From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts:
Many signs and wonders were done among the people
at the hands of the apostles.
They were all together in Solomon’s portico.
None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them.
Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord,
great numbers of men and women, were added to them.
Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets
and laid them on cots and mats
so that when Peter came by,
at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.
A large number of people from the towns
in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered,
bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits,
and they were all cured.
First reading, Acts 5:12-16
Do not take the hyperbole too seriously. As Peter himself well knows, it is the Son behind him that creates the shadow and does the healing.
For further reflection:
Yes, the “Not the pastor’s note” from this Sunday was exactly that brief! (For various reasons not worth sharing.)
Notice the different levels of interest/acceptance the Apostles are receiving at this very early point in the life of the Church:
- “They” were all together in Solomon’s portico (along one edge of the Temple). “They” is the Apostles plus those certainly members of the community of followers of Christ: Apostles, (most?) members of their families, and others closely involved. A rapidly growing group, full of joy, but, of course, a small minority in the general population.
- Then there are “none of the others who dared to join them”–perhaps some reluctant family members or others who had seen Jesus and kept up with what was going on over the years of His public ministry–but were reluctant to be fully identified with the committed ones due to fear of persecution. Undoubtedly a much larger group.
- “the people who esteemed them” –who were impressed and attracted to the followers, but have not considered becoming active, identified, baptized followers. It is just not their thing.
- people coming from outside Jerusalem who are bringing in people to be healed–hopeful, but not significantly catechized yet by any means.
- Unmentioned in this reading, but there is another group including all those actively working to stop this “dangerous nonsense” (as they undoubtedly see it) from spreading and upsetting established worldly connections… .
All of these groups exist today. We need more of that #1 group!