Yesterday we reflected on how Saint Stephen, after preaching about Jesus, was himself put to death by his persecutors who, for whatever reason, did not receive the good news as God had intended.
For some of us, what is objectively good, can be subjectively bad. What do we mean by that? Jesus is objectively good. He is the truth, the way and the life. There’s no doubt about that after one has done all their soul-searching and scholarly research. To those who haven’t made the same journey into seeking for the truth, when presented with the reality of who Jesus is, rather than taking it as good news (which is what the word “gospel” means), they receive it as a painful truth, news which in their minds is bad, not good.
We see that after the stoning of Saint Stephen, as described in today’s first reading, a great persecution of the early Church breaks out. Saul, who will eventually become Saint Paul, is not getting it yet. He still thinks Jesus is bad news, and does his utmost to destroy the Church. Luke puts it this way in Acts, “Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.” We can see how he was relentless and absolutely convinced that he was doing God’s will.
When it comes to our Lord therefore, there’s no middle ground. We need to have the courage of the non-compromising Saint Stephen in preaching who Jesus is truly and objectively, because the diverse and misconstrued opinions on who he is are many, and they’ve spanned all ages, and continue to spread far and wide in our own day. That’s why we point people back to the Lord himself and invite them to experience him in Scripture and in their lives and to listen to his life-giving word. There are thousands of ideas and opinions out there, but we need to be like Saint Francis who would continually ask in prayer, “Lord, who are you, and Lord, who am I?” For getting to know the Lord, sheds light on all things, including our own identity. Knowing who he is remains pivotal in our own walk of faith.
This is the question that he himself poses to the apostles; “Who do the people say that I am and who do you say that I am?” What we’re trying to make clear here is that there is an objective answer to that question, and Jesus continually tried to clarify, more and more, the truth about his identity for all those who would listen. Are we listening? Are we listening not just to his words two thousand years ago, but to his words in our hearts and minds today? Are we taking the time to listen? A lot of times in prayer we don’t give God the time to speak. We do all the talking, make the sign of the cross, and continue, with whatever it is has been distracting us while our lips were moving and words were coming out, but my mind was on the “chicken roasting in the oven… maybe I better go check it as it might burn.” Let’s try to make a more concerted effort to listen, in prayer.
For the Lord has many sublime truths to share with us. Truths about himself, but which ultimately will affect us, and all those whom God places in our path. In the gospel today he gives us one such sublime truth as he continues his elaboration on the gift above all gifts; his Eucharistic presence among us. He says, “‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst. Yes, it is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’”
Now, most of us haven’t seen him in the flesh. Jesus was talking to those actually looking at him right there and then as he delivered those words, but he is also speaking to each one of us now today. They saw him, Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, veiled beneath the flesh. We see him, our Lord and God, veiled beneath the Eucharist. In both cases, one needs faith to penetrate beneath the veil. Our carnal, human way of thinking and experiencing things, which is what many a philosopher said our speculations ought to be limited to (empirical evidence etc) will not suffice here. Here, we need spiritual eyes, and a mind that is capable of understanding that God is beyond our mere human limitations. A mind that reasons that if such a God can create the universe out of nothing, then it is not a big deal for him to conceal himself beneath a human nature, or beneath bread, so as to make himself more accessible to us who are merely human! And so he did, and continues to do so.
Then and now, forever the generous, humble, loving and merciful God who has held us deep in his heart from all eternity, from before the beginning of time.
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