Thursday, April 18, 2002
3rd Week of Easter
1st Reading: Acts 8:26-40
Gospel:
Jn 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowd, "No one can come to me unless he is drawn
by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It
has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So
whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me.
For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he
has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal
life.
I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert,
they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that
you may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this
bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will
give it for the life of the world."
Commentary
When Christ is welcomed with joy, it is because God was there already, long before the evangelizer arrived. If the seed grows, it is because the ground was ready. John's community asked themselves, "Why do some of our people find faith in Jesus, while others seem unwilling or unable?" We do not know why some are "drawn by the Father" to relationship with the risen Jesus, receiving him as the bread of life, while others walk through life on another road. It is God who opens hearts to Christ, God who makes the harvest grow. We are simply the laborers. Many have not found faith in Jesus. Nevertheless, God embraces all creation, and took flesh in Jesus for the life of the whole world, as today's gospel says. The wind blows where it wills, and only God knows all the ways of the Spirit.