2ND WEEK OF EASTER

All day long, . . . they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus. 

What if you heard some really good news, something utterly life-changing? This news has made you so happy that you are bursting with joy. You just can’t contain yourself; you just have to share it with someone!

In today’s first reading, the apostles could not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus and his resurrection. Despite having just been flogged by order of the Sanhedrin and sternly warned to “stop speaking in the name of Jesus,” they preached “all day long, both at the temple and in their homes” (Acts 5:40, 42). What compelled them to do this?

One reason was that their joy could not be contained! The apostles had received a pure, unadulterated kind of joy that bubbled over like a spring. They knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the fulfillment of all the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. But he had died, and all looked lost. Three days later, however, he rose—and his resurrection brought new life, along with the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was beyond anything they could have ever hoped for or imagined!

The apostles experienced the joy of Easter, but it wasn’t meant for them only. In every age, believers are invited into that same kind of joy. Unfortunately, our very human tendency is to take the good news for granted. Or perhaps the struggles of daily life obscure the life-giving message of the gospel. However, no matter what our lives are like at any given moment, we can make a conscious choice to rejoice in what God has done for us through Christ. That decision may lead us into a personal experience of joy—along with a desire to share the reason we are feeling that way.

We may not be called to preach and teach in quite the same way as the apostles. However, we can discover our own “temples”: those places where we can bring the good news. This might be in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our families—wherever the Lord leads us. May the example of the apostles inspire us to share the gospel out of the abundance of joy in our hearts.

“Lord, my Savior, I rejoice in you!”

Acts 5:34-42
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
John 6:1-15