WORD 2day: Wednesday. 3rd week in Easter time
May 4, 2022: Acts 8:1b-8; John 6: 35-40There was great joy in the city. Inspite of having to desert their hometowns and go into diaspora, the community of believers bring joy wherever they go. It was because, they carried the Risen Lord in their hearts. No wonder, the evil spirits came out shrieking!
The resurrection experience filled them with a joy that could not be replaced by anything else under the sun. The words "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ" (Rom 8:35) was a concrete life experience of the early Christians. The source of this experience is the total and loving self giving of the Lord.
Those who escaped persecution, went from place to place preaching the Good News, says the reading today - they escaped only to endanger themselves again with their resolve to preach the Good News. Apart from the resurrection experience that gripped them, the after effects were taking them to newer heights of commitment and dedication. Their joy was breaking bounds, as they discovered their new lives with their Lord.
Imitating their Lord and Saviour, they were filled with hope and were emanating a divine joy. They were testifying because they had boundless joy and their joy was their greatest testimony! How joyful is our testimony as Christians?