The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the fullness of life that is rooted in trust in God and our experience of the Spirit on our journey.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes healing by Peter in Lydda and Joppa.
* [9:31–43] In the context of the period of peace enjoyed by the community through the cessation of Paul’s activities against it, Luke introduces two traditions concerning the miraculous power exercised by Peter as he was making a tour of places where the Christian message had already been preached. The towns of Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa were populated by both Jews and Gentiles and their Christian communities may well have been mixed.
* [9:36] Tabitha (Dorcas), respectively the Aramaic and Greek words for “gazelle,” exemplifies the right attitude toward material possessions expressed by Jesus in the Lucan Gospel (Lk 6:30; 11:41; 12:33; 18:22; 19:8). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Psalm 116 is a thanksgiving for recovery from Illness
* [Psalm 116] A thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds to divine rescue from mortal danger (Ps 116:3–4) and from near despair (Ps 116:10–11) with vows and Temple sacrifices (Ps 116:13–14, 17–19). The Greek and Latin versions divide the Psalm into two parts: Ps 116:1–9 and Ps 116:10–19, corresponding to its two major divisions. (Psalms, PSALM 116, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus, in the Bread of Life Discourse, proclaims the Words of Eternal Life.
* [6:60–71] These verses refer more to themes of Jn 6:35–50 than to those of Jn 6:51–58 and seem to be addressed to members of the Johannine community who found it difficult to accept the high christology reflected in the bread of life discourse.
* [6:62] This unfinished conditional sentence is obscure. Probably there is a reference to Jn 6:49–51. Jesus claims to be the bread that comes down from heaven (Jn 6:50); this claim provokes incredulity (Jn 6:60); and so Jesus is pictured as asking what his disciples will say when he goes up to heaven.
* [6:63] Spirit,flesh: probably not a reference to the eucharistic body of Jesus but to the supernatural and the natural, as in Jn 3:6. Spirit and life: all Jesus said about the bread of life is the revelation of the Spirit. (John, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
George Butterfield comments that there are disciples who decide that they can no longer walk with Jesus. What Jesus says is “hard.”
Jesus asks the Twelve, and us, “Do you also want to leave?” Frankly, yes, Jesus, sometimes I do. But what exactly is the alternative to following Jesus? Surely there are several. Yet, what if we believe that Jesus is the Master? What if we conclude that Jesus has the “words of eternal life”? What if we “come to believe and are convinced that [Jesus is] the Holy One of God?” In that case, we keep walking. We keep growing. We keep striving. And we believe that, even in death, we will hear the words Aeneas and Tabitha heard: “rise up.” Walk with me again. (Butterfield, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Eat Life - Drink Life,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"'Unless you eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you shall not have life in you,' says the Lord. Eat life - drink life. You will then have life, and life is complete. Then the Body and Blood of Christ will be life for each person under this condition: what is eaten visibly in the Sacrament be spiritually eaten and spiritually drunk in truth itself." (excerpt from Sermon 102,2) (of Hippo & Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 6:60-69 comments that sometimes these wonderful words go in one ear and out the other without having much of an impact on our lives. They become so familiar that we lose sight of the life they offer us. Like the disciples in today’s Gospel, we don’t always get what Jesus is saying, even though his words are “Spirit and life” (John 6:63). We might even forget who is speaking to us and why.
In the same way, the words we have from Jesus in Scripture and through the Church aren’t just ancient history. They are a personal message that God addresses to each one of us this very day. They are meant to deepen our friendship every time we read them. Even if we don’t fully understand them, as the Twelve certainly didn’t (John 6:60), we can linger over his words and let them sink into our hearts. Because every word is part of a love letter that the Holy Spirit longs to write on our hearts each and every day.
“Jesus, open my ears to the words you are speaking to me today!” (Meditation on John 6:60-69, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler describes the awe and wonder of God that fills Peter and the witnesses to his healing action. The challenge to eat my Body and drink my Blood overwhelms some of the disciples even as Peter makes a powerful profession of faith in Jesus' words of eternal life. Friar Jude is reminded that the author of John seems never to avoid an opportunity to criticize Peter.
Franciscan Media comments that Catherine of Sienna learned to view her surrender to her Lord as a goal to be reached through time.
Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Sienna stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies: a mystical experience at six, childhood betrothal to Christ, stories of harsh asceticism, her frequent ecstatic visions. Still, Catherine lived in an age which did not know the rapid change of 21st-century mobile America. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime. (Saint Catherine of Sienna, n.d.)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces writer and spiritual director Caroline Oakes who perceives contemplative practice at the heart of Jesus’ rhythm of ministry. His example teaches us to detach from our judgments and expectations so that we can return to Divine presence.
When we notice Jesus’ times of spiritual renewal interspersed as they are throughout the arc of his ministry—from his teaching, healing, and feeding of the four and five thousand followers, to his last words at the Last Supper, in Gethsemane, and on the cross—we begin to notice the definitive pattern in Jesus’ practice as a kind of flowing back-and-forth rhythm.
There is a continual pausing to let go (what scholars call kenosis, or emptying) of egoic attachments, fear, judgment, or expectations and then a returning to the Divine Presence again and again.
Let go.
Return.
Let go.
Return.
And the Divine is the one-pointed focus to which Jesus returns ceaselessly in this prayer rhythm of pause and release and return. This is Jesus’ formula for waking up—his formula for himself and for his followers.… It is Jesus’ practice for deepening the soul’s awareness of and attunement with our innermost essence, the Divine within. (Rohr, 2023)
We can pause and wait on the Spirit when we are challenged, like the Apostles, to incorporate Jesus teaching into our interactions with people in daily life.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/9?31
Butterfield, G. (2023, April 29). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/042923.html
John, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?60
Meditation on John 6:60-69. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/04/29/668586/
of Hippo, A., & Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture ... Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=apr29
Psalms, PSALM 116. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/116?12
Rohr, R. (2023, April 29). Detachment: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/detachment-weekly-summary-2023-04-29/
Saint Catherine of Siena. (n.d.). Franciscan Media. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-catherine-of-siena/
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