Student Daily Reflection

[270] Acts 5:27-33
Psalm 34:2+9, 17-18, 19-20
John 3:31-36

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer
The Daily Reflections

In today’s first reading, the apostles have been brought in to see the Sanhedrin in regards to them disobeying direct orders telling them to not teach in the name of Jesus, an action which has in turn painted the members of the Sanhedrin in a bad light. In the apostles’ response, they essentially say that the wishes of God supersede the laws of man and that because they were witnesses to the events of Jesus’ life, they cannot simply sit quietly and allow God’s message to remain unspoken.

What amazed me about today’s reading was that the apostles stood up in front of the same men who had recently tried and succeeded in convincing the Roman government to kill not only their leader, but their close friend, and instead of choosing to renounce their beliefs in order to escape potential danger, they chose to remain faithful to what they deemed to be correct. The personal fortitude needed to do such a thing truly is astounding and can’t help but think that it is something we can all learn from. We can look at the apostles as examples of men standing up for what they truly believed was not simply socially acceptable, but right and just. We all have things in our lives that we believe are right, but are afraid to publically stand up for those things because of the social ramifications that may barrage us in response to our actions. However, in our fear of rebuke, we can choose to look to the apostles for support and guidance, keeping in mind the fact that they chose to keep preaching what they believed to be right regardless of the potentially fatal consequences of their actions. Bravery requires not only our ability to act in the face of fear, but our strength to remain acting even once controversy arises. I think we can all be thankful for the apostles’ bravery as exhibited in today’s first reading and also be inspired to act in a similar fashion in our daily lives.

“We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”