HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: I am the living bread which has come down from heaven
READINGS OF THE DAY
Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 65:8-9,16-17,20
John 6:44-51
BY: FR. DEOTACIOUS CHIKONTWE SMA
FROM OUR FIRST READING
Today’s first reading is one of many wonderful stories in the Acts of the Apostles, the story of how an Ethiopian eunuch who served at the court of the queen of Ethiopia came to Christ. The Holy Spirit had a major role to play in bringing the Ethiopian to Jesus, but Philip the evangelist and the Ethiopian himself had their roles to play as well. It was the Holy Spirit who prompted Philip to meet the Ethiopian. It was presumably the Spirit who prompted the Ethiopian to read the passage of Scripture that so intrigued him. The Ethiopian asked Philip to explain the Scripture he was reading and Philip responded to his request. A little later the Ethiopian asked Philip to baptize him and Philip responded to that request too. Even though the Spirit was at work in all of this process, there was a genuine human element at work too.
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FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
Today’s Gospel passage is the continuation of Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life. Jesus declares that he has seen God his Father because he has come from Heaven. Jesus also states that we hear God the Father’s Voice through him and through the Holy Spirit because the Father draws us to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION
The first reading reminds us that an encounter with the Lord in his word is often prior to an encounter with him in the Sacraments. The word of the Lord nurtures our faith in preparation for our encounter with him in the Sacraments. For us who have been baptized, the connection between word and Eucharist remains very close. At every Mass we first have the Liturgy of the Word, and then the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The word nourishes our faith, and it is out of that nourished faith that we come to the Eucharist. The bread of the word prepares us for the bread of the Eucharist. The bread of the word is a necessary first course, as it were, that prepares us to receive the Eucharist well.
The Lord be with You
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