In the first reading for mass today, from the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen spoke up clearly and in no uncertain terms to the elders, scribes and the people who were gathered before him. He didn’t mince his words:
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.”
Stephen sure told the entire group in front of him, exactly what he thought without mincing his words. He spoke the truth very clearly.
Do you have a tendency to speak your mind, like Stephen? Or do you usually refrain from saying things that are contrary to the opinion of those around you, because you don’t want to have any hard feelings with others? There are many Christians who feel that peace and unity should be sought at all costs, even to the point of accepting evil rather than speaking up against it. Sometimes Catholics avoid negativity at all costs, because they believe that those who are involved in negativity, disagreements and hard feelings are not good Christians. Today’s first reading for mass today shows us otherwise. Saint Stephen was the first martyr because he had the courage to speak up against the prevailing attitude of his contemporaries at that time.
It wasn’t just what Stephen said about them, that made the crowd angry though, it was the fact that he said:
“Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
That was the last straw for them They covered their ears, rushed in on Stephen and took him by force, then they threw him out of the city and stoned him to death.
Stephen’s spirit was centered entirely in the Lord Jesus, because only a saint could say “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” when he was being killed. Saint Stephen did not think of his own life while he was being murdered, only the good of the souls of those who killed him.
This is worth stopping to think about for a moment. Saint Stephen’s example could apply to our own lives in countless ways. Are we concerned about another person’s soul, who has harmed us? Do we pray for them? This goes against our natural instincts, and yet this is exactly what we are called to do. Saint Stephen gave his life for Jesus Christ and most perfectly imitated him by his death, when he forgave those who killed him.
In the gospel today though, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Jesus was the center of Saint Stephen’s life and he loved him more than life itself. The Eucharist we receive at Mass each week is the center of our lives too though. We receive the source of love itself into the center of our being each week when we receive Jesus in communion.
Why do some people think that the Catholic Mass is boring? Many fallen away Catholics say that the Mass is boring. They “didn’t get anything out of it”. They weren’t “being fed” so they leave and seek a more lively Protestant church. What they don’t realize is that you have to be “fed” before you ever arrive at mass. There is no quick fix for a deeper relationship with God, and with Jesus Christ, though. If we do not put much effort into our spiritual lives the rest of the week, then Mass will not have much meaning for us on Sunday.
Catholics sometimes get used to the regular routines we go through when we practice our faith. The Mass has the same format each week, we know all the prayers by heart, and can sing many of our hymns from memory too. We know a great deal about our faith. But, sometimes we run the risk of just going through the motions. Going to Sunday Mass and receiving communion each week can become a routine that we do not give much thought to afterwards, if we aren’t careful. God can seem far away, and it can become much more difficult to pray.
A little bit at a time, we can lose the fire of our love for Jesus Christ and our spiritual lives can seem empty, or lifeless. After awhile though, many of us come to realize what we are missing. This is what Jesus alludes to in today’s gospel, when he said that, “whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus is who we hunger and thirst for, but we do not really understand this until we experience emptiness in our lives.
Emptiness in the spiritual life can be a good thing sometimes, because it makes us aware that something is missing. We are lacking something genuine, real and necessary to live authentically as the man or woman that God meant us to be.
The challenge for each one of us when we experience emptiness in our lives, is to realize that we will try to fill the void with something. Nature abhors a vacuum. We can fill that empty spot with drugs, alcohol, food, shopping, success on the job, or any number of things. But, even after acquiring what we think will make us happy, it doesn’t. The new car loses that new car smell. The new clothes are not “new” anymore after being worn a few times. Many executives finally make it to the top, only to find out it’s pretty lonely there because of all the sacrifices in their personal lives that they made along the way.
Nothing will ever really satisfy us, but Jesus. We crave him. We crave his goodness, his love and his companionship. We crave his peace, just as much as we crave a cold drink of water, or a deep breath of fresh clean air. Jesus is necessary for life. He fills a place inside of us, that was created just for him to fill. Even when we can not lay a finger on what’s missing in our lives, Jesus is who we hunger and thirst for.
