Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, apostles of the Church. In the first reading of today's liturgy, Acts 12: 1-11, St. Luke shares the story of Peter's arrest and imprisonment, which immediately followed the martyrdom of St. James. Seeing the people's celebration of St. James' death, Herod believes that he will delight the people even more by killing Peter. The night before being brought to trial, an angel frees Peter, who is heavily guarded by four squads of soldiers and "secured by double chains". The chains fall off, the locked doors of the prison open and Peter and the angel pass all of the guards unnoticed! Securely outside of the prison, the angel leaves Peter and he realizes that what happened to him was not a vision but reality!
Paul's story is as mind-bottling and miraculous, as he is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them to Herod for imprisonment and most likely the same fate as St. James. The Lord God knocks Paul down, then known as Saul, and says to him: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Blinded by the light, he gets up and is told to go into the city. There, he will be met by a man who will direct him on to what he is to do instead of co-operating with the plan of human beings to to wipe out the followers of Jesus.
God is no less real in your life or mine than in the life of Peter and Paul nor any less real in the world of our day than in the world of Peter and Paul's day. Forces rose up against truth then, and now. Immorality, killings, false imprisonments,violence against people of integrity, the slaughter of innocents and other criminal behavior abounded in Peter and Paul's culture and continue in our day with people supporting these kind of choices in the belief that they are doing what is right--even believing that people doing evil are divinely inspired and divinely appointed to lead us.
God sent Jesus into this world, not to condemn it, but to save it. God sent angels, His messengers, to people like Mary and Joseph, Zachary and Elizabeth, Peter and others. He spoke to Pilate through his wife, who warned Pilate to "have nothing to do with this man," meaning Jesus whom the people desired to be be put to death by crucifixion. In this day and age, God continues to send warnings and also to intervene for us. Are we aware of these interventions? Or are we too enamored by those yielding power and control and wanting that kind of power ourselves that we go right along with them, even believing that they are of divine origin?
Lord, I pray, open our minds and eyes and ears to the evil around us! May we recognize the "Herods" of today--persons as determined as was Herod in Jesus' time to seize absolute power over others and to do whatever necessary to secure that power, including destroying men and women of integrity, men and women of faith, men and women committed to what is true, right and just!
No comments:
Post a Comment