Readings: Acts 5:17-26; Psalm 34; John 3:16-21
The name of Jesus has the same meaning as the name Joshua. Joshua or Jesus is from the Hebrew word Yehoshua. Yeho means God and shua means to deliver or save. Yehoshua, therefore, means God saves or God delivers.
The First Reading of today narrates an incident that confirms this attribute of God as a powerful deliverer.
The Apostles were put in a common goal to punish them for preaching the Gospel but an angel of the Lord came, opened the gate and set them free. Note, they were not freed so they could run just away. They were set free to go back to the temple and continue their preaching.
Dear friends, the message of today is that our God is a deliverer. He delivers us from everything that can hinder us from serving Him with joy. He delivers us from bondage, from addiction, from anything that doesn’t serve His purpose or give glory to Him. He delivers us from fear (of death, of the future, of people), and most importantly, He delivers us from the worst evil, which is eternal condemnation. The Gospel tells us that those who believe in Him shall be delivered from condemnation and they will have eternal life.
So we thank the Lord for being a deliverer. Let us pray today that He may deliver us from any imprisonment obstructing us from freely witnessing to Him, any goal inhibiting us from serving Him as He desires and living our lives joyfully and maximally.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on April 27, 2022