Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: John 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father. 
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life. 
I am the bread of life. 
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die. 
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Why is it so hard for some to believe? Or why do we who already believe struggle at times?

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.”

This word, “draw,” implies a type of resistance. 

It’s the same word that John later uses to describe Saint Peter dragging a net of fish ashore. Think of the resistance offered by the fish themselves, then the water, then the sand.

Peter literally pulls that net with all of his might.

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Similarly, God is constantly drawing us to himself, yet we resist Him, much like a fish caught, flapping furiously in a net.

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Some may resist the truth that Christ is fully present in the Eucharist. 

He tells us plainly in today’s Gospel, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

We hear the Lord. Yet how often do we gaze upon Him with incredulous eyes? We question. Doubt. Try to rationalize.

Others may resist Christ’s invitation to, “Follow me.” 

Like the rich young man, who walked away from the Lord “sad, for he had many possessions,” fear can paralyze us. God draws upon our heart and feet, yet we drag them in the sand.

We convince ourselves that if we take Jesus at his word then somehow we’ll lose out on life; we are better off making our own decisions.

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“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him.” 

Where do I resist the Lord?

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May we give up the fight, surrendering ourselves into the hands of Jesus, “who has loved us and given himself for us.”

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Image credits: (1) Going by Faith (2) Reddit (3) RChiips.org

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Acts: 8: 1-8

There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.

Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.

The Word of the Lord

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The Acts of the Apostles, which we’re reading from throughout the Easter Season, describes the life and liturgy of the early Church, answering questions like: 

“What did the first Christians do after the resurrection? How did they worship Christ? What were their lives like?”

Often, it wasn’t pleasant. 

As we just heard:

“There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside, except the Apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church.”

Life for these early Christians was hard and often dangerous.

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But we also see responsiveness of the Holy Spirit.

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Because these Christians were persecuted for their faith, many fled to new, sometimes distant lands. As a result, by the end of the first century, the Gospel message spread as far east as India.

Meanwhile, the Apostles stayed put for the time being as they continued preaching the resurrection in spite of serious threats against their lives.

Their example reminds us that nothing can stop the growth of the Church, which is sustained by the Holy Spirit and the courageous witness of ordinary believers like us.

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Think of ways we continue to witness to our faith today.

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Almost every week, I meet people at church who were invited by others to “come and see.”

Plenty of others participate in Bible study, are catechists, soup kitchen cooks and drivers, ministry leads, intercessors, and so on.

May we continue to build upon the tradition of the early Christians, who proclaimed in word and deed, Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

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Image credits: (1) Relevant Community Church (2) Bible Gateway (3) Sharing Horizons

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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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In the office, I’m becoming known as the “Amazon pastor.”

Do we need something? Let’s just Amazon it! 

Pens, paper, big items, small items, whatever it may be.

The truth is, you can Amazon almost anything.

Imagine if we could Amazon happiness. Buy now with one click! How many of us would add that to our cart? 

Name the price. We’d pay it!

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Unfortunately, we know that isn’t possible. Human happiness cannot be purchased because we’re not that shallow; we were made for more. 

We need friends; love; support; purpose.

Ultimately, we need intimacy with God.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Unlike Amazon, which may satisfy us for a day, Christ promises to satisfy for a lifetime.

That doesn’t mean that we pray once and are filled. The Lord gives us our “daily bread,” enough grace to satisfy us for a day. 

Then we must return to him tomorrow.

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Have I found that Jesus satisfies me?

As the Psalmist says, “Of you, my heart has spoken, ‘Seek his face.’”

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I may be the “Amazon pastor.” If there’s something material I need, that’s often where I’ll shop.

But one thing we all want, which Amazon can never sell, is a share of human happiness. For that, we must turn to Jesus.

As Saint Ignatius of Loyola once said, “Your love and your grace. That is enough for me.”

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Image credits: (1) Open Cart (2) Holly Cardew, Medium (3) Sacred Heart Catholic Parish, Punta Gorda