He is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.'
There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved. (Acts 4:11-12 NABRE)
Wow! What powerful words. What authority! And spoken by the same terrified guy who not long before found himself weeping bitterly after having denied even knowing his best friend!
Oh Peter, what changed in you?! What led you from cowardice to courage? How did you change from that man who lied to the crowd of strangers about who you were, into the man who now confronts the leaders and elders of the community who have the power to condemn you? And yet you stand before them, on the record, calling them murderers as you yourself stand accused of ignoring their directive not to preach or heal in Jesus' name.
See the power of the Holy Spirit and how it can change a man!
With one month until we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, it is good to acknowledge the great power of God within us, and to see the ways he leads each of us to advance the Kingdom in our lives. Jesus told the Apostles that God's Kingdom--a somewhat unfamiliar concept--was at hand. For now, suffice it to say that today, believers live in the Kingdom partially-realized and we await the fulfillment when Jesus returns. In the meantime, we have the Holy Spirit as our guide and advocate. Let's lean on him each day.
Today, on this fourth Sunday of Easter, I will rely on the Holy Spirit, as Peter did, as Saint Pedro de San José Betancur, and as all saints do, to lead me along my path regardless of my own expectations.
Saint Pedro de San José Betancur, who practiced mercy “heroically with the lowliest and the most deprived,” pray for us.
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