Thursday, April 19, 2018
3rd Week of Easter
1st Reading:
Acts 8:26-40
Gospel: John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds, “No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me.
“For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
“I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die.
“I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Today’s Gospel reading is still part of the long discourse of Jesus on the Bread of Life. It highlights the role of the Father in the process of drawing people to faith. “No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me”, Jesus said. He did not say, “pushed by the father” but “drawn by the Father.” How does the Father draw people to faith? Our experience with pushcarts at grocery stores gives illustrates the difference between being drawn and being pushed. I experienced pushing one at a supermarket and got into trouble because the pushcart went its own direction. The sales lady told me that the cart was better pulled than pushed. At first I ignored the suggestion. What are they called pushcarts for if they are meant to be pulled not pushed? “Call them pullcarts, then, not pushcarts”, I told the sales lady.
People are like pushcarts; they are better pulled than pushed. That is why the Father draws people to faith by the pull of love, not by the push of fear. Jesus promised to raise up on the last day those who are drawn by the Father to him. We all want eternal life; what’s keeping us from submitting ourselves to the love of the Father? Reasons vary from person to person but these reasons boil down to the difficulty of following God’s will.
Admittedly, the Father’s Will is hard for human beings to follow. Jesus himself tried to negotiate with the Father at the Garden of Gethsemane. Mary too had to pay the price of her yes to the Father’s plan. But look where they are now. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father while Mary is Queen of heaven and earth. As they live forever, we too will if we allow ourselves to be drawn by the Father’s love by submitting ourselves to His will. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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