Our readings this week are Acts 5.27–32 and John 20.19–31. Over the next few weeks we'll be following the early Church as they begin to come to terms with the events of Easter, and the reality of a risen Christ.

These two readings, particularly when read together, shed light on how radically transformative that reality was: in John's Gospel, we find the apostles huddling in a locked room ‘for fear of the Jews’ (v.19) – but just a short time later, in the Acts reading, we find them defiantly disobeying orders from the same authorities – not just surreptitiously, but in a full-frontal confrontation in council chambers...

The difference maker? Their knowledge of Christ risen, and of the power of life to triumph over death; and a direct calling placed upon them by Jesus to reflect on the earth the realities that are secured in heaven. Where can fear be in the light of such faith? Literally, what is there left to be scared of?

What’s really exciting for me, though, is that this personal transformation of the disciples is a starting point for institutional transformation. You have to cheat and read on a bit in Acts, but if you do, you discover a council so enraged they wanted to kill the apostles for daring to defy them and preach Christ – and in the midst of it all, the voice of Gamaliel: a lone council member who has caught a glimpse of the divine and is able to stay the hands of the rest, and advocate the release of the apostles.

These apostles, trusting in their vision of what God had done for the world, challenged the authorities of their time with such persuasiveness that the institution began to shift and change; began to repent and open space for the presence, purpose, and power of God. These apostles, knowing the things of heaven, through their witness, enabled them to come on earth.

John ends the reading we have this week with an invitation to us – not just to listen to the stories he tells, but to become actors in the story as it continues; not just to hear and walk away, but to come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and to receive life in his name.

There’s a promise implicit in that: that if we step into the belief of the early Church, then we will find the transformative reality of the risen Christ at work in our hearts and lives. And there’s a challenge in that – to follow in the footsteps of those who have come before us, and be brave and bold in sharing it, that the institutions of the world may continue to be challenged and transformed, and that the realities of heaven may be seen today upon the earth.