Once again, the disciples are overjoyed that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the Name. That seems rather counter-intuitive, but when you stop to think about it, given all the possible reasons to suffer dishonor and to be beaten, the best reason is “for the sake of the Name.” We know that those who suffer in that way are treasures for our God, and they are given their just reward.
What I think is interesting in today’s first reading though, is the unintentional prophecy of Gamaliel. His words are a combination of a brush-off, since he obviously thinks the early Christian community is a bunch of kooks, and a bit of rear-end covering, since if it does turn out that these kooks are right, then at least they don’t get to be guilty of putting them to death. At least not yet.
But the courage of the apostles is inspiring, isn’t it? They have been warned twice and put in prison, and now beaten, and still we are told that “all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.” We are grateful for their new-found courage today, or we wouldn’t be here worshipping right now.
We are called to display that same courage and to speak non-stop of our Lord Jesus Christ in all that we say and do. The psalmist today reminds us that the only thing worth seeking is to dwell in the house of the Lord, and the only way to do that is to follow our Risen Lord.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!