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Acts 6: 1 - 7 |
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1 |
Now in these
days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured
against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily
distribution. |
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2 |
And the twelve
summoned the body of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we
should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. |
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3 |
Therefore,
brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the
Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. |
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4 |
But we will
devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." |
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5 |
And what they
said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith
and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Proch'orus, and Nica'nor, and
Ti'mon, and Par'menas, and Nicola'us, a proselyte of Antioch. |
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6 |
These they set
before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. |
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7 |
And the word of
God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in
Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. |
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Psalms 33: 1 - 8 |
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1 |
Rejoice in the
LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. |
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2 |
Praise the
LORD with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! |
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3 |
Sing to him a
new song, play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts. |
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4 |
For the word
of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness. |
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5 |
He loves
righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the
LORD. |
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6 |
By the word of
the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his
mouth. |
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7 |
He gathered
the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses. |
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8 |
Let all the
earth fear the LORD, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of
him! |
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John 6: 16 - 21 |
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16 |
When evening
came, his disciples went down to the sea, |
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17 |
got into a boat,
and started across the sea to Caper'na-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had
not yet come to them. |
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18 |
The sea rose
because a strong wind was blowing. |
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19 |
When they had
rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and
drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, |
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20 |
but he said to
them, "It is I; do not be afraid." |
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21 |
Then they were
glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to
which they were going. |
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1. We can
imagine: that evening, when the multiplication of the loaves, was a very busy
and remarkable time for the disciples. Probably they thought that, once the last
hungry person took the last piece of barley bread, everything had finished.
Eventually they came to know that another big surprise was reserved for the
very same day.
2. We could say that the miracle of the
multiplication of the loaves had a definite aim in giving food to people in
want. But not every miracle must follow the same pattern. There was not a
visible and clear reason for Jesus to walk over the sea and all the same he
did it. The first lesson, therefore, is that the miracles are not always short
cuts to get solutions for our needs. Some valid needs will not receive a
miracle as an answer, and some miracles will happen even if they do not seem
absolutely necessary.
3. In the fourth gospel, the miracles are above all
signs, and as such, the most important part of a miracle is neither the
preceeding situation nor the work that was made as such. The real importance
of a miracle, in the tecahing of St. John, is the meaning. We are invited to
see not the finger pointing to the sky, but the sky itself. The miracle, as
astonishing as it can be, is just the finger; the target aimed is the real
reason for the miracle to be performed. That target is something that we must
read, something that is “within” the sign and that must be brought out.
4. As a consequence, it is important to put aside an
utilitarian notion of the miracles and wonderful works God sometimes does for
our sake. His powerful works do not only solve
something but mainly point towards
something. This is the step Jesus is making in the scene of the gospel today.
He is bringing the disciples to a new awareness, as if he say to them: “there
is something else to reflect upon than the huge number of multiplied loaves.”
In the texts for the coming days we will learn how the greatest sign is not
the material bread but the bread come down from heaven, which is Jesus
himself.
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