Living beyond

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary invite us to consider living in a way that moves us beyond the boundaries of fear and survival which limit our experience of full and eternal Life. The psalmist proclaims the blessings from God which are experienced by those that follow the Law. Often our inclination is to seek `blessings` which are created by our manipulation or modification of the Law. The Gospel from John today tells how Jesus feeding of the multitude has attracted the interest of some who Jesus identifies are not being attracted by signs of Divine Presence but by the peculiar modification of natural law which brings free food. The Presence of the Holy Spirit, which the passage from the Book of Acts declares made the face of Stephen, standing wrongly accused before the Sanhedrin, look like an angel, is the power which transforms fear into trust in God. Joe Zaborowski is thankful that he is aware that the `Bread of Life `` discourse of Jesus in the Chapter 6 of John`s Gospel is positioned today with the story of St. Stephen so that he can appreciate the invitation of Jesus to begin now to live beyond our limitations as fully involved members of the Body of Christ. The faith which Jesus calls us to in the final lines from the Gospel today is the trust that the Son, who fulfills the Law through the will of the Father will bless our lives so that we might shine with a face which looks to those around us like an angel.