Impossible

Impossible

Saturday in the Octave of Easter

So, they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:18-20

But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature."  Mark 16:14-15

Piety

How Can I Keep from Singing?

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, though far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?

(Hymn by Robert Wadsworth Lowry; Performed by Marty Haugen)

Study

The Sanhedrin could have easily issued the order for Peter to stop breathing or for his heart to stop beating.  Peter has come a long way in his piety and action since hiding away in the upper room and retreating to the comfort zone of his fishing boat.

Jesus did some of his strongest work aimed at converting Peter from inside and outside the fishing boat – and the results are abundantly clear today. Jesus summoned Peter to walk across the stormy seas to meet him.  Jesus also advised Peter where to toss his nets to have a successful catch.

Peter’s disobedience of the Sanhedrin shows that Jesus’s work on Peter paid off. “It is impossible not to speak about what he has seen and heard."

Action

What comfort zone does Easter pull you out of?