Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

Fourth Sunday of Easter (May 11, 2003)

Salesian Perspective

No one likes a show off, right? Worse yet, those with the authority and thus power do not like some new guy to show them up. Peter seems to have caught the attention and dismay of those in power by curing a cripple. No one doubted that healing occurred; they were concerned how it occurred, or more accurately, by whose power. Further, Peter didn’t just cure the cripple he healed him meaning from a first century Mediterranean biblical culture, that he restored meaning to the man’s life. Recall that Peter repeats by what means was he "saved." Talk about giving meaning to life! Thus, talk about a power struggle.

For all of Peter’s boldness and weaknesses he is quick to give credit where credit is due, that is, the power to heal comes from the “name of Jesus the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed.” Through our lenses this is a no brainer: we know salvation is God’s work. But, what might Peter have felt in this scene in light of the fact that Peter himself had “rejected the cornerstone?” Was there anyone in this crowd in the crowd that overheard Peter deny Jesus?

In other words, how did Peter grow from rejecting Jesus to preaching boldly about Him? I can hear our answer now in unison, the Holy Spirit! No, no, we’re not getting off THAT easy. Sure it was by the power of the Holy Spirit but HOW did the Holy Spirit work in Peter, that is the question that I think we need to delve into so that we too can become bold in our proclamation of Jesus the Christ.

We’ve all heard it said, and we certainly give intellectual assent to the idea that we cannot get to the joy of Easter Resurrection without going through the suffering of Good Friday. How did Peter go through his Good Friday in order to get to his Easter Sunday? How can his experience help us in our reluctant progression through Good Friday to Easter Sunday?

The answer begins with admitting our sin. Peter denied Jesus just as we deny him countless times when we put our power and ideas ahead of God’s (recall Jesus telling Peter that he is thinking as man and not like God) and in so doing we sin. When we are enraged yet fearful as we become aware of injustices and retreat into the comfort of our rationalization, individualism, nationalism or complacency and ignore the truth (Jesus is the Truth?) we sin. So what brought Peter out from his hiding place into the light of Truth? In other words, how exactly did the Holy Spirit get through to him, alas, how does the Holy Spirit get through to us?

We come to a gradual awareness of our sin. We acknowledge that sin. We allow ourselves to feel the pain of deep contrition (Peter wept) for sin. We realize our dependence on God. We confess. We feel the forgiveness and mercy of God. We change.

Francis de Sales speaks to this in the Introduction to the Devout Life when he speaks of God’s compassion and our capacity for humility. Francis writes, “Assuredly nothing can so humble us before the compassion of God as the abundance of His mercies; nothing so humbles us before His justice as the abundance of our misdeeds. Let us reflect upon all He has done for us, and all we have done against Him; and as we count over our sins in detail, even so let us count over His mercies.”

This is the point. If we managed to get through Lent without “counting our sins in detail” this excerpt from the Acts of Apostles is showing us the effect of what happens when we humble ourselves before the compassion of God. In short, it changes us. Let me be more accurate, the Holy Spirit changes us. That’s what I see in this first Reading which begins with “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit….”

Loretta Bedner is Regional Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center for the Diocese of Charlotte, NC.