Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

Lectionary: 278

But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”
As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him.

It's unfortunate that today's gospel is read on a Saturday, the day when fewer Masses are offered in many parishes. Saint John's denouement of chapter six describes the reaction of many of the Lord's "disciples" to his rigorous teaching. Where they might have been interested in his teachings or the possibilities of his political, economic, or religious impact, they had never intended to surrender their entire lives to him. They did not want him to rewrite the history and purpose of everything they felt, knew, or believed about themselves and their world. 

Jesus said of those few loyal disciples who remained with him, "...no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” And, "Did I not choose you twelve?" 

At his call, the Holy Spirit recognized the Son of Mary as the Messiah. That Spirit can be compared to the negative charge on the ground which eagerly responds to the positive charge in the sky, to produce a lightning bolt. The Holy Spirit can abide in all nations and peoples; and seems quite natural, human, and familiar except for its characteristic courage, generosity, and openness. In his spirit people hear his call and recognize something intensely familiar and right. That Spirit greets the Lord's missionaries wherever they go. Despite the cultural differences that make strangers seem odd and alien, that Spirit greets and recognizes our common humanity. It habitually goes the extra mile to understand and assist. 

This Spirit offers a seat on a crowded bus to pregnant women or elderly persons. It stops and assists anyone who might trip and fall in the street, or someone who appears lost in the mazes of a city. Seeing an accident, it calls 911 and urges passersby not to make the situation worse. 

When the Polish Saint Maximilian Kolbe arrived in Nagasaki he spoke not a word of Japanese. But he immediately started sharing his love of the Blessed Mother with strangers in the street and within a short while he was handing out Marian pamphlets in presentable Japanese. People helped him and before he returned to his doomed homeland, he had established a friary which was publishing tracts and attracting devotees. (Miraculously, the friary survived the atomic blast and the friars assisted the wounded and dying survivors.)

It was that spirit which recognized the truth of the Eucharist when Jesus insisted, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no part in me." And, at the last supper, it responded to the Lord, “Master, then not only my feet, but [wash] my hands and head as well.” The Apostles were all in! 

As the Lord's disciples we must pray that our human spirit is so conformed to God's spirit that they cannot be distinguished. Are we generous, courageous, and wise because the Lord has trained us, or because that's just who we are and what we do? In any case strangers will want to be like us.

Just as the Incarnate Lord Jesus was human and divine -- mysterious polarities! -- so must the Spirit of God inhabit our human spirit. With Thomas we must be ready to greet his Eucharist with "My Lord and my God!" And to "go and die with him.