, saw the popular pursuit of miracles as shallow. Something deeper was at hand. Every healing and nourishing event spoke of God’s personalized language of love. The only adequate response was to learn, speak, and follow the new language of faith.
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections