The Holy Virgins and Martyrs Agapia, Irene, and Chionia.
Acts 4:23-31; John 5:24-30.
Read Acts 4:23-31
In response to the Sanhedrin the apostles Peter and John respond, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
We are in the week of Thomas Sunday where we heard Thomas’s famous word, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Often Thomas is labelled or known as “doubting Thomas” and his “doubting” is manifested as undesirable.
But honestly recall, in the scriptures in most of the encounters people had with the resurrected Christ, they did not recognize him untilJesus Himself made it known. It must be concluded that most of the time we do not see nor recognize Jesus, even when He is in our midst.
The powerful response of courage that is evident in Peter and John’s response presupposes their experience of the encounter they had with the resurrected Jesus. Remember, during Christ’s passion Peter denied he ever knew Him three times and his encounter with the resurrected Jesus forced him to face his absolute failure in loving The Lord, but it also included the unimaginable experience of Jesus’ Mercy. This was the sure cure that Peter experienced and put him very solidly on the immovable rock of faith, exactly where Jesus wanted him to be and ultimately where Peter and all of want to be also, glory to God.
To Peter’s credit and to all the other disciples who stayed with Jesus when Jesus had the discourse about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6:30-63 especially when many “walked with him no more” (John 6:66) because, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” (John 6:60)
Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:67-69)
Jesus wants very much to reveal himself to us and he wants very much for us to know him so that our faith in Him will be unshakable and fearless. For that to happen, we must desire it with our entire being, with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul and with all our strength. And most importantly, never to give up.