May 7: Acts of the Apostles / Hechos de los Apóstoles

One of the unmistakable lessons we get from the Acts of the Apostles is this: Jerusalem, which had been a special place of Jesus’ ministry, violently rejected His disciples as they began to spread the Good news. Meanwhile, outsiders, particularly in Samaria, accepted His word, were willing to accept miracles, and were converted and Baptized. The supposedly “sophisticated” Jerusalem, with its religious schools and centuries-old traditions, never gave Jesus or His disciples a fair hearing. But the “despised” Samaritans responded with joy to the Gospel message. 

Thus, believing the Gospel is more than just an intellectual assent to religious doctrine. The Samaritans still have something to teach us about being open to new possibilities, not being afraid of saying Yes to something new, and letting the flower of faith bloom among us and within us.

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Easter celebrates the faithfulness of God to His Son Jesus, and the faithfulness of Jesus to all of us. God’s faithfulness encourages us to keep turning back to Him, even after we have turned away from Him or tried to close the door to the new possibilities which come through His grace.

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Según Los Hechos de los Apóstoles, el fervor de la joven Iglesia es tan contagioso que, incluso en la persecución, los cristianos aprovechan la ocasión de la misma persecución para predicar a Cristo Resucitado. Ciertamente, Dios no abandona a la Iglesia, aun en momentos de prueba y sufrimiento. La Escritura dice incluso que había gran alegría por los signos de la presencia de Jesús. apóstoles 

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Jesús ha bajado del cielo para hacer no su voluntad sino la voluntad del Padre. Y ¿cuál es esa voluntad? Sencillo: el Padre quiere que no se pierda ni uno de sus hijos, quiere que todos se salven, que todos reconozcan que en Jesús encuentran la vida, la Vida, la verdadera Vida – la vida eterna, la vida para siempre. Concretar eso en nuestras vidas y en nuestra situación concreta es ya nuestra responsabilidad. Y en ese camino, con nosotros, acompañándonos, está Jesús, el Pan de Vida, El que ha estado con nosotros desde el comienzo de la Iglesia.