Saturday April 30, 2022

Saturday of 2nd Week in Easter

 

Servants in the Spirit             

The apostles were looking for disciples to serve the material needs of the people. They were supposed to be servants filled with the Spirit of wisdom, who would see the needs of their brethren, just and fair in distributing the food and help needed. It takes sensitivity to feel who are the needy and what they need. The apostles set Stephen and companions aside for this task.

This reading says also that the first duty of the Church is the proclamation of the Good News. And the Good News says, “Christ is always staying with his Church in times of trials and the tempest of all times.”

 

First Reading – Acts 6:1-7

 During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.” The congregation thought this was a great idea. They went ahead and chose—

Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,

Philip,

Procorus,

Nicanor,

Timon,

Parmenas,

Nicolas, a convert from Antioch.

Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their task. The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.

 

Gospel – John 6:16-21

In the evening his disciples went down to the sea, got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned. A huge wind blew up, churning the sea. They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, “It’s me. It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” So they took him on board. In no time they reached land—the exact spot they were headed to.

 

Prayer

Lord God,
in our day, we need men and women
filled with the Spirit of love and service
who are attentive to the needs of people.
Let them listen, even to the unspoken cries
of people too timid to voice out
their poverty and distress
and help without condescension
their brothers and sisters of Christ,
for he is our Lord for ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

It’s I, Don’t be afraid!

Today’s gospel begins from where we stopped yesterday. It was the scene of Jesus feeding 5000 in the desert. John the evangelists uses the miracle scene to present Jesus as the new Moses, who leads his people to the new promised land of the Kingdom of God. John’s use of imageries continues today.

After the miracle of the multiplication of the bread, the disciples are left alone. They take the boat to go across the sea. Jesus is not with them. John is perhaps recreating here the scene of the early Church, after the ascension of Jesus. Jesus is no more with the disciples. The disciples are together in a boat. The boat represents the Church and the sea is the symbol of the turbulent world.

John is perhaps trying to present the state of the Church at the time of him writing the Gospel – The community was faced with tensions on various fronts. Believers were persecuted for their faith. The Church was like a boat caught in the storms of the sea. They panicked and were losing hope, because Jesus is not with them on the boat.

The Church when tossed in the tempests of the turbulent sea around, often felt that Jesus was away from them. They could not feel his presence. But then, in the midst of the turbulent sea, they see Jesus walking on the waters. Sea, in the Semitic culture was considered as the abode of the devil. Jesus’ walking over the sea meant, he has defeated the powers of the devil, and is accompanying the boat of the disciples – the Church. And his reassuring message is “It is I, do not be afraid.”

This could be the experience of all those who belong to the Church. When frightened and losing all hope of overcoming the tempests and turbulence of life in the world, the comforting message of the Lord is always there, accompanying us: “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”

 

Video available on Youtube: It’s I, Don’t be afraid!