Reading 1 Acts 8:1b-8
There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
- (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”
R.Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Gospel Jn 6:35-40
Jesus said to the crowds,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Many times we try to excuse ourselves from what God expects of us. We give excuses for so many things. God has given us all the graces we need to do what he expects of us and so we have no excuse.
In today’s first reading, we see how the disciples rose beyond the discouragement of persecutions and used it as a springboard to spread the good news and to fulfil the mandate of Jesus that they should go from Jerusalem to the whole world. The persecution could have been an excuse for them to shrink into self-absorption but it became a catalyst for the spread of the gospel. God used human malice to further his plans and purposes.
We have no excuse if we do not witness to Jesus when we have the opportunity.
In today’s gospel, Jesus told us that we have no excuse to be sad, worried, troubled and sorrowful. Why? He is the bread of life, he who comes to him shall not hunger, whoever believes in him shall never thirst. All we need is in Jesus so we have no excuse to be like people returning from the funeral of a youth.
The sinner has no excuse to continue in sin especially on the ground of hopelessness or despondency because Jesus said ‘whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away. ” No matter what we do, have done or will do. We can find mercy with Jesus.
I love the second stanza of the song ‘Praise the Lord:
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Sermon preached by Rev.Fr Emmanuel Okami on May 8, 2019.