Look for & to Jesus; focus on Him, do your work for/in Him (readings for May 6, 2019 annotated)

Key:

What these scriptures tell us about God

What These scriptures tell us to do

Commentary

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Reading 1  Acts 6:8-15

Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated some men to say, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God." They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They presented false witnesses who testified, "This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us." All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30

R.(1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Though princes meet and talk against me, your servant meditates on your statutes. Yes, your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I declared my ways, and you answered me; teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen; I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

Alleluia  Matthew 4:4

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel John 6:22-29

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]

The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

Jesus answered them and said, "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. Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." 

So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

What these scriptures tell us about God

filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. 

the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. 

One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  

on him the Father, God, has set his seal."

What these scriptures tell us to do

follow the law of the Lord!
meditates on your statutes.
your decrees are my delight; they are my counselors.follow the law of the Lord!
meditate on your wondrous deeds.
follow the law of the Lord!
I have set your ordinances before me.follow the law of the Lord!

One does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life
This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent

Commentary

We can do powerfully good things if God’s “grace and power” work through us. He gives us “wisdom” through His “Spirit.” (first reading)

We therefore should set our eyes above the ordinary, human/physical, and look for What God is doing/would have us do in our circumstances. (alleluia verse, gospel). See also Colossians 3:1-4. 

How do we do that?

a.    Believe that Jesus is the Christ, accept His lordship, seek to serve Him. (gospel)

b.   Keep God’s word in mind, think about it as we go about our day-to-day activities. (psalm, alleluia verse)

c.    Order our affairs/actions in accord with the principles of scripture. (psalm, alleluia verse)

d.   Think about how God has acted in the past. (psalm)

e.   Do our regular work as unto the Lord, in the spirit of Colossians 3:23-25. (gospel)

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These principles will not exempt us from trials, difficulties; Stephen was martyred and Jesus faced great opposition. But they will help us do the Good that God wants from us.