Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
In today’s gospel many of Jesus’ disciples turn and walk away from Him because they find His teachings too “hard.” Living as a disciple in 2021 is difficult. Without the grace of the Spirit following Jesus would be impossible. St. Peter shows us how the power of the Spirit can not only strengthen our faith, but provide power to bring healing and new life to the world around us.
The disciples in today’s gospel are challenged with Jesus’ teachings. Jesus tells them that He is the Bread of Life, and it is through eating His flesh and drinking His blood that they will have eternal life. These words must have seemed outlandish to the people listening. Jesus goes on further to explain that His words are Spirit and life. Through the grace of the Spirit, Peter realizes that Jesus has “the words of eternal life.” Peter is able to recognize that Jesus is the Holy One of God, and because of his belief Peter is able to follow Jesus even when it is difficult to understand. Although many of the disciples returned to their former ways of life, Peter and the apostles allow the Spirit to provide the courage and wisdom to guide their paths despite the challenge.
This power of the Holy Spirit is highlighted in the reading from Acts. The Church is at peace and being built up through the work of the Spirit. Peter travels through the various villages healing in the name of Jesus. The power of Christ is so strong in Peter that a disciple named Tabitha is raised from the dead. Many people witness the great faith of Peter and they come to believe in Jesus and His message.
As I reflect on these readings, what do they mean for us living today? Many of the teachings of Jesus are difficult as we try to follow Christ in our daily lives. People around us question how can you believe such outlandish things? How can you believe that bread and wine become divine? How can you believe that we are supposed to love all people- even our enemies? How can you believe that God loves all people equally? How can you believe that God wants to offer mercy and forgiveness to all people? How can you believe that we are called to share Christ (God) with other people in our daily lives? How can you believe that the God of the universe invites us into relationship? How can you believe that God desires all creation to be united in God’s love? There are so many questions about our faith that are hard- difficult to understand and nearly impossible to believe. Yet, God provides the Spirit of Life to help us on our journey of faith.
There is no assurance that our lives as disciples will be easy, but God has given us individuals such as Peter and others in the community of saints that help direct our eyes towards Jesus and His truth. So much of our faith is based on the mysteries of God. Our mind wants concrete ideas and concepts, so these unknowns make our lives more challenging. To be disciples today we are called to let go of certainty, trust in the Spirit and act with the love of God in all that we do. This is hard, but we are not alone. As a member of the body of Christ we walk forward with the power of the Spirit. May our lives bring peace and healing to the world around us just as Peter shared God’s grace in the early life of the church. May our faith bring others to Christ.
Loving God, Jesus came to share the Good News of Your love, mercy and peace. Jesus then calls us to follow Him in building this kingdom on earth. May Your Spirit provide all that we need to live our lives as disciples of Christ. Strengthen our faith so that we may go forth with confidence into the world bringing healing and unity to all the world. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
Marylynn Herchline