One of the functions of our human language is to enter into communication with others. As such, our words are part of a dialogue and we expect a response. Similarly, God's words to us are part of a dialogue. They expect a response, even where this expectation is not explicitly expressed. Hence, after almost every miracle or parable or doctrinal speech of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, there is also some record of the reactions of the people around Jesus.

In reading Acts during these weeks after Easter, we have seen how many different people responded to the preaching of the early Church.

Both in the Gospels and in Acts, people sometimes seem to respond so easily, as in "everyone who lived in Lydda and Sharon". They were converted to the Lord on seeing the cure of Aeneas. In other cases, the response was negative: "This is intolerable language".

These different responses to the word and power of God come to us across the ages from the early Church, demanding that we also respond to God's revelation. This response of ours may be easy at times, difficult at other times. In prayer we learn to respond more freely and generously. Not for the first time, nor for the last time, we must pray for grace.