Fifth Sunday of Easter - Year A
Taken from LWPT Meditations
Description
Meditation –Fifth Sunday of Easter Year A
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1st Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14
If we have ever felt that Jesus’ words to the Pharisees were harsh, we can see them justified in the account of the death of Stephen. Stephen – called to account for his belief in Jesus, to the Jewish Sanhedrin – had spoken to them of their ancestry, of the founding of their faith and of its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus (Acts 6:8 – 7:53). Their reaction was to “gnash their teeth at him” (v 54) and, when he spoke of seeing heaven open and “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” they yelled “at the top of their voices” , then had Stephen dragged out and stoned to death (7:57-58). This episode demonstrates the way in which the Christian message polarized people, with some willing to give their lives for it, while others “covered their ears” (v 54)...
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