Overcoming obstacles to belief

Acts 4:13-21, Mk 16:9-15. As the Sanhedrin, rejected the notion that Jesus could be the Messiah, so they denied that he had risen from the dead. To believe this would demand a major change in their belief-system, no less than a total reinterpretation of their Scripture and traditions. In today's first reading, Peter and John stood before the Council insisting that the Crucified Jesus was alive again and now present as a living force for healing and renewal. They made this claim on peril of their lives, in defiance of the Sanhedrin’s formal prohibition. The message was important to be repressed by any human authority. The Risen Christ rolled away more stones than the one blocking the entrance of His tomb. He flung wide the doors to the future and offers a glimpse of what lies beyond, yet they established their lack of faith.

In today’s Gospel, the faithlessness of the disciples is mentioned three times. Neither the first-person narrative of Mary of Magdala and the two disciples from Emmaus nor the direct encounters with the Risen Lord kindled faith in some of the Apostles. Jesus reproached them, but surprisingly, He still trusted them with the missionary mandate to bear witness to His life, death and resurrection. The disciples of Jesus took time to recognise the risen Lord but when they recognised Him through the gift of the Holy Spirit, nothing deterred them from preaching Christ. It is only when we are ready to take away our pride, selfishness, fear and ignorance from our life, that the Holy Spirit is able open our eyes of faith to see God who is present in our midst.

May the Lord, who is our peace and joy wipe away all tears, turn our sorrows into joy, help us to live as children of light and strengthen us to bear witness before the world to the resurrection of Christ! Amen!! Good morning and happy weekend!!!