Through today’s readings, we allow the Lord to once again speak to us concerning how we handle ourselves when confronted with adversity, and what kind of graces he knows we will each require as he alone knows where each of us are currently at in our own spiritual walk of faith.
Continuing our reflections through the Book of Acts, today we read about the beautiful and important figure of Saint Stephen, one of the seven Greek-speaking Jewish converts ordained as deacons by the apostles to look after the whole issue of the Greek widows whose welfare was being neglected. This is the saint who will eventually and gladly lay down his life as the first martyr out of love for Jesus.
We examine his movements, his words, and yes even his appearance in the midst of his inspiration by the Holy Spirit to focus now his attention, not so much on waiting tables, but on speaking and spreading the truth about Jesus. Magnificent miracles accompanied him as promised by the Lord to the apostles and Saint Augustine once remarked that he wouldn’t have been able to write all the books that would have to be written if he were to describe for us the details of every single miracle he saw happening and that were reported to him, that God was working through the intercession of Saint Stephen.
Saint Stephen, in his love for the Lord and in his experiencing the power being wrought through his ministry, is elated but he remains calm. When we speak and live in the truth, and we feel God’s presence is with us, we will know how to better deal with adversity in a peaceable manner.
Stephen’s words and actions aroused the displeasure of the other Greek-speaking Jews who had made their way to Jerusalem from Cilicia, Alexandria and Asia, mostly because they were not willing to take more time to try to delve deeper into what he was saying.
Many, who were more patient and willing to listen and try to understand, converted. Many others refused to reason. They were like we are most of the time—reactionary. And when we are reactionary we make a lot of false assumptions which lead to a lot of false conclusions. We need to try to be less reactionary, and more meditative and reflective, with each other, absolutely, but especially when it comes to the things of God, like his holy Word.
This doesn’t stop Stephen from being courageous and preaching the truth. Cowardice had no shelter in the heart of Stephen. We can give an entire homily on the sin of cowardice, especially in our own day, when so many sacred things are taboo and made to appear evil by the powers to be, scaring us out of speaking the truth. Yet, we need to do this like Stephen, who of course took as his model the Lord himself. Whatever their feelings towards him, Stephen had no hostile feelings towards them. This is the spirit of Jesus: “Love your enemies.” As Christians, we too can expect, and should not be surprised to experience, hostility and misunderstandings even from our fellow-Christians at times. We too are called to respond to hatred with love and we’re called to prioritize always the spirit of the Lord within our debates and dialogues, even if impassioned, with others. For this however, we must be people who seriously delve deeper into their spiritual lives. We know this affects everything else.
This brings us to the spiritual lesson we learn through the people who are chasing after Jesus in today’s gospel. We are told that they figured out his whereabouts and managed to even walk right up to him to ask him how it is he’s travelling so fast from one place to another stealthily avoiding detection. Now this is all happening the day after Jesus fed the multitudes while sending the apostles onwards to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum, to whom he appeared in the middle of the windy tempest, coming to them walking on water.
Jesus tells the people that eventually find him the next day that they are looking for him for the wrong reasons, or at best, an imperfect reason. He was shocked that they were looking for him not because of what the miracle of the multiplication pointed to, i.e., his identity as the Son of God and that he was truly sent by the Father, and so now therefore, they were now ready to follow him and listen to his guidance more wholeheartedly, no, but solely because they ate bread and had their fill. They wanted more of THAT! He responds to this spiritual indifference with an admonition and simultaneously makes the first prophecy concerning the Eucharist he would eventually give us and which he would soon speak about in this section of John’s gospel. He says, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” See, brothers and sisters, even the desire for the Eucharistic bread will be a desire not to fill our stomachs, but a desire to have Jesus present within us. The Eucharist is not about the food that perishes, but about the Lord present within it, who is the resurrection and the life.
Let’s bring this back to us: Do we seek Jesus only because he can give us what can help our selfish needs? This was the downfall of Judas, but I dare say, with all charity, perhaps its why a lot of us end up leaving the Lord. Because we’ve all, at some point, come to him for the wrong reasons. Until we snap out of that, our vocation hangs in the balance. Judas left the Lord the night he gave the Eucharist, this bread from heaven, to the others. Once we begin to love him for who he is, then our vocation will be more secure—then will we appreciate so much more this heavenly food we receive at Holy Mass.
Let us ask the Lord to give us the heart, and the courage of Stephen, who didn’t make it about the reward, or what he could get out of Jesus, but rather he lived his life for Jesus and realized more and more, with the passing of time, what an honour, blessing and grace indeed, it was to do so. Amen.
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