Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 277

Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20

Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.”
But Ananias replied,
“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.

He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God.

Responsorial Psalm 117:1bc, 2

R.    (Mark 16:15)  Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R.    Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R.    Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R.    Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R.    Alleluia.

Alleluia John 6:56

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel John 6:52-59

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker, please go here.

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The Damascus Road

Earlier this week, we read the reading and witnessed the martyrdom of Stephen, the first apostle of Christ to die at the hands of Saul. Before his death, Stephen looked up to the heavens and he could see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. But Saul was blinded to the truth. He persecuted Stephen and the other Christians, unto death.

In today’s reading, Saul asked for a letter of permission to further persecute Christians. He desired nothing more than to wipe Christianity off the planet. To him, Jesus was a blasphemer, and this religious cult was a heresy that needed to be stamped out.

Getting Saul’s Attention

On Saul’s way along the road to Damascus, Jesus calls to him. Jesus was really seeking to get Saul’s attention. A light fell around Saul, startling him enough to knock him to the ground, and a voice spoke from heaven. Audibly. Jesus wasn’t acting as a still, small voice that day. What is more, after the interaction, Saul was incapacitated by blindness. He was unable to move forward without listening to Jesus.

Ananias Sent to Saul

Saul goes where Jesus sends him, and waits in Damascus, unseeing and fasting, for three days. For three days, he is prays in the dark. Then Jesus sends Ananias. Go to this man…

Ananias questions Jesus for a moment. You want me to go to this evil man, this man who kills us? But he trusted Jesus, even in his fear and doubt, and he went to share the good news with the murderer of Stephen and countless brothers.

Saul hears the good news, something like scales falls from his eyes, and he can see the truth. He can see and eat, symbolically returning to the land of the living. He stands and is baptized, rising to true life in Jesus Christ. And then he goes to share the good news.

Heeding God’s Call

Praise Jesus that He sent Ananias and that Ananias listened, even when he was fearful or doubting. Even when he questioned. Would Saul have ever come into the light of Jesus without him, or would he have sat in the dark, waiting for the Good News?

And praise Jesus that He gets our attention. He knows what we need in order to hear Him and listen. He knows when we will heed a still, small voice, and when we need neon lights and signs from heaven. Praise Jesus that He got Saul’s attention and blinded him if that it was it took to get Saul to hear the Good News.

Saul or Ananias?

When you read this reading, would do you relate to? Are you a Saul, pressing forward to a goal you think you should follow when God is calling your attention elsewhere, sometimes drastically? Does you feel like you can’t move forward in this place here it feels dark, and you are hungry? Or are you like Ananias, wondering why God is sending you where you he did? Are you being called to be a light in the dark, something that is scary and sometimes a little dangerous? Are you a little of both?

Neither of these men initially agreed with God’s ways or plans. They went the other way, or questioned, at least at first. Sometimes God’s plan doesn’t look like we think it should. Sometimes it seems bleak and dark for a little while. We need to be willing to heed God’s call, remembering that He is God and we are not. Remembering that, if we know one thing for certain, it is that God is Good.

We can trust him. Even when we can’t see, or we don’t know if we will make it through what He asks of us. Because when the day ended, Saul and Ananias were both praising Jesus and proclaiming His Good News. It makes the road to Damascus worth walking.