The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary assure us of the Love of God and the works of Jesus to call us to dwelling with Him in the Spirit.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Seven are chosen to serve.
* [6:1–7] The Hellenists…the Hebrews: the Hellenists were not necessarily Jews from the diaspora, but were more probably Palestinian Jews who spoke only Greek. The Hebrews were Palestinian Jews who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic and who may also have spoken Greek. Both groups belong to the Jerusalem Jewish Christian community. The conflict between them leads to a restructuring of the community that will better serve the community’s needs. The real purpose of the whole episode, however, is to introduce Stephen as a prominent figure in the community whose long speech and martyrdom will be recounted in Acts 7.
* [6:2–4] The essential function of the Twelve is the “service of the word,” including development of the kerygma by formulation of the teachings of Jesus.
* [6:2] To serve at table: some commentators think that it is not the serving of food that is described here but rather the keeping of the accounts that recorded the distribution of food to the needy members of the community. In any case, after Stephen and the others are chosen, they are never presented carrying out the task for which they were appointed (Acts 6:2–3). Rather, two of their number, Stephen and Philip, are presented as preachers of the Christian message. They, the Hellenist counterpart of the Twelve, are active in the ministry of the word.
* [6:6] They…laid hands on them: the customary Jewish way of designating persons for a task and invoking upon them the divine blessing and power to perform it. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Psalm 33 praises the Greatness and Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 33, n.d.)
The reading from the First Letter of Peter, Christ is a living stone in God’s House and with people.
* [2:4–8] Christ is the cornerstone (cf. Is 28:16) that is the foundation of the spiritual edifice of the Christian community (1 Pt 2:5). To unbelievers, Christ is an obstacle and a stumbling block on which they are destined to fall (1 Pt 2:8); cf. Rom 11:11.
* [2:5] Let yourselves be built: the form of the Greek word could also be indicative passive, “you are being built” (cf. 2 Pt 2:9). (1 Peter, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, the Last Supper Discourses identify Jesus as the Way to the Father.
* [14:1] You have faith: could also be imperative: “Have faith.”
* [14:3] Come back again: a rare Johannine reference to the parousia; cf. 1 Jn 2:28.
* [14:4] The way: here, of Jesus himself; also a designation of Christianity in Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22.
* [14:6] The truth: in John, the divinely revealed reality of the Father manifested in the person and works of Jesus. The possession of truth confers knowledge and liberation from sin (Jn 8:32).
* [14:7] An alternative reading, “If you knew me, then you would have known my Father also,” would be a rebuke, as in Jn 8:19.
* [14:8] Show us the Father: Philip is pictured asking for a theophany like Ex 24:9–10; 33:18. (John, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)
Eileen Wirth comments that it takes only a little effort to touch lives with the compassionate acceptance that Jesus showed to people on the margins.
Just see who’s sitting alone at your church or neighborhood coffee shop and invite them to join you. We’ve recently welcomed such a woman – a warm and wonderful but lonely widow - to our Saturday evening Mass circle. She tears up when she says how grateful she is for her new friends for comforting her when her son died.
“I missed you so much,” she said last week after returning from a knee replacement.
Find such people who need you and you will be “doing the works I do.” (Wirth, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “The Father Works Together with the Son,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The Father was not born of the Virgin, and yet this birth of the Son from the Virgin was the work of both Father and Son. The Father did not suffer on the cross, and yet the passion of the Son was the work of both Father and Son. The Father did not rise again from the dead, and yet the resurrection of the Son was the work of both Father and Son. You have the persons quite distinct, and their working inseparable. So let us never say that the Father worked anything without the Son, the Son anything without the Father. Or perhaps you are worried about the miracles Jesus did, in case perhaps he did some that the Father did not do? Then what about 'But the Father abiding in me does his works'?" (excerpt from Sermon 52,14) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 14:1-12 comments that heaven isn’t a resort filled with personalized vacation homes. But it is very real, and it’s a place where each of us receives the deep rest and refreshment we need.
Jesus promised to take us to himself so that where he is, there we also may be (John 14:3). In his presence, everything is fulfilled. And that makes heaven infinitely better than a dream home!
“Lord, thank you for preparing a place for me!” (Meditation on John 14:1-12, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the response of the community to the prejudice against the Hellenist widows by selected men anointed for “diakonos” or service. The first deacons began to preach about Jesus, the Living Stone. The cracked stone at Golgotha supported the Cross and Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church. Friar Jude reminds us of our membership in the family of God, who satisfies our greatest needs.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, speaks to the pervasive sense of shame that has taken root in our society.
Guilt, I am told, is about things we have done or not done, but our shame is about the primal emptiness of our very being. Shame is not about what we have done, but about who we are and who we are not. Guilt is a moral question. Shame—foundational shame, at least—has to do with our very being itself. It is not resolved by changing behavior as much as by changing our very self-image, our alignment with the universe. Shame is not about what we do, but where we abide.
God is always the initiator. God is always the Hound of Heaven [1] who goes out after us because God knows our primordial shame. God is always sewing garments of love and protection to cover our immense and intense sense of unworthiness. Our very movements toward God are only because God has first moved toward us. (Rohr, 2023)
We are prompted by the Spirit to piety, study, and action as we serve to invite others to experience the life supported by our Cornerstone.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/6?1
John, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/14?1
Meditation on John 14:1-12. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/05/07/673833/
1 Peter, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1peter/2?4
Psalms, PSALM 33. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/33?1
Rohr, R. (2023, May 7). Our Original Shame — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/our-original-shame-2023-05-07/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Lord, Show Us the Father. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=may7
Wirth, E. (2023, May 7). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 7, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/050723.html
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