Daily Readings - Tue Apr 28 2020
Acts
51"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.52Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,53you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."54Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.56And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.59And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."60And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
John
30So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"32Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."34They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Sermon
The readings today present us with powerful lessons about faith, persecution, and the ultimate source of our spiritual nourishment. In the first reading from Acts, we witness the martyrdom of Stephen, one of the first deacons of the early Church. Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly confronts the people for their resistance to God’s truth, just as their ancestors had done. Despite their anger and violence, Stephen forgives his persecutors and entrusts his spirit to the Lord. This moment marks the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem, scattering the believers but also spreading the Gospel to new regions.
The Gospel reading from John complements this narrative by inviting us to reflect on the nature of true faith and spiritual hunger. The people ask Jesus for a sign, referencing the manna their ancestors ate in the desert. Jesus responds by revealing himself as the true bread from heaven, the source of eternal life. He emphasizes that faith in him satisfies a deeper hunger than physical bread ever could. This exchange reminds us that our ultimate fulfillment comes not from the things of this world but from a relationship with Christ.
These readings challenge us to examine our own resistance to God’s will and our openness to the Holy Spirit. Like Stephen, we are called to stand firm in our faith, even in the face of adversity. And like the crowd in the Gospel, we are invited to recognize Jesus as the bread of life, the one who sustains us on our journey. May we, too, trust in God’s providence, forgive those who wrong us, and seek spiritual nourishment in the Eucharist, the true bread from heaven.