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Throughout the Easter season, our first reading often comes from the Acts of the Apostles, offering us a glimpse into the early life of the Church.
Acts answers questions like:
How did the the Apostles react to news of the resurrection?
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Remember, while Jesus is being crucified, most of them run away and hide.
They remained hidden until the Risen Lord appears to them inside a locked room in Jerusalem, transforming their grief into belief.
In fact, their sudden reverse in behavior becomes one of the first arguments for proof of the resurrection.
How else do you reconcile the fact that these men were cowering in fear one day, then boldly preaching in public the next?
They saw the Risen Lord. Jesus wasn’t a ghost. He was real. He was alive again.
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The faith of the Apostles, which we see so clearly in the Book of Acts, is meant to teach us how to live out our own faith. Allow me to offer just two examples.
First, they had courage.
They risked their lives preaching about Jesus. Even a good flogging couldn’t stop them.
Jesus was alive. No amount of suffering would stop them from sharing this. They were determined to tell the world.
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Secondly, they knew their destiny.
So many of these first Christians experienced persecution, separation from their families, and untimely deaths.
But they weren’t afraid; they believed that strongly in the resurrection.
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I wonder if that faith has been watered down at all today. After being handed on for nearly 100 generations, do we have the same faith and courage of the Apostles?
Or have we lost some fire in our bellies?
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I don’t mean to compare ourselves to them in a negative sense. Rather, the opposite.
These first Christians didn’t let anything disturb them because they knew that heaven was just around the corner.
Jesus had been raised from the dead. And so would they be, so long as they remained faithful.
Perhaps this current state of affairs reminds us of how important our faith is. The Coronavirus is scary, yes. Along with numerous other things that threaten our health, like cancer.
But the Apostles remind us that all is well that ends well.
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As it’s written in the Letter to the Hebrews: “Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever.”
So should the Church be.
Whether we’re first generation Christians, the 100th generation, or the 1,000th generation, our faith should never change.
Jesus Christ conquered death. And, thankfully, so shall we.