Sunday Vigil
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 9,31-42
The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up and living in the fear of the Lord; encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they continued to grow. It happened that Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to God's holy people living down in Lydda. There he found a man called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you: get up and make your bed.' Aeneas got up immediately; everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they were converted to the Lord. At Jaffa there was a disciple called Tabitha, or in Greek, Dorcas, who never tired of doing good or giving to those in need. But it happened that at this time she became ill and died, and they washed her and laid her out in an upper room. Lydda is not far from Jaffa, so when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to urge him, 'Come to us without delay.' Peter went back with them immediately, and on his arrival they took him to the upper room, where all the widows stood round him in tears, showing him tunics and other clothes Dorcas had made when she was with them. Peter sent everyone out of the room and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the dead woman and said, 'Tabitha, stand up.' She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter helped her to her feet, then he called in the members of the congregation and widows and showed them she was alive. The whole of Jaffa heard about it and many believed in the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
After having spoken at length about Paul and noted that the Christian community was growing in a climate of peace, the author of Acts focuses again on Peter, who faithfully, literally we could say, continues the work of Jesus. These stories demonstrate how the Christian community was growing. They are emblematic of the missionary conversion that today Pope Francis is insistently asking all Christian communities today. Luke notes that Peter is traveling, is moving: "Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda." Peter is out; he is on the road. If we are not on the road and do not leave our usual gates, if there is no mission, not only we will not be able to enjoy the joy even of the numerical growth of which Luke speaks in the first verses we read, but we risk becoming barren and die. It is a reflection that Christian communities should urgently do in this passage of history. The first event that Luke narrates is about the healing of a paralytic man called Aeneas who lives in Lydda. The second instead occurs in a different city, Joppa, where Peter goes to visit a woman, Tabitha, who had recently died. In both situations, Peter repeats Jesus' gestures and words; Peter exhorts Aeneas to get up from his met and then, after kneeling and praying, takes Tabitha by the hand and gives her back alive to her friends. To both Aeneas and Tabitha Peters says, "Get up." The text uses the same Greek verb used to describe Jesus' resurrection. Peter does not work prodigious or spectacular gestures. He is patiently at the side of those who are weak and gives them back the dignity of being loved and considered. They are the sign, the first fruits of the Resurrection.