Bright Thursday
Acts 2:38-43; John 3:1-15
Bright Week. No fasting or abstention from foods
Read Acts 2:38-43
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
What happened to Peter? Less than a week ago, we heard of him denying our Lord before a servant girl. Today, we hear him preaching with such conviction before thousands in the streets of Jerusalem. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened. It is the power of the Holy Spirit working in Peter. If you recall two days ago, the 120 disciples (and the Mother of God) were praying persistently and of one accord in the upper room in Jerusalem. The Lord promised that once He left, the Father would send the Holy Spirit with power from on high. And here it is. Power from high.
Peter was just a stubborn difficult-to-get-along-with sort of person, a fisherman, from Capernaum. He was not schooled in rhetoric or languages or personal relations. And yet he spoke with such conviction in Jerusalem. He gave witness and testimony to the words, works, and miracles of our Lord. And he gave a reasoned discourse on why Jesus is indeed the one and only true Messiah. And those who heard, at least three thousand of them, were cut to the heart, profess their faith in Christ Jesus, repented, and were baptised.
It kind of makes one think… if the Lord can do that with a stubborn fisherman from Capernaum, what can He do with me? Like Peter, we need to give in to the Lord and His plan, and He will use us to bring about salvation of others.
St. Seraphim of Sarov put it this way: “Acquire the Spirit of Peace [i.e., the Holy Spirit] and a thousand souls around you will be saved.”