Today’s first reading at Mass gives the account of how the Angel of the Lord freed the early followers of Jesus’ from prison. “But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, and led then out, and said, ‘Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.’”

What we have here is a marvelous miracle. The authorities attempted to silence the message of Jesus’ resurrection and the spreading of the faith by imprisoning those who preached. But God intervened. Yet, it is more than a marvelous miracle story about something that occurred some two thousand years ago. It can be seen as a model for how God works in our own lives.

How many times do we find that we are metaphorically in prison — owing to the hold that a sinful habit (or a bad habit that is not necessarily sinful, but nonetheless is not good for us) has on us? We seek to free ourselves from this bad habit, but our will power is not strong enough. We need to rely on the grace of God. And God willingly, metaphorically, comes to us in the night and frees us from the prison of this bad habit.

Oftentimes it includes a conversion of heart as well. Looking back on how God may have worked in our own lives, we find that such a conversion of heart takes a personal unique form in the circumstances and details of each of our lives, but in general, a conversion of heart of any form can often be noticed by those who know us well. Whether family members, close friends, or co-workers, these people have come to know certain things about us. And now there is a certain something about us that is different. We are no longer held prisoner by a bad habit. We are caught up in the love of God, who has acted in our lives. They might wonder how and why things have changed in our lives. And when they learn that it is through the work of God, we have become witnesses to the faith.

Perhaps we have not stood in the temple area and proclaimed, “Jesus rose from the dead,” as did the early followers of Jesus in today’s first reading. Yet, we are still acting as silent witnesses as others come to know that it is through God’s intervention that we have been freed from whatever prison we have been held in.