Monday within the Octave of Easter

You who are children of Israel, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.

Sometimes we are disciples of Christ, but other times we are lawless men, who crucify Christ. We are the latter when we give into temptation and sin or turn our backs in indifference on those in need. Thankfully, we know even Jesus’ closest companions, the Apostles, fled from him during his Passion and Death and only returned to him after the Resurrection. We know that just because we say we believe it doesn’t make us immune to our failings, faults, and weaknesses. Even knowing all of Jesus’ mighty deeds, wonders, and signs... all his words, teachings, and prayers... we still fail, but God knows us and this is why he sent His Beloved Son to die for us. He wanted us to see how much He loved us and give us an example of how we can rise again from our sins and do God’s Will. If Jesus’ disciples could recover from turning their backs on Jesus, so too we can recover from our sins and become good and faithful servants to the Lord and all His children.

How can we become more like the disciples after Jesus’ Resurrection? How can we put aside our lawless and sinful ways? Do we seek out God’s forgiveness for our sins?

O Lord, help us to follow the laws you have written on our hearts.

Amen.