In today's first reading, Acts 4: 13-21 the leaders, elders and scribes were amazed at what Peter and John had done, seeing them as simply ordinary men, "companions of Jesus"! All they had to boast of in the eyes of these secular men was Jesus the Christ! They were not highly educated men. They were fishermen. That is all in the eyes of people who had no faith in Christ Jesus!
When the elders, the leaders and the scribes sternly rebuked Peter and John and forbade them to speak of Jesus, their response was: "'Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.' After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people who were all praising God for what had happened."
You and I have the same credentials as Peter and John. We are ordinary people and "companions of Jesus"! Do we have the faith of Peter and John? Do we believe in the Christ as Peter and John did? It looked so simple: the crippled man was begging for silver and gold and Peter and John said to him: We don't have that to give you. What we do have, however, we do share with you. In Jesus' name, rise and walk! And the crippled man took Peter's hand, got up and walked, jumping around praising God for the healing power that overpowered his crippled state!
People in our lives are also freed of that which cripples them when we share God's love with them by loving, forgiving and lending help to them, when we encourage them to rise up to the occasion, support them in the good that they do, challenge them when they are allowing human weakness to hold them back from doing good and so on! We may not recognize the "miracle" God is doing through us but that does not negate His work in us and in others!
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