Homily: Second Wednesday of Easter
Second Wednesday of Easter (Acts 5:17-26) “What Hill to Die On”
The courage of many of the saints impresses me. I am embarrassed. How often do I waffle when challenged by others regarding what I believe? I tend to water things down. I might even avoid hostile people rather than to witness for Christ.
I think of a Saint like Sebastian who was one of the early Roman martyrs. He was arrested for being a Christian. He was tied to a wall and archers shot him with arrows and left him for dead. Friends took him away and to their surprise he lived. But the more impressive thing was that when he got well, he went back to those who shot him and proclaimed that he was a Christian again. This time they beat him to death with clubs.
We read about the same thing in the Acts of the Apostles today. Peter and John are thrown into prison by the Sanhedrin. But an angel frees them in the middle of the night. We would think they would have snuck out of town, but they go right back to the temple to preach some more.
The soldiers arrest them again, but they do so quietly for fear of the crowd that is listening to the Apostles. They are afraid that the people at the temple will throw stones at them. The people in the street can perceive what the authorities cannot see. The apostles put service to the Gospel message above all else.
Someone was talking to me about choosing “what hill to die on.” By that they meant that we all can make a choice not to back down from certain things we believe. We can choose not to compromise our integrity.
Peter and James had come to the point where they did not care what others thought. They were going to openly proclaim their beliefs that Jesus was the Son of God. Is our conviction that strong?
- What is one belief that I will not compromise on? Why is it important to me?
- Have I ever gotten in trouble for a cause? How did that feel?
Dear Parishioners,
We will be having a parish meeting on Sunday to share the latest information about the addition we hope to build on Sacred Heart Church. The plans are now in the hands of the Diocese of Peoria. The bids have come in lower than expected and that is good news. Perhaps we will have permission to move forward by Sunday. We will see.
The meeting Sunday will start at 3 p.m. and will be in Culemans Hall. Please inform anyone who might be interested. The bids that we have in hand are only good for two weeks due to the volatility of the materials we will be using.
I anticipate the meeting will last about an hour. Come and be informed.
May Our Lady bring peace to our violent world soon.
Fr. Mark