The Holy Priest-Martyr Basil, Bishop of Amasia (c. 322)
Acts 4:1-10; John 3:16-21
Read Acts 4:1-10
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Peter and John show us a confident faith in the Resurrected Christ. The divine power that is in Christ, who is the God-man, is not something which is purely for him, but a selfless gift flowing outward toward all of humanity and all of creation. Jesus Christ could not be contained by death and corruption for being God He is the source of healing, life, and incorruption; therefore, that fountain of healing and life through the incarnation becomes a source of healing for all of humanity. The Resurrection of Christ becomes a pathway for the raising up of all of humanity that has ever existed or will ever come into being. St. John Chrysostom says, “So powerful was His resurrection that He is the cause of resurrection for others as well” (Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 10).
How often do we consider this dogma of our faith: I will rise again and so will all those I know. Through Jesus Christ, I become an eternal being and I do not have to be afraid of physical death. The only kind of death I must worry about is spiritual death, which is caused by a life of sin—a life opposed to the free gift of grace, which Jesus offers all those who abide in him.