Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

“The Entombment of St Stephen Martyr”
by Juan de Juanes, c. 1560

Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Acts 8:1b-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.
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Commentary on Acts 8:1b-8
 
This selection describes the first concerted effort to eradicate Christianity.  Following the death of St. Stephen, we are told that: “all were scattered … except the apostles.” This is pointed at by many scholars as implying that it was the Hellenists (Greek) Jews only who were scattered (recall that St. Stephen and the other deacons were appointed to minister to that community). It was St. Stephen who had enraged the Sanhedrin and was buried in this passage.
 
As the main force in this persecution, Saul (later St. Paul) clearly sees the threat by Christianity to the Jewish tradition that has evolved.  He leads the persecution of the Church, which has the unintended effect of spreading the Good News outside of the Jewish community in Jerusalem.  As if providing an example, St. Luke tells the story of St. Philip who takes the Gospel of Christ to Samaria with good results.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
 
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
 
Psalm 66 is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. In the first part, presented here, the psalmist praises God for his salvation, recalling the exodus from Egypt and the great signs he gave the people.
 
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Gospel: John 6:35-40
 
Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
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Commentary on Jn 6:35-40
 
St. John’s “Bread of Life” discourse continues with the repetition of the great eucharistic pronouncement – “I am the Bread of Life.” The Lord states that in spite of their lack of belief, his presence with them is part of God’s revelatory plan (“I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me”), and that all who come to believe in the Son of God, the Bread of Life, will be welcome (“I will not reject anyone who comes to me”).
 
The selection concludes with the promise of eternal life for those who believe in Jesus, the Son of God. They will be raised with him in glory on the “last day.”
 
CCC: Jn 6:38 606, 2824; Jn 6:39-40 989, 1001; Jn 6:40 161, 994
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Reflection:
 
As we still marvel at the Easter event, Scripture from the Acts of the Apostles shows us how God’s plan moves ahead in unexpected ways. St. Stephen’s martyrdom at the hands of the Jewish community – enraged because Stephen, a Greek, had the audacity to tell them they did not understand Moses and how he pointed to Jesus as the Messiah – precipitates the first real attempt to blot out Christianity. The Hellenistic Christians are scattered and driven out of Jerusalem by the members of the Sanhedrin, headed up by the ultra-conservative Saul.
 
What took place next must have confounded the evil one, whose influence can be so clearly seen in these events. Instead of destroying the work the Son of God began, this scattering only served to provide the Good News with a broader audience. The apostles (unmolested probably because, as Hebrews, they did not represent a “foreign” threat) must have cheered when news of Philip’s success in Samaria reached them.
 
We look at the Gospel proclaimed today and see the message these displaced Christians took into the world. From the “Bread of Life” discourse we hear God’s promise and gift. The scattering Christians told anyone they stayed with, their friends, families, and even strangers, about the wonderful promise. Jesus had offered himself, not just for the Hebrews, but for all. It was he who came to fulfill all that God had told them through the Law and the Prophets. He was the sacrifice of atonement that threw open the gates of heaven, slammed shut when Adam and Eve first disobeyed God.
 
The Lord’s message was that, through the great love of God for all people, he would accept anyone who came to him. Jesus would not only accept them but extend to them the same promise he offered to all he had met before he rose from the dead and went back to his Father, our Father. He said, “[T]his is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
 
The promise and the example of the early Church provide us with new zeal to take the message into the world as well. We rededicate ourselves to providing the invitation, to any we meet, to come to the Lord. He offers his love, and his body, the Bread of Life.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “The Entombment of St Stephen Martyr” by Juan de Juanes, c. 1560.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.