During the Easter season, we hear readings from the Acts of the Apostles about the ministry and development of the early Church. Yesterday, in Acts, we heard how the healing of a lame man gave Peter and John the opportunity to preach the Gospel message and to call the crowds to conversion and repentance. Peter and John brought the reality of the risen Christ to the lives of the people, showing how our faith in Jesus can work miracles. Not only did Peter and John attract the interest of the crowds, but they also attracted the attention of the Sadducees, the head of the Temple guards, and the chief priests in a negative way. Even though the authorities take Peter and John into custody, this gives Peter and John the opportunity to address the elders and to proclaim the Gospel, telling them that the name of Jesus is the only name that truly saves.
During the pandemic, Bishop Kopacz passed on a book to me entitled Finding Christ in the Crisis: What the Pandemic Can Teach Us. The pandemic challenged us in different ways, including in our life of faith. Some of the faithful were mad at the Church, at our response to the pandemic. Others took it as an opportunity to withdraw from the faith. Yet, perhaps we need to look at the blessings that an event such as the pandemic can bring us. Peter and John used a real life situation as an opportunity to evangelize. We can look at the pandemic to see how we had previously taken our faith for granted and how we can evangelize to others. On a parish level, perhaps the pandemic is allowing us to examine the way we do ministry. As always, let us look at the way God is calling out to us in the reality of our lives.
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