Day 4 Theme - Bearing witness
through celebrating the faith we have received
Text: “What things?” They replied, “The things about
Jesus of Nazareth.”
(Luke 24:19)
Readings
Deuteronomy 6:3-9 The Lord
is our God, the Lord alone.
Psalm 34 I will bless the Lord at all times.
Acts 4:32-35 Of one heart
and soul.
Luke 24:17-21 But we had hoped…
Commentary
We have an enormous debt of gratitude to those whose
faith has provided the foundation for our
Christian lives today. Numerous men and women
through their prayer, witness and worship have
ensured that the faith is handed down to
the next generations. In Scotland we have an impressive
Christian history. Saint Ninian
in the 4th
century, Saint
Columbus in the 6th
century and the many
Celtic saints whose faith was rooted in the love of
God and wonder at his creation. The faith of
Scottish people can also be seen in the very
important role played in the diffusion of the
Reformation of the 16th century and the way in which this spirit has been
firmly maintained since
then.
Today’s readings affirm the importance of supporting
the community of faith in order to ensure
the dissemination of the Word of
God. The passage from Deuteronomy gives us the beautiful
prayer of our Jewish sisters and
brothers who every day use these words to praise God. The
Psalm invites us to bear witness through praise for
what we have received as believers, so that our
faith may be shown through glorifying
and thanksgiving. The extract from Acts reveals a
community united in faith and charity. The
gospel passage shows us Jesus as the centre of what
we have received in faith.
As we unite with our Christian brothers and sisters
in praying for unity during this week, we
welcome the rich variety of our
Christian heritage. We pray that awareness of our common
heritage may unite us more closely as we
progress in faith.
Prayer
Lord God, we give you thanks for all the people and
communities who have communicated the
message of the Good News to us, and thus
given us a solid foundation for our faith today. We
pray that we too may together bear
witness to our faith, so that others may know you and place
their trust in the truth of salvation
offered in Jesus Christ for the life of the world.
Reflection questions
1. Who inspired you in your faith
?
2. What are the aspects of faith which inspire you
in your everyday life ?
3. What do you feel were the most important
teachings which were passed on to you ?
4. How can you recognize God at work with you in the
transmission of faith the future
generations ?