The Fourth Sunday of Easter – First Reading – 04/26/2026

This reading recounts the very first moments of the very first day of the Church’s birth, on Pentecost.  Proclaim it with the power it deserves, especially its climactic finish.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lector. I'm Bob. The purpose of this podcast is to inspire Catholic lectors to bring their proclamation of God's Word to life. This episode is for the April 26th, Sunday Mass's first reading. It's the fourth Sunday of Easter, year A, a reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed, Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. And they asked Peter and the other apostles, What are we to do, my brothers? Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call. He testified with many other arguments and was exhorting them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. So let's get to it, shall we? I we start my own lecture practice with preparation, which is not the external proclamation, but the internal discernment of the message. What is God saying to us? What is his purpose? What is the meaning of this reading? Because if it doesn't mean anything to us, how can we as lectures make it mean anything to the congregation before us? This reading aims straight for the heart, but it was not written for the hearts of the people before you. It spoke into the hearts of the Jewish population in Jerusalem celebrating Shavuot, and they respond in a big, big way. But let's not give away the climactic finish just yet. Our challenge is to move the hearts of the folks before us in the same way. This reading is the third and last installment from the second chapter of Acts for this Easter season. Last Sunday, the reading ended at verse 33, and this one starts at verse 36. It's the conclusion of Peter's post-Pentecost proclamation. This proclamation takes place possibly only minutes after the apostles receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Christian Pentecost, which occurs at the beginning of the same chapter. In almost an instant, Peter and the Apostles go from hiding behind closed doors to this scene, boldly facing those they are, um, I mean, were afraid of. The difference? The Holy Spirit. The crowd assembled to listen to Peter's message after hearing the sound of a strong wind, which we know was the descending of the Holy Spirit. Proclaim this entire reading as a powerful announcement, spoken as if the people in the pews before you are the assembled pilgrim multitude in Jerusalem for the Shavuot. Speak with maximum voice projection to mirror Peter's situation. But remember that Peter had no sound system, and you do. So proclaim it loudly to mirror that scene, but for the sake of your congregation's eardrums, give yourself some extra space between you and your microphone. This pronouncement is the closing statement of the first of six charygmas that appear in the Acts of the Apostles. Charygma refers to the initial and essential proclamation of the gospel message, that is, the announcement of Jesus' death and resurrection, the very foundation of our faith. One of the tenets of public speaking is to know your audience. If we apply that creed to this reading, who is the target of Peter's message? Address your words to those people in the pews that have never committed themselves to Christ. Engage them with the same passion and zeal that Peter did. Well, as best you can, absent the tongue of fire above your head. What do you learn from this reading? We begin with, then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed, Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified. Peter is going for the jugular, not pulling any punches, throwing the responsibility for Jesus' crucifixion squarely on his Israelite brothers and sisters. Mirror his tone of fire and brimstone, both with your voice and demeanor. Emphasize stood up, raised, proclaimed, whole house of Israel, know for certain, God, Lord, Christ, Jesus, and you crucified. Insert small pauses after Israel, certain, and Jesus. Put a full pause between this sentence and the next. Then we have, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. And they asked Peter and the other apostles, What are we to do, my brothers? This lets us know that Peter's message hit home with his audience and their moved to act. Your tone of voice and facial expressions should highlight the sincerity of their response. Interestingly, Luke repeats responses from the third chapter of his gospel, where he reports on the ministry of John the Baptist. In verse 10, the crowds asked him, What then should we do? Later in verse 12, even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, Teacher, what should we do? Then verse 14, soldiers also asked him, And what is it that we should do? Emphasize heard, cut, heart, and do. Next we have Peter said to him, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is Peter's call to action. Direct it to anyone before you who might not yet have committed themselves to Christ. Say this with maximum eye contact, so you're speaking specifically to those individuals. Stress repent, be baptized, everyone, name, and forgiveness. When you say everyone, direct it to the people before you, and again, use as much eye contact as you can manage, or memorize. Insert small pauses after repent, Christ, and forgiveness. Next up we have for the promises made to you and to your children, and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call. Smile when you proclaim this sentence, because this is the good news for all believers. Highlight you again with eye contact directed to the people in the pews before you, your children, all those, and whomever. Insert small pauses after you, children, and whomever. Insert a full pause between this and the next section. Then he testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them. During the narrative portion of this sentence, maintain a dispassionate, factual tone of voice. When you get to Peter's quote, proclaim that portion forcefully. Emphasize other, exhorting, save, and corrupt. Insert a full pause between this sentence and the next and last one. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. Emphasize baptized and three thousand persons. Use a tone of incredulity and amazement when you say three thousand persons. If you can do so authentically, add a tremble in the back of your throat for added emotion. Insert a small pause after persons. Say, we're added that day, with a downward slope as you close the reading. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening. My hope is these ideas will help you find your authentic voice so your proclamation of God's word will transform your listeners, whether they're in pain and broken, or just going through the motions, because the good news deserves great delivery. Visit us on the web at bobthelecture.org, and we'll see you at the Ambo. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much.