for May 2
Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Peter is at center stage in both readings today, and both evangelists portray him in a similar light. In Luke-Acts and in the fourth gospel, Peter is an appealing mix: as capable of clear-eyed insight and of betrayal, of remorse and of deep faith, as human as any of the rest of us.

But neither evangelist is focused on the backstory of the man who would be pope, although over the centuries, popes have displayed a range of behavior at least as wide as Peter’s. No, in both scriptures, Peter’s story is told as an example of the early church’s exploration of how to live in faith in new ways, in circumstances dramatically and forever altered by the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

There’s a certain resonance there for us, in our own dramatically altered circumstances. How do we live out our faith during this pandemic Easter season? New ways seem to be required of us; what guidance might these stories of Peter offer? There are important hints for us not only at the centers of today’s reading, but around the edges as well.

Consider how the two vignettes in Acts end: after Peter healed Aeneas, all. . .turned to the Lord.  When Peter presented Dorcas alive, many came to believe. As amazing as what Peter did was, the point of the story is what happened next: turning in belief to the Lord. So one question Peter’s story might pose for us is: what—or who—do our actions point to? 

Consider also the details preserved in the retelling the stories of Aeneas and Dorcas: how Peter told Aeneas to make the bed he’d been so long confined to, how those gathered around Dorcas washed and laid out her body, how Peter admired Dorcas’s handiwork before kneeling to pray. These little details remind us of the holiness of simple kindnesses, of humble service, and of very particular human experiences. So Peter’s new life in faith might also pose the question: where do we find the holiness in the small details of our daily lives?

Finally, notice also how Peter’s confession of faith in the fourth gospel begins: To who else would we go? While I supposed that could be read triumphantly, I can’t help hearing a catch in Peter’s voice, the sound of his deep affection tinged with amused exasperation. Peter’s conviction that Jesus is the Holy One of God is as much a conviction of the heart as of the head. This brief prelude to his confession can lead us to consider a big question: where are we putting our heart in these pandemic days? 

Despite the appearance of a major character like Peter at the center of today’s readings, there is much going on at the periphery of the action. Today’s readings can redirect our focus too, nudging us to consider where God might be present at the edges of our attention. What is just beyond the churning mix of anxieties and tedium that pre-occupy us in our pandemic isolation? How can we gather it all up, both what is at the center and what’s around the edges, and turn with it all to the Lord, who is always ready to be at the true center or our lives?
—BJ Brown

Today is also the Memorial of St. Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the Church. Today’s readings can be found at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website.