Wednesday
of the Second Week of Easter
(Acts
5:17-26; John 3:16-21)
Leonard
Bernstein’s Mass features a song that corresponds to today’s first
reading. Written in the late sixties and
early seventies “The Word of the Lord” protests the Vietnam war. A conscientious objector speaks of his
experience in prison while the chorus sings, “… you cannot imprison the Word of
the Lord.”
In the
reading from Acts the Sanhedrin tries to do just that. The apostles are put in jail for preaching
how Jesus’ death and resurrection fulfilled the Scriptures. The Sanhedrin’s action, however, is hardly
the final word. God sends an angel to free the apostles. Soon they are found back in the temple area
again preaching about Jesus.
The Word of
God tells us how to live and what to look for when we die. We should read it, study it, and contemplate
it. But its truth is not always easy to
discern. We should also consult the
authority of the Church about aspects that seem to contradict regular
teaching. Approached in this way, the
Word of God will be liberating and life-sustaining.
