Acts III, 2 – from the mother’s womb
— from the
mother’s belly
, that is, from birth.
The description of the ill man and the events shows that he was so
used to his life that he did not expect healing, moreover, he was a
professional
recipient of alms, which he expected from pious
people.
Peter heals not from himself, but from the Holy Spirit, that is, he acts as a prophet in the Spirit.
The Book of Acts emphasizes the here and now
actions of the Holy
Spirit, and in Him also the apostles on the example of Peter (and later
also John with him).
John II, 17 – zeal
– comes from the word hot
,
zeal
– that is, hot burning towards
, devours
– will consume to
the end, completely
.
Only God can act as Jesus did – that is why the question of the Jews is actually whether Jesus acts in the Lord or in God.
The words of Jesus show that He is God, it is not subject to agreement, it is not subject to doubt. Jesus speaks about what they should not have done, but later they really did, that is, here He reveals His God’s omniscience, knowledge in advance, but does not force anyone to do so, but the form of the words raises the question that they should be understood not literally, but in in a certain other sense, what the Jews did not do.
This is the reading
devoted to the Mother of God on the holiday in honour of Her icon
Life-giving Source
. These are often read on Her feasts (mostly, more
often than others, among other readings of the Mother of God).
See brief comments, for example, at the link:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
Here, Paul writes about Jesus that, having the likeness of God, He
took the likeness of a servant (or slave). You can paraphrase it to say
God Who Became a Servant.
Appearance
or likeness
here is a
figurative indication that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of
the Holy Trinity, at the same time did not cease to be God, but accepted
the status of a servant, according to the fathers, by relative
assimilation.
In this way, Christ brings, introduces God
into our actions, into
our lives. But it must be said that our actions are not the main thing
here, but God – it is not our actions that allow Jesus to act, but He
Himself as God and at the same time a human – He Himself acts in such a
way that our actions are filled with His actions. It is not human
actions that are gifting generously to God
, but God gifts generously
to the human actions.
For reading, see also the link:
01042023.html
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!