Acts 5
It has always disturbed me that the sermons and testimonies early in Acts seem so full of accusation: "this Jesus, whom you crucified. . . " the disciples preach.
Indeed, in this Sunday's first reading the authorities react, "you are determined to bring this man's blood on us!"
But then, any declaration of the resurrection had an element of judgment in it. Isn't that the way the story goes when the "good guy" -- whether Arnold Schwarzenegger or the ghostly victim of a wrongful death -- comes back? We expect the bad guys to get their comeuppance. It's kind of a wonder that Jesus appears primarily to his friends -- though they deserted him -- and always with "peace" on his lips.
In these testimonies after stating the bald truth of Jesus' wrongful death, the disciples always follow it with a proclamation that God raised Jesus so that repentance and forgiveness of sins might come for all.
That seems to be the common theme for this Sunday: there's no skimming over the bloody mess. We must witness to the real wounds before we can see the real forgiveness the resurrection offers.
