Impetuous and passionate

The people presented in the texts of the Roman Catholic Lectionary today show that God makes use of our character traits, even the ones which can cause us difficulty, to present His message. Peter, who shows himself to be extremely impetuous, is described in the passage from the Book of Acts as he preaches fearlessly to the people of Jerusalem about the crucifixion of Jesus as the putting to death  of the Lord and Messiah. He is bold to address the need of his audience to put things right. He calls on them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and to abandon the corruption they have witnessed in the authorities and leaders who have attacked Jesus. The man who is often portrayed in the Gospel as acting and speaking without thinking becomes the herald of the Good News to all. Friar Jude Winkler suggests that modern Christians might have formed an evangelization committee to organize funding to spread the news. Peter jumps right into the task inspired by the Spirit. When we jump off the cliff, moved by the Spirit and trusting in God, great things can happen. The Gospel of John shows the great passion with which Mary Magdalene pursues Jesus in spite of great confusion about the location of His body and His Resurrected Presence. The Fathers of the Church have compared the passion in this passage of John to the Chapter 3 of the Song of Solomon as the bride searches desperately for the bridegroom. Passion prevents Mary from abandoning the search for Jesus. She stands resolutely ready to retrieve His body and guard His tomb. In contrast, the apostles have come to the tomb and then have gone back to safety. Friar Jude reminds us that the sheep know the voice of the Shepherd. When Jesus calls her name, Mary knows Who is communicating intimately with Her. She comes to know herself as the "Proto-Apostle" who will bring the News of the Resurrection to her brothers and sisters. Her passion is joined in resonance with the Spirit of God as the revelation of continued intimacy with Jesus after His death becomes available to her and is proclaimed to all.