JESUS, THE BREAD OF LIFE LIVES ON HIS DISCIPLES
Stephen and the persecuted Christians of the early Church relive the passion of Christ; they suffer not only for Christ, but also with him and like him; their attitude is also: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit; Lord, do not hold this against them.” But Stephen and the first Christians are sure that death has not the final say: they will live on with the risen Christ.
Christians are sustained in life by the true bread from heaven, Christ, who breaks for them the bread of his word and the bread of himself, for he is “given” bread, sacrificing himself to give life. Christ is the answer to our deepest hungers. We too, should hunger for him and say, “Give us this bread always.”
First Reading: Acts 7:51-8:2
“And you continue, so bull-headed! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, you’re just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn’t get the same treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the Just One. And you’ve kept up the family tradition—traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God’s Law handed to you by angels—gift-wrapped!—and you squandered it!”
At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory with Jesus standing at his side. He said, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!”
Yelling and hissing, the mob drowned him out. Now in full stampede, they dragged him out of town and pelted him with rocks. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them.
As the rocks rained down, Stephen prayed, “Master Jesus, take my life.” Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Master, don’t blame them for this sin”—his last words. Then he died.
Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.
Simon the Wizard
That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral—not many dry eyes that day!
Gospel: John 6:30-38
They waffled: “Why don’t you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus responded, “The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world.”
They jumped at that: “Master, give us this bread, now and forever!”
Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.
Prayer
Lord, our God, generous Father,
you have given us your Son Jesus,
that we may relive with him
his passion and his resurrection.
Through Jesus, give us the courage
to place ourselves into your hands
in the trials of life and in death,
that one day, we may see your glory
and at your right hand your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives with you for ever. Amen.
Video available at: bibleclaret.org
