Acts 5:34-42 / Jn 6:1-15
There are certain things in our lives and in our surroundings that have always just been there: various members of our family, familiar streets, precious possessions rooted deep in our past. Lovely or not, they're all a part of the familiar landscape of our lives and we rarely look at them all that consciously. Our faith as Christians may well fall into that same category — part of the landscape that's always just been there. And a likely consequence of that is that we may not yet fully appreciate what life would be like without Him who gives us life.
Today's first reading challenges us to think about this. In the Sanhedrin's debate about what to do with the Apostles, a wise man urged that they do nothing, reasoning that if the Apostles' teaching was not of God, it would soon die of its own accord, but if it was of God, nothing could destroy it. Two thousand years later the verdict speaks for itself.
That confronts us with some serious questions. Have we yet received the Jesus-gift which God sent us? Have we taken Him into our lives and formed a bond so deep that nothing can break it? Have we let Him guide our growth toward wholeness and joy? If we haven't, we're acquiescing to a life of spiritual poverty while vast riches are within our reach. And that would be crazy.
Don't be crazy! Receive the gift our Father sent personally to you, and live!
