Jesus, The Bread Of Life Lives On His Disciples
Introduction
Stephen and the persecuted Christians of the early Church relive the passion of Christ; they suffer not only for Christ, but also with him and like him; their attitude is also: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit; Lord, do not hold this against them.” But Stephen and the first Christians are sure that death has not the final say: they will live on with the risen Christ.
Christians are sustained in life by the true bread from heaven, Christ, who breaks for them the bread of his word and the bread of himself, for he is the “given” bread, sacrificing himself to give life. Christ is the answer to our deepest hungers. We too, should hunger for him and say, “Give us this bread always.”
1 Reading: ACTS 7:51—8:1a
Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it.”
When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”;
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
Responsorial Psalm 31:3,4, 6 and 7b
R. (6a) Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. or: R. Alleluia.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me. R.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
My trust is in the LORD;
I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy. R.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men. R.
Alleluia: John 6:35AB
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the bread of life, says the Lord;
whoever comes to me will never hunger.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: John 6:30-35
The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Commentary
At God’s direction, Moses was the intermediary for the Israelites’ deliverance from hunger in the desert. As providential as this bread from heaven was, it pales in comparison with the true heavenly bread, which is Christ himself in his life and in his teaching.
The death of Stephen bears a striking resemblance to that of Jesus. Jesus speaks of the Son of Man as an eschatological figure, the one “coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 24:30), just as Stephen sees him standing at God’s right hand. As Jesus commended his spirit to the Lord, so too does Stephen. Both Jesus and Stephen die with a prayer of forgiveness on their lips. Clearly the martyr had made the teaching of Christ his own; even in his death he is the faithful witness.
Is it not true that our own moral failures in life reflect the absence of Christ’s spirit? And when we know that we have acted correctly, do we not feel that such is the way that Christ would have acted? After his conversion, Paul became such a model of Christ that it is hard for us to believe that he concurred publicly in the killing of the first martyr.
The meaning of faith is to mirror Christ in our daily lives. This is what is meant by “having the mind of Christ.” St. Therese of Lemieux lived her short life behind a cloistered wall. But her “little way” of holiness was to be an echo of Christ himself in the way she lived her daily fife. This meant humility, forgiveness, and above all, charity. Hers was a love of neighbor that went beyond the grave as she prayed that she might spend her heaven in doing good upon earth. This was her “little way,” to walk the walk of Christian holiness.
Blessing
“Give us this bread always,” said the crowd. Christ is our bread, our food, our riches, the meaning of our lives, who accompanies us, pilgrims, on the journey of life. May he always keep nourishing us with himself. We ask God to bless us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!