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Acts 3: 11-26
As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John,
all the people hurried in amazement toward them
in the portico called “Solomon’s Portico.”
When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,
“You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this,
and why do you look so intently at us
as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence,
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
Now I know, brothers and sisters,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away,
and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment
and send you the Christ already appointed for you, Jesus,
whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration
of which God spoke through the mouth
of his holy prophets from of old.
For Moses said:
A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.
Everyone who does not listen to that prophet
will be cut off from the people.
“Moreover, all the prophets who spoke,
from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days.
You are the children of the prophets
and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors
when he said to Abraham,
In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you
by turning each of you from your evil ways.”
The Word of the Lord.
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Our first reading contains parts of Saint Peter’s second sermon after Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Within it, we find several key elements of early Christian preaching, which should still be linchpins to our faith-sharing today.
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The early Christians always stressed the horror of the crucifixion. It was a torturous, inhumane way to die. And the Jews, in partnership with the Romans, allowed it to happen to the Lord of Life.
Peter goes as far as to shame those present who shouted, “Crucify him!” on Good Friday.
He wants to shock the crowds into understanding the power of sin – and the extent to which God respects our freedom.
But if they repent, then their sins will be wiped away immediately.
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Repentance has a triple-effect on the Christian life.
It changes our past – God wipes away our sin.
It changes our present – we alter our behavior.
It changes our future – Christ leads us to eternal life.
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Finally, Peter focuses on the power of the resurrection. In being raised to life, Jesus reveals his indestructible power. Death no longer has any hold over him.
And if Christ has been raised from the dead, then we shall be raised, too. As Saint Paul says, “Neither death nor life, nor present things, nor future things, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”
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On Ash Wednesday, a cross of ash was traced onto our forehead. The minister reminded us what Peter told those first Christians:
“Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
What might that look like for me – turning closer to the Lord – today?
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Image credits: (1) Saint Peter Preaching in Jerusalem, by Charles Poerson (2) Saint Peter, by Peter Paul Rubens (3) Eric Echols