In Christ,
Paul+

In the Acts lesson we learn today how Peter addressed the religious leaders in Jerusalem.  Challenged by them to explain how they were causing miraculous healings, Peter tells them it is because of the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, and whom God had raised from the dead.  This startling reply is among the earliest records of Peter's preaching.  It gives us a picture of the courage and persuasive message of the early disciples. The St. John of Epistle amplifies how he believes this works.  It is by love. God's love for us that he lay down His life and then our love for Him in truth and action.  We should believe in the name of Jesus and love one another. St. John of the Gospel gives us the famous passage about the Good Shepherd in which Jesus likens Himself to the faithful shepherd who cares for his sheep and knows them all.  Here Jesus explicitly claims that the command to lay down His life came from the Father. These three readings show the early Church trying to grapple with how to understand what Jesus' Death and Resurrection meant.  What was going on in all of that?  What did God do?  What did Jesus as man do?  How did the disciples acquire healing power.