Easter Tuesday. Bible Study: Acts 2:36-41, Psalm 33 and John 20:11-18
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" 38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized (Acts 2:37-38)
Today’s first reading is the concluding part of Peter’s sermon on the life of Christ. Luke tells us that the audience was “cut to the heart.”
As Peter spoke, the words became “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). The people asked Peter: “What are we to do?”
In response to this question, Peter said: “Repent and be baptized in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins… Save yourself from this crooked generation.”
To this day, Peter’s words are right on point. “Repent and be baptised…” What are those things holding you down spiritually? It is time to repent. Our Psalmist today sings: “His merciful love fills the earth.” One great saint said: “God is never tired of forgiving us, we are the ones who get tired of asking His forgiveness.”
Do you assume your sins are too much? Consider the fact that this same Peter whose sermon converted thousands had a past. He drew a sword to cut off someone’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane. Like Judas Iscariot, Peter betrayed Jesus by denying Him three times but unlike Judas, Peter asked for forgiveness.
Ask for forgiveness today. Come out of the darkness. Embrace the light. This is the only way to save yourself from our crooked generation; a generation that has turned its head upside down in terms of morality; a generation that openly worships the devil; a generation so crooked that even its religious leaders cannot be trusted.
In our Gospel passage, Mary Magdalene saw the risen Jesus but she thought he was the gardener. For a moment, she was blind to the reality staring her in the face. Like Mary Magdalene, how many times have you encountered Jesus without knowing?
Recall the words of Christ in the sixth station of the Cross – “Can you be brave enough to wipe my face? ‘Where is your face?’ you may ask me, and I will answer: ‘in the streets, traffic jams, the remote and dirty villages, wherever suffering exists, my face is there and I look for you to wipe away my blood and tears.”
Jesus said to Mary Magdalene: “Go and tell my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” It doesn’t matter what your past has been, Jesus wants to work through you and in you. Jesus wants you to be His apostle, to spread the news of His Resurrection to the ends of the earth. Come of the darkness, embrace the light, save yourself from this wicked generation.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, free me from guilt and use me mightily as your instrument to in the midst of the darkness that surrounds our world. Amen.
Happy Easter. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.