Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 7:51-8:1a; John 6:30-35)
In today’s gospel Jesus makes one of his “I am”
statements. As God revealed His name to
Moses as “I am who am,” Jesus reveals himself here as God who nourishes His
people for eternal life.
Jesus calls himself “the bread of God.” By this he means
more than the Eucharistic food. He is
speaking of himself as the word of God that instructs, comforts, and chastises
if necessary so that the people follow his righteous ways. The words of Second Isaiah are at the front
of his mind: “For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down…giving
seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats so shall my word be that goes
forth from my mouth… (Is 55,10-11a).
Jesus Christ, the Word of God, feeds us both physically and
spiritually. We can count on him. As Stephen calls out to Jesus as he is being
stoned, let us call to him in our every need.
We will find it much more productive than fretting about “bad luck” or
even single-minded calculating about what we are to do.
