When the Student is ready, the Teacher Appears.

Homily for April 19, 2018.

 

“And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot.’ So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8:29-31 

The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel passage actually explain what happened in today’s First Reading. One thing we must get straight is that when it comes to religion, it is not about human effort but God’s power. It is not that we come to God, rather, it is God who draws us to himself. In the end, none of us can claim any credit for our spirituality.

Jesus says: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” John 6:44. God always makes the move. In the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, we see this perfectly; God had already prepared the heart of the Ethiopian Eunuch to receive the Good News. And when he responded, God sent him Philip to explain more details and offer him the sacrament of baptism.

You see, it wasn’t just by coincidence that Philip met the Ethiopian Eunuch. There was a divine hand at work. It is not just by coincidence that you are Christian today, neither is it by coincidence that you are reading this right now. God is the Master planner, every day and in very different ways, God never stops drawing each and every one of us to himself. The events in our lives are not coincidences; they are actually messages from God saying to us: “My child, come to me.”

All we have to do is to say “Yes” to God like the Ethiopian Eunuch do who gladly accepted Philip into his chariot even though he didn’t know Philip before. His “Yes” to God began with his decision to read the Bible that day and to just be kind and accommodating to strangers. The Ethiopian Eunuch was ready for God and God actually showed up. Truly, when the student is ready, the teacher appears.

The question is: “Am I really ready for God?” In other words, am I ready to get closer to God more than ever before? Am I willing to break free from my addictions and old ways? Like the Ethiopian Eunuch, have I decided from this day to start flipping through the pages of the Bible? Do I even have a Bible plan? And when I read, do I ask God for understanding? Dear friends, if we are ready for God, God will immediately be ready us. All we have to do is to open the door because he is standing at the door of our hearts knocking. (Revelations 3:20)

Finally, Jesus drops the bombshell in today’s Gospel passage. He now tells the people in very clear terms that this bread he had been talking about is actually his own flesh. Jesus did not say: “like my flesh or symbolic of my flesh.” No, Jesus meant in unequivocal terms that he was going to give us his very flesh as the bread of eternal life. Thousands of Eucharistic miracles over the years have only proven that this is true. One recently happed in Argentina in a parish where our present Pope was a bishop.

When scientists examined the host not knowing where it had come from, they reported that it was real flesh taken from the heart of a man in his thirties and that this flesh must have been taken while the person was still alive and under deep excruciating pains. They also added that the person was most likely to come from around that Israeli region.

Furthermore, Jesus explains that anyone who eats his flesh will never die. This is exactly what we repeat at funerals; it is what gives us consolation and hope when our eyes are full of tears – just knowing that Jesus has promised and never fails – that the person who has just died physically will not die eternally.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, I am ready; Come fill my heart and draw me closer to you deeper and deeper. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 3^rd Week of Easter. Bible Study: Acts 8:26-40 and John 6:44-51).