Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Again, the Risen Lord ruins our mistaken expectations! Put yourself for a moment in the shoes of Ananias, the disciple in Damascus whom the Lord commands to seek out Saul of Tarsus. We might well reply as Ananias did, “Lord, I have hear from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem…” (Acts 9:13) We might find it difficult to accept the mission of the Lord to go to someone who we find annoying, or with whom we have had vociferous disagreements. But Ananias is told to go to a man who has been throwing Christians in jail in Jerusalem, and whom Ananias has heard has come to his town to do the same there! Yet the Risen Lord insists. “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine…” (Acts 9:15) The Lord demands an openness of heart on our part. He demands that we humbly submit to accepting the world, our neighbors, even our enemies as He sees them, rather than according to our own fears and indignation.
Do we not hear a similar challenge being made in the Gospel today? Perhaps we have grown comfortable in our devotion with Jesus’ shocking challenge, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you.” (Jn 6:53) Again, put yourself for a moment in the place of the Jews of Capharnaum. These words would seem to be madness. Is he asking you to become cannibals then and there? Why is that necessary for life? Yet, again the Lord is inviting us to be humble enough to see His gift as He sees it, “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” (Jn 6:57) Are we willing to make the substance of our lives so dependent upon Christ in His infinite self-gift in the Eucharist the way the Son depends upon the infinite self-gift of the Father? If we do, the promise is eternal life! Blissful communion forever with the One who loves us infinitely.
Perhaps we can get a taste of this joy if we return to Ananias. Put yourself once more in his shoes. This time, however, you have entered the house where Saul is, you have seen his humbled state and his changed heart. Imagine now laying hands one this one who had turned away from the malice he once had. Hear the words spoken to him, “Saul, my brother…” (Acts 9:17) What joy must have been Ananias’ at that moment, rejoicing in Christ’s victory over this most zealous enemy? What joy must have been Saul’s to encounter forgiveness and acceptance by one whom he expected to receive rebuke and reprimand? Today, let us consider those enemies of our own to whom the Lord may send us as we listen to him in quiet moments of prayer. Let us not resist that call, kicking against the goad as Saul once did. Rather, let us listen and take part in the joy given by the Lord to Ananias who by God’s grace could recognize this old enemy with the words, “Saul, my brother…”