It's More Than Just Bread and Water

Good Evening, dear reader. I'm a bit under the weather today, hence the lateness and brevity of my post.

Our reading today in Acts introduces us to Stephen. He had been chosen as one of the seven Peter appointed as deacons of Jesus's ministry. We can see that Stephen was filled with Holy Spirit and went about doing great things. This is not sitting well with some of the Jewish community (mainly a separate sect comprised of freed slaves and Jews from other lands). They feel that Stephen is blaspheming God and Moses. Now the people are already fired up because of Peter and John and their works. This just adds fuel to the already burning fire. But, since no one can really charge Stephen with anything that would remove him from their midst, these people start a smear campaign against Stephen. Of course, word of this gets back to the Sanhedrin. So, now, Stephen is dragged in front of the judges. But when they look at him, something very odd happens. Instead of seeing the physical form of Stephen, they see him as an angel, "All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel." (v7) This can be interpreted as Stephen being filled with the Holy Spirit and will set the stage for his speech to the Sanhedrin (Ch. 7).

Today's reading in John has us back at the water's edge, where Jesus had appeared to His disciples, walking on the water. Word of this miracle has spread and more people arrive. But when they get there, neither Jesus nor His disciples were there. So they set out to Capernaum to see if He is there. Upon seeing Jesus, they need to play it cool "hey, when did you get here?!". But Jesus knows the whole story. They didn't come to just find Him. They wanted to be a part of the miraculous works. They wanted a party with Jesus. Jesus scolds them, saying "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life" (v27). 

Jesus is reminding us to not focus on the things of this world. They do not last. We need to focus on being in and of Christ. We need to make Him the centre of all. If you have been fortunate to be blessed with abundance in this life, reach out to others and share that abundance. Live as the body of Christ. When you do that, not only are you sharing your faith, but you're also being a nice human. 😇

Father Bill's reflection on today's readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GbXQe2WmnU