Mass Readings Audio
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2021-04-18-usccb-daily-mass-readings
Third Sunday of Easter – April 18, 2021
Happy Easter and welcome to the one hundred and sixtieth episode of By Your Life. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I know that you have a hundred different things you could be doing right now, so I thank you for choosing By Your Life.
My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular business world. It’s my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.
In this edition, we’ll reflect on the readings for the Third Sunday of Easter. (Year B) Our readings this Sunday began with the Acts of the Apostles where after seeing the cure of the crippled beggar, all the people hurried in amazement toward Peter and John (Acts 3:1-11). So, Peter addressed the crowd and proclaimed the truth—the good, the bad, and the ugly truth. At the same time, he continued to appeal to the Jews in Jerusalem so they would believe in the Risen Jesus, which is the very good truth.
In his speech, Peter models the way to appeal to people to help them learn from mistakes, change their behavior, and begin anew. Peter started with the good, followed with the bad, convicted them with the ugly, and then rescued them with the solution. This is sound advice for any difficult conversation that is intended to help another person grow. It is good advice for any team that wants to self-assess their performance for continuous improvement. Start with what is good, then look for what went wrong, what should be done about it, and why that is good for everyone.
Some people are not fans of this approach. I had one person call this “serving up the $h1t sandwich,” meaning the bread on either side doesn’t really mask the fact that you’re not going to like what is in the middle. He may be right, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good approach. Even if it isn’t perfect, it is better than just dishing out the part they’re not going to like and then leaving them to sort it out for themselves. It’s never helpful just to tell someone they are wrong without showing them how to make it right.
Starting with the Good
When Peter addressed the crowd, he started with the good. He said, “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.” (Acts 3:13) This is not only good news; it is great news!
We aren’t always able to find the good news. I make it a habit of asking my clients, “What are your ‘wins’ since we last talked?” I’ve noticed that more often than not, this is a challenging question. For some reason, we’ve been conditioned to look for what is wrong, and people have a hard time thinking about what went right. Sometimes, people discount their little wins, thinking they aren’t worth mentioning.
When I started my coaching practice, my business partner gave me a small bottle of champagne to celebrate getting my first client. My first client wasn’t a big deal, so I didn’t open the champagne. The next one didn’t rate champagne either, so I didn’t pop the cork for that one. Eighteen years later, I think that bottle of champagne is still in the back of my fridge because I don’t remember ever celebrating my success.
When things go as they are supposed to, we don’t consider it a success, but it is. It is not unusual for us to have to overcome multiple obstacles just to achieve what is expected. Sometimes “meets expectations” is a huge win when you consider what it took to get there, so it should be celebrated.
Christ’s rising from the dead was expected. Jesus repeatedly told his disciples what must happen. Everything in the scriptures pointed to it. He had to die, and then he would rise. This happened as expected and it was and still is very good news.
Don’t overlook the good. Celebrate your success.
Learning from the Bad
Even though things turn out very well in the end, doesn’t mean there aren’t a few screw-ups that need to be addressed. Ignoring these facts is not helping people grow and learn from what went wrong. It isn’t going to help them keep from repeating their mistakes.
In addressing the Jews, Peter continued saying that God glorified his servant Jesus “whom you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence, when he had decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” (Acts 3:13-14)
It is important that people know how their behavior was not acceptable and it is important to include specific examples and not speak in general terms. Peter did this. “You handed him over and denied him in Pilate’s presence. You… asked that a murderer be released to you.” These were statements of fact and unless the people accepted responsibility, they were never going to learn from it.
The Ugly Consequences
It is also important to help people see the sometimes-ugly consequences of their decisions. Unless they also accept responsibility for the consequences of their behavior, they may lack motivation to change because they can’t connect the dots between their actions and the ugly results.
Peter let the people know that it was because of their actions, their denial, their choices, that a man was put to death and not just any man. He told them, “The author of life you put to death.” (Acts 3:15) He didn’t mince words. He essentially told them, “You killed the Creator of the Universe.”
Don’t Leave Them Hanging
Ouch! That hurts. Yes, the ugly truth hurts, or at least it should, otherwise, it wouldn’t be ugly. But it isn’t helpful to just throw the truth at someone and not help them move past it. It is just as ugly and hurtful for you to tell someone they’ve done something wrong and just leave them to figure out what to do about it. If you don’t plan to accompany someone on the new road, don’t bother to tell them they’ve lost their way. You’re not helping.
Don’t Know, Don’t Know How
So, Peter told the people, “Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did.” (Acts 3:17) Calling someone “ignorant” is not an insult in and of itself. Ignorance is merely the lack of knowledge about something that you are capable of knowing. On this basis, Peter and the other apostles sought the conversion of the Jews, even while affirming their involvement in Jesus’ death because they were unaware of his messianic dignity.
In moral theology, the Church uses the term “vincible ignorance” to describe a lack of knowledge for which a person is morally responsible because the individual is willfully ignorant and does not take the available measures to know the truth. It is culpable ignorance because it could be cleared up if the person used sufficient diligence. There is always a degree of sin, whether small or great, when the ignorance is vincible.
Peter explains to the people that they should have known better. He said, “God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” (Acts 3:18) If they had paid attention, they could have seen that all signs pointed toward Jesus being the Messiah. Jesus himself told them but they wouldn’t listen. They were guilty of vincible ignorance.
What Were You Thinking?
We’re all guilty of vincible ignorance when we are not open to the truth. Some people don’t want to be convinced even when they have the facts calmly and succinctly explained to them. Some people prefer their emotional outrage rather than the facts.
There are also things that everyone should know even if they say they’re unaware of them. In other words, ignorance isn’t always an excuse. Ignorance is vincible if it can be dispelled by normal “moral diligence.” You just have to do the work to discover the information you are missing.
However, there are times and circumstances when it is not possible to know a particular truth. There are times when a person is not morally responsible for a lack of knowledge. This may be due to the difficult subject matter, or scarcity of evidence, or capability or talent in the person, or insufficient time to discover the truth or any other factor for which he is not blameworthy. This is known as invincible ignorance, meaning that for some reason, they are not capable of overcoming the lack of knowledge. They are still wrong, but not guilty from a moral perspective.
Informing the Ignorant
So often when an employee doesn’t do the job the way we want them to do it, it is because they are ignorant. They don’t know what they are supposed to do, or they don’t know how to do it. Our job is to tell them and teach them. We are responsible for informing the ignorant. Then, it is up to them.
The members of the Sanhedrin who conspired to put Christ to death, and the Jews who went along with them exhibited a mixture of ignorance and stubbornness. But what could they do about it after the fact? They couldn’t change the past. Peter continuing to harp on the fact that they murdered the Messiah wouldn’t help these people achieve salvation.
So, Peter offered them the solution. He said, “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” (Acts 3:19) He ends with the good news, if they were to take responsibility and change their ways. He offered them a new way forward. He said, “The Lord may grant you times of refreshment and send you the Messiah already appointed for you, Jesus.” (Acts 3:20) He offered them good news. In the midst of their sins, and the sins of all humanity, God accomplished his divine plan. And that’s the Good News!
Where to Go from Here?
Morally and spiritually speaking, we’re responsible only for the things we know about. Morally and spiritually speaking, we’re responsible for seeking the truth, and acting in accordance with it. In our second reading, John writes about the responsibility of followers of Christ. He said, “Those who say, ‘I know him,’ but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them.” (1 Jn 2:4) We cannot claim ignorance, neither vincible nor invincible, when we do not keep his commandments. Knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do wrong isn’t ignorance, it is just stupid.
But Jesus gave us a way forward from our ignorance and our stupidity. As we heard in our Gospel this Sunday, when he came to them in the upper room on that first Easter, he told the apostles, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Lk 24:46-48)
And we are the beneficiaries of these things. He gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the opportunity for repentance and for the forgiveness of our sins, to strengthen us with his grace to do right, even when we are surrounded by a world that has lost its way. In his first letter, St. John tells us, “But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.” (1 Jn 2:5-6)
Let’s pray for God to help us to live as he lived:
Heavenly Father, we ask you today for your truth. Grant us the zeal to announce your good news of peace. Help us to put on the righteousness of Christ as we live each day. Grant us the wisdom to seek out that which we do not know, but ought to know so that we can abide in you and live as Jesus lived so that we may glorify you by our lives.
May God bless you abundantly this week and may the love of God be truly perfected in you so that you may glorify the Lord by your life. Amen.
If you liked this episode, spread the word. You know what to do, forward, share, or click to post. Also, check out the Resources page where you can find a link to the books and other resources mentioned in other episodes of By Your Life. I’m always interested in what you think, so give me some feedback by leaving a comment.
