Believe in the One God Sent

April 7, 2008

Memorial of St. John Baptist de la Salle, patron of teachers

By Beth DeCristofaro

Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs …people… came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke…his face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6, 8, 9, 10, 15)

Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you...Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” (John 6: 27, 29)

Piety

Collect of Saint Stephen, Deacon and Martyr: We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Reflections on the Gospel (euangelion) of our Lord Jesus Christ from Holy Trinity Ecumenical Orthodox Church, http://rooppage.blogspot.com/2007/12/26-december-saint-stephen-deacon-and.html)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/040708.shtml

The ministry of Stephen, first Christian martyr, shows exactly what Jesus meant in his words to the crowds: This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent. (John 6: 19) Stephen faces debate, accusations and – he knows – death. But those who accused him reported that his face was like the face of an angel. His face reflected the absolute surety that he has been given food for eternal life and that his life’s purpose and meaning is in believing in Jesus.

The crowds in John’s story are much like us. They follow Jesus willy nilly, wanting to be with him, wanting to hear and be uplifted yet not really sure why or what it means. “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26) Jesus knows that they, as yet, do not have staying power.

Where is our surety in the life that through the resurrection of Jesus we have already been given an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, (1 Peter 1:4) when we arrive home from vacation to find 3 inches of water destroying our home and belongings because a water heater burst? Where is our surety when a doctor says the heart-bursting words: “Your child has cancer” or when our boss tells us “You are being let go.” I know that my face is not the face of an angel at that moment. My god-given human emotions can’t help but reflect the inner turmoil, anger, hurt, fear, anguish. It takes me time to find my feet, survey the new landscape, and determine if my home – my soul – is indeed built on rock rather than on sand.

But to whom can I turn but the Jesus who walked hard roads, felt rejection and loss, felt undeserved pain and random torture? And how can I turn if I do not know him well, my friend and companion? Jesus props us up while we inventory the damage to the things with which we have surrounded ourselves. Jesus lies in the hospital bed with our child. Jesus takes our arm in support when we are handed the box of our personal belongings and escorted from our place of employment.

Even when we can’t summon the strength or conviction to respond angelically, Jesus loves and cherishes us with food that endures for eternal life (John 6:27). Each and every one of us is offered this food. Jesus sees each of us as much-loved. So must we love ourselves and others rather than things. Even our loved ones are perishable but the love we have given and received through and with them is eternal, nourishing, and holy.

Action

A recent article in National Catholic Reporter reported “Two dioceses have established a nonprofit, worker-led organization called Independent Agricultural Workers Center, known by its Spanish acronym, CITA, to provide Mexican workers with H-2A guest worker visas.” These workers who harvest US food are in need of assistance and protection. Consider writing your representative in Congress to support Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security, “AgJOBS” (S. 340 and H.R. 371).

Tucson Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas and Mexicali Bishop Jose Isidro Guerrero Macias urged passage of the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act, a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Congress known as AgJOBS, which they said would be "a very positive step toward reversing discrimination."

The bill, they said, enjoys broad support from both employers and workers' organizations and would streamline and improve the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, giving workers the right to appeal in federal court for enforcement of their rights and to receive higher wages. …

Known as the nation's "winter salad bowl," the Yuma area supplies more than 90 percent of the lettuce sold in the U.S. from November through February and this "requires a huge pool of readily available labor," the bishops said.

As much as 80 percent of the peak workforce for Yuma agriculture comes from Mexico and significant numbers of these workers do not have documentation that would allow them work in the U.S., the bishops said…

The bishops cited various hardships faced by farmworkers, including having to stay in the fields during high winds or rains to cover the crops with tarps and wait for the storm to pass, time for which they are not paid.

They also said workers often do not have the proper protection from pesticides used on crops and spend hours "stooped over in the fields" to earn about $2 or $2.50 a day.

(NCR Online, April 2, “Bishops call for end to 'exploitation' of undocumented farmworkers” Read the entire article at http://www.warwickcorner2006.org/drupal/?q=node/621