Christ is risen. The word of the day is “liturgy.” In our age of individualism, most of us think of worship as a private matter. It is our choice whether to attend worship or not. And that decision is based on what we can “get out” of our participation. But in today’s reading of Acts 12:25-13:12, we hear how the church in Antioch “set apart” Barnabas and Paul for their missionary work. This endorsement and empowerment of their ministry was developed in the context of worship, that is, “liturgy.” Luke reports, “As they [the church in Antioch] ministered to the Lord and fasted,” the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I…
The Lord Who Stands at the Door (Mon. May 15)
Christ is risen. The word of the day is “open.” At times in our excitement as well as our distress, we fail to focus on the most important thing of all, our relationship with Jesus Christ. We find Peter knocking on the door of Mary’s house in our reading of Acts 12:12-17. He has escaped from prison and made his way to the house where the believers are keeping a prayer vigil for him. Luke says, “He came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying” (OSB 12). A girl answers the door and recognizes Peter’s voice. She runs to tell the believers that Peter is standing at the…
God Is No Spectator (Sun. May 14)
Christ is risen. The word of the day is “hand.” A prevailing belief about God is that He is a kind and benevolent spectator who watches over people on earth. He wants everyone to be good and happy. But he does not get involved in people’s lives except in dire emergencies. Today we hear to the contrary, and how the hand of the Almighty worked throughout Old Testament history and the early church. In our reading of Acts 11:19-26, 29-30, we learn how Gentiles first became members of the fellowship of faith. When persecution scattered the believers in Jerusalem, some sought refuge in distant places, preaching the Word of Christ as they went. Some of these Hellenists, that is, Greek-speaking…
Seeing God’s Hand in All Things—Even in Evil Times (Sat. May 13)
Christ is risen! The word of the day is “delivered.” When we observe the many deplorable events of our times, it is easy to be discouraged. We lament the state of immorality, injustice, insincerity, and impiety of our nation and our world. And we wonder what the Almighty could do to advance the Gospel, bring the lost to Christ, and preserve the church in peace and security. Unrestrained evil is what we see if we view the world through earthly eyes. Yet, if we look at our times with eyes of faith, we see God’s hand at work in everything. Today in our reading of Acts 12:1-11, we learn of the miraculous escape of St. Peter from prison. Luke, the…
Beware of Withstanding the Work of the Holy Spirit (Fri. May 12)
Christ is risen, The word of the day is “withstand.”  Whenever something new arises, some will cling to the old ways whether the new is good or bad. Thus, when something new appears, the wisdom of the Jewish sage Gamaliel applies: you must beware “lest you be found to fight against God” (OSB Acts 5:39). Today in our reading of Acts 10:44-11:10, Peter had to stand before the apostles in Jerusalem and defend his action of baptizing the first Gentile and his household (OCB vs. 11-18). Peter explained that while he was preaching to the Gentile Cornelius and his family the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He had rested on the apostles on the day of Pentecost…” (OSB…
Why We Should Not Take the Remission of Sins for Granted (Thurs. May 11)
Christ is risen! The word of the day is “remission.” One temptation of the faithful is hardly ever excuse us. But that presumption of God’s mercy forgets one important article of the Creed. In our reading of Acts 10:34-43, we find this essential element of our faith. There in his sermon to the Gentile Cornelius and his household, Peter witnessed to the Risen Christ and that He is the one “ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead” (OSB vs. 42).  It is only after the apostle has referred to the Judgment of Christ that he concludes: “… through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive the remission of sins” (OSB vs. 43). By this Word, we understand that…
Overcoming the Limitations of Partiality: Then and Now (Tues. May 9)
Christ is risen, The word of the day is “common.” One thing is for sure, the Holy Spirit, who is “everywhere and fills all things” hates limitations. If you doubt it, just test Him, for the Lord Jesus said, “…with God all things are possible (OSB 19:26). But though led by the Holy Spirit, the early church had one great limitation that had to be overcome. The fellowship of faith was held captive within the boundaries of its origins in Judaism. Today in Acts 10:21-23, we read Luke’s report of how the Holy Spirit directed the early church to leap over that limit. In response to a vision, we hear Peter preach, “In truth, I perceive that God shows no…
When a Turning Point in Life Is on the Horizon (Mon. May 8)
Christ is risen! The word of the day is “vision.” The turning points of our lives have various causes. They may be life events such as births, graduations, weddings, divorces, or deaths. They may be disruptions to our situation, such as changes of work or moves to new locations. They may be new interests or new senses of direction. In today’s reading of Acts 10:1-16, we learn of another turning point in the growth of the church. As often happens in scripture, visions set the change of course in motion. Cornelius, the Gentile and Roman Centurion, “saw clearly in a vision an angel of God” (NKJV vs. 3). Likewise, the apostle Peter “fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and…
Arising to Newness of Life: Three Narratives and Our Story (Sun. May 7)
Christ is risen! The word of the day is “arise.”  The Lord has the power to lift the fallen and to command those who are lying prone in sickness, sin, and death to arise. Today on this Sunday of the Paralytic, we learn about three incidents when those who are bound to their beds heard the command to “Rise up.” Two of those who heard the order to arise were paralytics, one in our Gospel and one in our Epistle reading. The last and most spectacular example was the beloved believer Dorcas who had died. In our reading of Acts 9:32-42, Peter said, “Tabitha, arise,” and she opened her eyes, looked at Peter, and sat up (OSB vs. 40). Today as we hear of…