Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Acts 4,1-22

While they were still talking to the people the priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees.

They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.

They arrested them, and, as it was already late, they kept them in prison till the next day.

But many of those who had listened to their message became believers; the total number of men had now risen to something like five thousand.

It happened that the next day the rulers, elders and scribes held a meeting in Jerusalem

with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Alexander and all the members of the high-priestly families.

They made the prisoners stand in the middle and began to interrogate them, 'By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?'

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, 'Rulers of the people, and elders!

If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple and asking us how he was healed,

you must know, all of you, and the whole people of Israel, that it is by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, and God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this man stands before you cured.

This is the stone which you, the builders, rejected but which has become the cornerstone. Only in him is there salvation;

for of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.'

They were astonished at the fearlessness shown by Peter and John, considering that they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus;

but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer.

So they ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin had a private discussion.

'What are we going to do with these men?' they asked. 'It is obvious to everybody in Jerusalem that a notable miracle has been worked through them, and we cannot deny it.

But to stop the whole thing spreading any further among the people, let us threaten them against ever speaking to anyone in this name again.'

So they called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John retorted, 'You must judge whether in God's eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God.

We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.'

The court repeated the threats and then released them; they could not think of any way to punish them, since all the people were giving glory to God for what had happened.

The man who had been miraculously cured was over forty years old.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Sanhedrin arrested Peter and John. What happened to Jesus was repeated. They arrested them because they healed a crippled man and the people ran to listen to them with interest. There is a more or less latent contrast between the selfish and dominant mentality of the world and the Gospel. The Word of God is always a little foreign to the world because it bothers, upsets and questions people, always pushing them to overcome their love for themselves. The Sanhedrin - who could not deny the extraordinary cure of the lame man - interrogated the two disciples on the origin of their power: "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Without fear, indeed with all boldness, the apostles answered that they had done this with the power of Jesus, whom they had crucified. The one that they thought was dead and vanished had been raised by God and was now working in the world through that small group of men and women who called themselves his disciples. It is not by chance that the disciples are not indicated as "companions of Jesus" (v. 13). The chiefs of the people did not dare to condemn them for fear of a hostile reaction from the people. They sought, however, to intimidate with concrete threats. But this time they do not meet the fleeing Peter in front of his master’s capture or the one who betrayed him before the maid of the house of the High Priest. Now, strengthened by the Holy Spirit poured in his heart, with his head up, Peter answers: "Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." After having been with the risen Jesus, Peter and John can no longer be silent about their friendship with Him. They are not afraid anymore. Silence would have meant an estrangement from the Gospel. Those who have the Gospel in their heart cannot but communicate it, even if it costs them their life. Peter and John are in front of us so that we can follow their example even today knowing that a "heroic," martyr-like dimension, cannot be eliminated from the Gospel testimony. The past century witnessed millions of believers who were imprisoned, like Peter and John, because they followed Jesus’ name.