Monday within the Octave of Easter

Acts 2: 14.22-33         Mathew 28: 8-15

Theme: The power of the resurrection

In the 1^st reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles, we see the power of the resurrection at work in the lives of the followers of Christ. We see Peter speaking with power, authority and conviction to the people about Jesus Christ who was killed, and he rose from the dead after three days. This is amazing, taking into consideration the fact that this is the same Peter who denied Jesus three times, and was not ready to own up at that point in time. The power of the resurrection has strengthened their faith in God and removed any form of fear from them. At this point, they are all willing to die for their faith in God. That is why even when they were warned to stop preaching the resurrected Christ, they refused and continued to preach it to the people. We are all partakers of the power of the resurrection, as children of God.

We went through the process from Ash Wednesday until the resurrection morning, that is on Easter Sunday. So, we should be able to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ in our daily lives. We may not be able to preach it verbally like Peter and the other Apostles did, but we can witness to Christ with the kind of life that we lead. This is an invitation that we all must take seriously in our daily lives. You don’t have to doubt yourself, I want you to know that you are a worthy instrument in the hand of God, if you truly desire it. Just draw strength from the situation of the Apostles in the Scriptures, they all ran away when the situation became scary, except John the beloved. But after the resurrection, Jesus did not chase them away but rather appeared to them to strengthen their faith and prepare them for life after the resurrection. It is the same thing for all of us as followers of Christ in our own time. You may have betrayed God in the past, he has forgiven you, trust in him and do the needful in your life.

In the gospel reading of today from St. Mathew, we are told that the women had an encounter with the resurrected Jesus, and he gave them a message for the disciples. This goes to show us that when you make honest and sincere effort to be close to God, he will give you privileges that will amaze you. One of such situations is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was the women that went to the Tomb in the morning that was blessed with the resurrection news. They had to run back to the disciples with great joy to share their experience and message with the disciples. Your sincere disposition makes a lot of difference. May the Lord continue to strengthen our faith in him the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.