(Audio)
The lame man was healed and we were amazed.
You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this
The risen LORD appeared to us and we were fearful and uncomprehending.
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Like the people of Israel, we didn't understand what God had announced through the prophets. We couldn't simply ready Isaiah and think to ourselves, 'Oh, this is how it will turn it.' Even having heard the message of Jesus in the Gospels there was a critical difference between simply hearing and taking it to heart.
Now I know, brothers and sisters,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
Until the the Gospel message truly takes root in us Jesus seems like someone in the past. Every time his power is revealed in the present seems unlikely and amazing. In many ways we too expect Jesus to be a mere ghost. We can allow for a non-physical entity that mostly impacts us subjectively in order to make us nice people who have nice feelings. We are far less ready for the living Christ who can really come to us at any moment and change the course of our lives. But we can be made ready.
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
Without the Scriptures opened to us we remain distant from Jesus who is himself the word of God. But without the help of Jesus the Scriptures remain closed to us. We need this experience of having our minds opened in order to become the witnesses we are meant to be.
Once our minds are opened Jesus is freed to act through us to reach out to and heal the people we meet in our daily lives.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
Jesus is "the author of life", whose name is wonderful "in all the earth". We need our hearts opened to recognize his presence here and now so that he can give us the "times of refreshment" we so desire.
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