April 29, 2011
Friday in the Octave of Easter
By Melanie Rigney
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.” (Acts 4:8-10)
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. (Psalms 118:26)
So (some of the apostles) went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.”(John 21:3-5)
Piety
Lord, help me to act in Your name, not for my selfish purposes.
Study
Don’t you just want to gather the apostles in your arms and say, “Don’t worry! It’s all going to turn out all right? The Holy Spirit is going to come in a few weeks, and you’re going to be able to do all sorts of things you can’t do right now”?
But in the meantime, these people, including at least one professional fisherman, can’t catch a fish to save their souls. Initially, they’re so full of themselves and their situation that they can’t even recognize the trusted friend they’ve been following for three years.
It’s the same for us today. Oh, we know in our hearts and souls that Jesus is always with us. But our heads get in the way. We worry about what our kids are or aren’t doing. We fret over whether we’re going to get that promotion. We concern ourselves with the noise and busyness of our days, things over which we have almost no control.
No matter how rich or how powerful or how centered we are, we can’t do it on our own, because we don’t have control over much. How much simpler—and how much more challenging at the same time—it is when we instead slow down enough to allow ourselves to be fed in prayer and community and to in turn feed others in His name.
Action
Do something today for someone else—a family member, friend, co-worker, or complete stranger—in His name, expecting nothing in return.
