Questioning Jesus

Many questions are asked in the course of the gospels. Some are posed by Jesus himself, while others are asked by those who meet him. Today it is the Jews who ask, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Ending on a high note

The readings today are the final verses of Acts and of John’s gospel. “Wait until I come.” Eternity will be the continuation of the final moment in our earthly journey. Jesus comes to us again and again. Our prayer now is a foretaste of heavenly joy.

Learning from an Outsider

God was already drawing the Ethiopian toward faith. This highly-placed eunuch was a God-fearing gentile who believed in Israel’s God, and followed whatever Torah rules were compatible with his family life and culture. The Spirit was attracting this man to a deeper understanding of life…

Even if they first reject it

Philip shares the gospel in Samaria and his message is welcomed. In Luke’s first volume, Jesus tries to speak to the Samaritans but they reject him because he is heading for Jerusalem. But later they welcome his gospel gladly, from the lips of Philip. The gospel can blossom even where it was first rejected …

Stephen’s death and Christ’s

In Acts, Luke compares Stephen’s martyrdom to Jesus’ death on the cross. Each of them, accused of blasphemy, is condemned to death by the Sanhedrin. Each sees a vision of someone coming on the clouds, at the right hand of God. Each asks God to receive the spirit and each prays for the forgiveness of the executioners

Food for eternity

Jesus invites us to look for the food that promotes eternal life in us and satisfies the deepest hunger of our hearts.

To serve the Church’s real needs

The appointing of the first deacons suggests a possible solution for a major need facing our Church today: how to ensure continuation of sacramental service to the People of God. It is clear that the apostles did not seek to end all debate on disputed issues by dogmatic decree, forbidding all further discussion! And their process of selecting the deacons — seeking consensus among the faithful about worthy candidates — has much to recommend it…

Sharing our resources

Today we find Jesus and his disciples faced with a hungry crowd and little or no means of feeding them. In this situation of need, people reacted in different ways. Philip made a calculation: on the basis of the number of people and the amount of money available to buy food, and decided that nothing could be done. Andrew recognized that one of the crowd had a small amount of food but he dismissed this small resource…

Speaking our truth with love

It can be hard to distinguish inner strength from a stubborn spirit of confrontation. How can we know if our convictions are from God and should be obeyed at all costs? Is it possible that our resistance to authority could be rooted merely in pride? Direct revelations from above must be quite rare, so how can we tell if God is really prompting us?

A religion of sincerity and truth

Peter and John are caught in a conflict that involves the high priest and the entire Sanhedrin besides the temple guards. The apostles are imprisoned, and God sends angels to intervene. This same struggle is echoed at universal level in John’s gospel about God’s sending his only son as the light of this world. Light and darkness clash, leading to a judgment for the world. After being freed by an angel, Peter and John are again in the temple courtyard, preaching to an enthusiastic audience. They seem to ignore their recent escape

Guided by the light

We can notice a stretch in the evenings these days, now that it is bright beyond 7.00 pm. Most of us like the light. We are pleased to know that the daylight is lengthening every day at this time of the year. Our heart sinks a bit in Winter when we see how the days have begun to get shorter. Even though most of us like the light, the gospel notes how people seem to prefer darkness to light.

As the wind blows

When and where the Spirit comes, and with what effect on our lives, cannot be determined in advance. “The wind blows where it will… You do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” Hebrew RUACH and Greek PNEUMA mean both wind and spirit. Nor can a previous encounter with the Spirit determine how it will happen next time, for the Spirit comes unexpectedly. In fact, the sudden gift of the Spirit to the unbaptized household of the Roman officer who was non-Jewish and non-Christian, took even Peter by surprise…

Overcoming obstacles to faith

The Sanhedrin, Judaism’s supreme ruling body, found it impossible to imagine that Jesus could be the Messiah, and that he had really risen from the dead. To believe in him would demand a major change in the whole furniture of their belief-system; nothing less than a total reinterpretation of their Scripture and cherished traditions. Yet these two Galilean fishermen, Peter and John, stood there, insisting that

Building upon the grace of God

The apostles went back to where they started, to Galilee, where they continued their work as fishermen. But their lives had been transformed by their contact with Jesus, and when they met him by the lake-shore, they recognised him, hauled in the net at his advice, and heard his guidance for their future, building on the past.

Hard to take in

Luke’s account in today’s gospel shows the great difficulty the disciples had believing that it was the same Jesus they had come to know and love who was now standing before them. They thought they were seeing a ghost and their joy was so great that they could not believe it, and they stood dumbfounded. Clearly it took the disciples a while to take in the good news of Easter…

Life-changing encounter

The Emmaus story is a living paradigm for Christian discipleship. It strongly suggests that if we travel life’s journey with others, sharing our faith and our doubts with them, Christ will be with us, opening our minds to the truth. Just as he gave them deeper insight, so he does for all who listen to him…