To Whom Shall We Go?

To Whom Shall We Go?

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to her body and said, "Tabitha, rise up." She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord. Acts 9:40-42

As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:66-69

Piety

As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. (Psalm 42:2-3A)

Study

The relationship of food to hunger is pretty easy to explain to poor Jews in ancient, Roman-occupied Palestine.  Jesus uses something familiar to help them connect to something new – life in the Spirit. Some people understood.  Others did not.

Everything Jesus said about the bread of life is a step along the way as he reveals and revels in the Spirit.  Once people understand, the Spirit draws them to be just like water attracts a person who is thirsty, or food draws a person who is hungry.

Life in the spirit (the supernatural world) is a constant interaction between prayer and work (in the natural world) as we see with Peter’s story in the first reading.  When the community calls Peter into action at the side of Tabitha, his first step is not a step at all.  Peter kneels down in prayer. This piety feeds his faith so that Peter can bring her back to life.  This action then leads to many more people coming to believe.

Returning to the Gospel, the painful lessons about the bread of life might have turned some people away.  Those, like Peter, who remained, were fully committed to living out their commission. 

Action

In his April 19th homily, Pope Francis reflected on themes that come to life in Peter’s story today.

In reporting on this, Junno Arocho Esteves of Catholic News Service wrote that evangelization "isn't a well-thought-out plan of proselytism" but rather an occasion in which the Holy Spirit "tells you how you should go to bring the word of God, to carry Jesus' name."

His homily during morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae continued by saying, "A 'couch potato' evangelization doesn't exist. Get up and go! Be always on the move. Go to the place where you must speak the word (of God)," he said.

Peter had to get up and go to Joppa to bring Tabitha back from the dead.  If he stayed in the comfort of the Upper Room or his fishing boat, none of the effects of his evangelization would have happened.

Where is the Spirit calling you to go this Easter season?