In England & Wales Cycle of Prayer:
Those who suffer persecution, oppression, or denial of human rights
Keynote: God calls whom he chooses to service and freedom
Acts of the Apostles 3: 1-10
‘Once, when Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the prayers at the ninth hour, it happened that a man was being carried past. He was a cripple from birth… when this man saw Peter and John… he begged from them. Both Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” He turned to them expectantly… but Peter said, “ I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!” Peter then took him by the hand and helped him stand up. Instantly his feet and ankles became firm, he jumped up… began to walk, and he went with them into the Temple, walking, and jumping and praising God.’ This healing event has strong parallels with Jesus’ healing actions recorded in the gospels – the direct look, the helping hand and the words, with the cripple then running and jumping in praise of God.
Responsorial Psalm 18 [19] – A song in praise of God the universal lawgiver
‘The Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by man, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God… then God… called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans… I swear before God that what I have just written is the literal truth.’ Paul is reminding his readers that salvation through faith in Christ is possible for anyone, even someone such as him to persecuted
Following his resurrection and, ‘After Jesus had shown himself to his disciples and eaten with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?”’ Peter answered, ‘“Yes Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”’ A second time, and yet a third time Jesus asked him, ‘“Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” and said, “Lord you know everything; you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”’ In what appears to be a three-fold profession of love reversing the thrice repeated denial by Peter at the time of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, the passage is understood to be recording Peter’s role as shepherd and martyr as established by the risen Lord, who said, ‘“Feed my sheep… When you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt around you and take you where you would rather not go.” In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God.’
© Peter Harrison 2007