Tuesday of the Octave of Easter - 6 April 2021 - Acts 2:36-41

      In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles today, we hear about 3,000 people who were baptized in response to the message that they heard from Peter.  We can interpret this story in the context of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, in the context of our commemoration of the Easter season.  We can assume that some of those in the crowds who cried out in the midst of Christ’s passion, “Crucify him, Crucify him!” may have also been the same people who responded to Peter’s call of repentance and baptism, becoming followers of the Way of Christ.  The Acts of the Apostles tells us that the people “were cut to the heart” when they realized that Jesus, who was just crucified, was made Lord and Christ by God.

      The call to repentance that Peter makes to the crowd, and his proclamation of what God is all about, is so radical when compared to the message that so many people cling to in our modern society.  I don’t think we want to realize how radical the Gospel message is.  We often want to make Christ’s Gospel message easy and comfortable and not radical at all. We don’t want a faith that is difficult to follow.  As a missionary, there were many mission sites in rural areas that did not have a mass even once a year.  I saw on the internet when in Ireland, there were no Easter masses in-person for the second year in a row.  And in Scotland, capacity was limited to 50 people in the church for Easter masses, no matter how large the church building. It may be inconvenient to wear a mask to mass, to take communion in our hands when we want to receive it directly in the mouth, and to have to sign up for mass in advance to make a reservation.  However, what inconveniences are we willing to make for our faith?   Maybe what we are experiencing now may teach us that we should not take our faith for granted, that we need to be more appreciative for the gift of our faith and the opportunity to practice our faith in the sacraments of the Church.  

       Like the crowd that Peter addressed, may we be cut to the heart ourselves as to what our reality is right now. May we give thanks for the presence of the resurrected Christ in our lives and the opportunity to live out our faith.