Monday
of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 6:8-15;
John 6:22-29)
Every Monday
morning a group of homeless congregate for prayer, coffee, and a breakfast
sandwich. They sit in a circle while the
convener reads the Sunday gospel and comments upon it. Few seem to pay much attention or participate
in the intercessory prayer. They seem
like the people looking for Jesus in today’s gospel.
Jesus challenges
the group. He tells them that do not
seek him for the eternal life he promises but for the food he provides. Remarkably, he does not reject them but engages
them in dialogue. They ask him how they
are to behave, and he responds. They must
believe in him. That is, they are to
accept his teaching as coming from God.
It is a tall order, but some of them will fill it.
We may not
be looking for a handout from the Church.
But we still are challenged to believe.
It becomes hard when we are called to make sacrifices which belief
entails. Some may have to take care of a
parent who is losing her faculties or to accept his own homosexuality without
sexual gratification. All of us should support,
at least in prayer, those making such sacrifices for Christ.
