Saturday of Third Week of Easter, April 28, 2007

Scripture: Acts 9:31-42. Psalm 116:12-17. John 6:60-69. Lectionary #278:

We hear with sadness that some of Jesus' disciples leave him because of his
teaching about the Bread of Life at Capernaum. It just was too much to
believe that he would give them his body and blood as nourishment for
eternal life. The Evangelist is at pains to explain this difficult
teaching and does help the reader to see that Jesus speaks on a higher
plane than his contemporary listeners were hearing; he was speaking of
things spiritual for his kingdom is not of this world and we are not to
live by ordinary bread alone, but by the true Manna that has come down from
heaven. Peter, alone at the end of the chapter comes to understand what
Jesus is saying and gives us these beautiful words of his own deepening
commitment in faith and trust in Jesus: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe; we are convinced
you are God's holy one." From the first reading we learn that Peter kept
growing in his faith and understanding especially after Jesus' Resurrection
and after the Holy Spirit descended. In the Acts we read how he like Jesus
is able to cure a cripple named Aeneas and then bring back to life a
generous woman disciple of the Lord named Tabitha in Aramaic and Dorcas in
Greek. Jesus' promise that the disciples would work great works as he had
comes true through the healings that Peter performs in Christ's name. Our
own faith is increased when we go more deeply into the Word of God and are
nourished by the Eucharist, the most generous active of Jesus' enduring
love for all of us. We are continuing to grow in our faith and our
baptismal commitment which leads us into a deeper love relationship with
Jesus and the faith community to which we belong. The Eucharist and
Baptism are Easter Sacraments leading us into new life which we celebrate
in a more intense manner during this season of joy, peace, and love. With
today's Gospel we are ending the reflections offered in the liturgy of the
word on the great chapter six of John; last week we focused on the Easter
sacrament of Baptism. Both go hand in hand in the growth and development
of our faith as individuals and as community members who worship and pray
together. Amen.