Holy Priest-Martyr Artemon and those with him (284-305).
Acts 5:21-33. John 6:14-27.
Read Acts 5:21-33
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Our epistle message today finds the disciples once again doing the thing they were strongly commanded not to do: preaching Christ and His Resurrection! This is an incredible change from the cowering group of Apostles, hiding behind closed doors after they had witnessed Christ’s crucifixion. The Resurrection of Jesus has shown them that He has truly overcome the world and that they can stand with confidence in the temple and preach, despite the continual opposition they face.
Having already been miraculously released from prison, they are detained another time and reminded that they have been strictly forbidden to continue preaching the gospel of Christ. Peter’s response is clear and to the point: We must obey God rather than men. This tension between obeying civil authorities and our faith confronts us in our daily lives as well. When we are faced between a choice in following the Lord or carrying out an immoral command from another authority, it is our Christian duty to respond like Peter does: We must obey God rather than men. The Catechism of the Catholic Church informs us of this obligation beautifully:
The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. Refusing obedience to civil authorities, when their demands are contrary to those of an upright conscience, finds its justification in the distinction between serving God and serving the political community. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 4 1 8 “We must obey God rather than men”- CCC 2242