Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Tuesday in the Octave of Easter, April 22, 2025

Delivered by Vici from tha Parish of John the Baptist in the Archdiocese of Jakarta, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 2: 36-41; Rs psalm 33: 4-5.18-19.20.22; John 20: 11-18ACTSOF FAITH  Thetitle of our meditation today is: Acts of Faith. When we express or reveal afact of an event that already happened, the responses from our audience are notalways yes and not always no. There is usually a response of acceptance andagreement. There is also a response of rejection and disagreement. Anotherresponse would be neither welcome nor rejection. It is a no response attitude,the one that is undecided or just a playing safe position. In other words, whenwe make a preference and decision, we cannot please and satisfy all around us. WhenHe was still alive, Jesus was not accepted by many people. He taught that thissame experience of His will be faced by His followers also, from the time ofthe apostles until our time. The first sermon of the Apostle Peter and otherdisciples should be seen in this context. Today we put ourselves in the contextof the apostolic teaching on the day of Pentecost, where we see people whoagreed and accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The highlight of the teachingis in what Peter addressed the Jews: God has made Jesus, whom you crucified, tobe Lord and Christ. A very particular response of the Jews who heard thissermon, was that their hearts were deeply moved. Then they asked what shouldthey do. Theyunderstood the teaching. Their minds should had been in line with the minds ofthe apostles and disciples. Understanding is supposed to support feeling andemotion, then finally constitutes the concept of faith. The apostles played therole of caring and preserving this beginning of faith. People’s openness ofheart and mind was the fertile soil for the growing of true faith. The acts offaith that followed were the repentance of sin, the baptism in the name ofJesus Christ as the element of forgiveness, and the outpouring gift of the HolySpirit. Inthis context of the first sermon on the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are actuallymeditating our fundamental response as believers. In the life of the Church asit was from the beginning, this reminds us of the first three sacraments ofinitiation, namely baptism, holy eucharist, and confirmation. They are theinitial and fundamental stages of Christian life. Aswe listen and accept the word of God, we are bound to the direction of lifethat the Lord points out. The one who is in this context of experience, he isprepared for the baptism that brings him to meet and see the Lord personally.He is given a special name, like the risen Jesus who called "Mary" byname. This is actually the reflection of how we receive the Holy Communionwhere we touch the Lord personally and bring Him into ourselves. Our life iscontinually strengthened and renewed through the outpouring of the Holy Spiritin all acts of faith, from the moment of our Confirmation.Let's pray. In thename of the Father ... O Lord Jesus Christ, may we not escape from recognizingYou directly and firmly through the preaching of Your word every day. Hail Maryfull of grace ... In the name of the Father ...