Gamaliel and the Miracle of Multiplication

WORD 2day: Friday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 24, 2020: Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15

Gamaliel proved a true God-fearing man and his words become a miracle. Try and notice the beautiful connection made in the Liturgy of the Word today: there is the multiplication of the loaves reported in the Gospel but we see that unfolding in reality in the Acts, in the form of the multiplication of the Christians. From a mere handful, the people of the Way begin to grow in leaps and bounds. 

More than the miracle itself, what led to the miracle claims our attention here. The miracle happened because of the following three reasons:

- the Apostles and the band kept God and God's Word above everything else, even above their own lives. They were ready even to lay down their lives, instead of giving up on proclaiming the Word. They openly declared they would obey God, even if that meant their lives!

- the Apostles and the people considered it God's mission and not their own enterprise; they gave the entire credit to God. This is what is proved by Gamaliel's statement. If it were their own making and their own plan, it would have crumbled in  no time. It was God's plan and they persons involved recognised it and readily accepted it, the consequence being the great fruits they saw in such a short time.

- the Apostles had no other hidden agenda, for instance their own glory, making a living, or creating a following for themselves. They surrendered themselves totally to the Lord and they were multiplied, multiplied far beyond their own expectations. 

God's Word, God's plan and God's glory - these are the sources of invincible strength that one can have in life... and a Christian with these is indeed a great witness unto the Lord.