What do We Resort to?

 Reflection on Today’s Readings, 3rd Week of Easter and the Memorial of St.  Athanasius, Monday 2nd May, 2022
Texts: Acts 6:8-15; Psalm  119:23-24.26-27.29-30; John 6:22-29
St. Athanasius is a father of the Church and a Bishop of Alexandria. He is also one of the Doctors of the Church. He was an ardent defender of the divinity of Jesus Christ, he stood firm in this position against Arius and his sympathisers. As we celebrate him, today, let us renew and strengthen our faith in the divinity of Jesus Christ. We are to believe that He is God. Being God He is our creator and we belong to Him; from Him we come and to Him we return; in Him we live and move and have our existence.  
Today’s first reading should prompt us to ask some certain questions. What do we do when we cannot get what we desire? In the first reading, the opponents of St. Stephen could not withstand the wisdom and spirit of St. Stephen and thus resorted to maligning, false accusation and some other sort of things to bring him down. It is said, “But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated men, who said, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’” We need to ask ourselves the question: Is my story not the same with that of the opponents of St. Stephen?
Many of us are like the opponents of St. Stephen in the first reading. Many a time because we want people to believe our story we resort to lie, we embellish the story, exaggerate it and repackage it. We might be telling a story we are not the primary source or witnesses, we present it as if we were there. We might even add that we were there, telling a lie. We need to watch out for all this. Some of us even do things that are worse. Some of us run down our fellow because of position, office, jealousy, etc.  
The opponents of St. Stephen accused him falsely to turn the people against him. It is said, “And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.’” They worked on the sentiments of the people. Many a time we are also gullible like the people, we allow people to work on our religious sentiments, tribal sentiments, personal interest, rob on our ego to set us against others, against one another. Elections are here, politicians will want to work on our religious sentiments, tribal sentiments and the like. Any information we do not know its source or could not ascertain its truth let us not use it as a ground for action. Let us be very careful. Let us not allow wicked people use us to achieve their wicked ambition. The opponents of St. Stephen used the people to achieve their wicked ambition.  
Many of us, today, are being used as agents of division, destruction, disorder, etc. Whenever we act based on social media information that we cannot ascertain its truth, just know that we are already surrendered to be used by others as agents of falsehood, disorder, disunity and destruction.  Let us just stop being gullible, let us stop being rumours monger. People who gossip are at the risk of being used. Let us stop being gossip. Let us stop gossip and start proclaiming the resurrection of the Lord.  
Today’s gospel reading takes us further to reflect on why we follow Jesus Christ. It is said, “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal’.” We are not to follow Jesus Christ because we need food, because of financial gain, because we need job, because we do not want to die and want him to kill our enemies, etc. We should follow Him because He is God and we want to commit ourselves to Him. It is said, “Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’” Let us renew and strengthen our faith in Him.   

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, putting off our old self with all its ways, we may live as Christ did, for through the healing paschal remedies, you have conformed us to his nature. Amen  

May Devotion to the blessed Virgin Mary continues, let us pray our Rosary.  

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke