11 Apr
Acts 9:1-20
In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem.
As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” he asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you persecute,” the voice said. “But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything.
There was a Christian in Damascus named Ananias. He had a vision, in which the Lord said to him, “Ananias!”
“Here I am, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord said to him, “Get ready and go to Straight Street, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he might see again.”
Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and about all the terrible things he has done to your people in Jerusalem. And he has come to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who worship you.”
The Lord said to him, “Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kinds and to the people of Israel. And I myself must show him all that he must suffer for my sake.”
So Ananias went, entered the house where Saul was, and placed his hands on him. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord has sent me – Jesus himself, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” At once something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he was able to see again. He stood up and was baptized; and after he had eaten, his strength came back.
Saul stayed for a few days with the believers in Damascus. He went straight to the synagogues and began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God.
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John 6:52-59
This started an angry argument among them. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him to life on the last day. For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him. The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me. This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Jesus said this as he taught in the synagogue in Capernaum.
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Here I am Lord…
In the first reading today, we read that when God called Ananias, Ananias answered immediately, “Here I am, Lord”. There was no hesitation, nothing to hold Ananias back from being present with his God. God must have been the greatest priority in his life for him to drop everything and respond immediately.
Although I frequently tell God that I want Him to be my greatest priority in life, I struggle to make Him so. Even when I go to church (which should be the place where it is easiest to make God the priority of my life), I find myself distracted by many other things – looking out for familiar faces in church, wondering when the next song will start, fighting the urge to check my phone etc.
Yes, it is not easy to be present to the Lord. Many times, it is not even easy to be present to our loved ones (family, friends) who are physically with us. How much harder is it to be present to a God who is, most of the time, not available to our immediate senses?
However, God understands our difficulty and wishes to meet us wherever we are at in our faith, our emotional trials, our fears, and our insecurities. When we want to run away from God because we think we are not “ready” or “good enough” to be close to Him, it is actually the time when we can be nearest to Him! We can come to Him exactly as we are and say, “Lord, I am struggling with ______. I am finding it hard to come into your holy presence because of this. Forgive me, help me, and fill me with your love and hope.”
To be present to someone requires us to be our true selves – not running or hiding anything. When we can unveil ourselves before the Lord, our broken hearts can meet His and we can be closest to Him.
(Today’s reflection by Jean Cheng)
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Prayer: We pray to the Lord to draw us nearer to Him.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for his compassion and love.
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