Readings for Thursday, May 8 2014; Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Lectionary: 276

Reading 1
Acts 8:26-40

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
“Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” 
So he got up and set out. 
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
“Go and join up with that chariot.” 
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
“Do you understand what you are reading?” 
He replied,
“How can I, unless someone instructs me?” 
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him. 
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.

Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?” 
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. 
What is to prevent my being baptized?” 
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him. 
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing. 
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!

R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
John 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father. 
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life. 
I am the bread of life. 
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die. 
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: THE RESURRECTION DESERT

"Head south toward the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route." –Acts 8:26

We've just spent forty days fasting in the Lenten desert, in imitation of Jesus' forty-day desert fast (Mt 4:1-2). Now Jesus is risen, and we celebrate the season of Easter, a fifty-day Sunday of feasting and rejoicing. Yet, like Philip, some of you may find yourselves in the desert after Easter Sunday (Acts 8:26). You may have lost a loved one (Acts 8:2), suffered persecution for your Easter faith (Acts 8:3), or are simply returning to your normal life after the spiritual high of Easter (Acts 8:27).

If you are in the Easter desert, you are not alone. Others, such as the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:27), are also in the Easter desert. In the Easter desert can be found:

spiritual hunger (Acts 8:31),refreshing water which appears at just the right time, even in the midst of the arid surroundings (Acts 8:36),the precise, powerful guidance of the Spirit (Acts 8:29),the seeds of international evangelization (Acts 8:27, 39),conversion (Acts 8:38), andrejoicing (Acts 8:39).

If you are still in the desert, ask not so much to be taken out of the desert; rather, ask for "ears open to obedience" (Ps 40:7; see also Is 50:4). Your emptiness and suffering might be exactly what the Spirit uses to bring Easter joy to the world. After the Lord's purpose is completed, the Spirit can quickly carry you out of the desert to the refreshment you need (see Acts 8:39-40).

PRAYER: Father, use me to spread Your Word to the whole world.

PROMISE: "If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world." –Jn 6:51

PRAISE: By choosing to spend time volunteering to prepare the One Bread, One Body subscriptions for mailing, Cynthia is living Jesus' command to preach the Gospel to the four corners of the earth (see Mt 28:19-20).