May 6, Friday, the Third Week of Easter
Daily Readings: Acts 9:1-20; Gospel John 6:52-59
The way God leads us to eternal life is a mystery to us. His teachings may contain many unanswered questions, but they lead to eternal life.
Not rare, God’s salvific action is beyond our comprehension. He does things not in a human way but in his way. Human beings are not in control of what they do for the world. Consequently, his actions leave us in awe and full of curiosity. The readings of today give witness to that.
In the eyes of human beings (at least for the Christians at the time), Saul was known for being the murderer of Christians. He was a sinful man in the eyes of the Christians and was subjected to punishment in heaven. However, God has His plan. He touches the life of Saul and makes him a man of faith. The Lord chooses a sinful man to bear witness to his Gospel. Paul’s experience of encountering Jesus changes his life. He gives up everything and becomes the great proclaimer of Jesus.
The experience of Paul can happen to us. We think ourselves to be exceedingly sinful to the point that we are unworthy of God’s grace. The experience of Paul tells us that everyone is worthy of God’s grace. God can choose anyone to be his witness. He chooses anyone, purifies them, and makes them the bearer of his gospel.
In the second reading, God’s teaching on giving his flesh to be eaten creates discomfort on the part of his listeners. He associates his flesh with the bread from heaven. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Eating flesh is incomprehensible to the minds of the Jews.
Human beings are used to the food they eat daily, suitable for physical nourishment. Jesus speaks of his flesh as bread from heaven, and this kind of food will give eternal life to those who eat it. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
We might not understand God’s way, but his way indeed brings us to eternal life. We may have many unresolved questions about his teachings, but they are ways to eternal life.
In Jesus, there is eternal life. We can humble ourselves before him, allow him to touch us, and bring us to everlasting life with him in the Kingdom of heaven.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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