Daily Retreat 04/29/06

2006 Apr 29 Sat: Catherine of Siena, v, dr M

Acts 6: 1-7/ Ps 32(33): 1-2. 4-5. 18-19/ Jn 6: 16-21

From today’s readings: " The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.... Lord, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You.... It is I - Do not be afraid!"

Why Walking on Water?

Chapter Six of the Gospel of St. John is best known for the Lord’s "Bread of Life" discourse, His profound preparatory Eucharistic teachings, which will be covered in the daily gospel readings throughout next week, although the continuity will be partly interrupted with assigned lectionary gospel readings on the feasts of St. Joseph the Worker on Monday and SS. Philip and James on Wednesday.

But two miracles in Chapter Six precede and lead up to the Bread of Life discourse - first, the Multiplication of the Loaves (cf. yesterday’s gospel), and then the eerie incident of Jesus Walking on the Sea (today’s gospel).

Often, clear parenthetical explanations are provided in the gospels about Jesus’ words and actions, so that we, the readers, are sure to get the main points. But other times, such as the gospel passage today, the evangelists’ terse accounts clearly leave the reader wondering: why? how? what’s the meaning here?

But, in fact, those lingering queries are not due to sloppy, incomplete reporting - instead, they reflect skillful pedagogy! Because, by intentionally leaving unanswered questions, Jesus (and the evangelists) deliberately put the apostles (and, us, the readers) in an investigative, reflective frame of mind, and that is something essential for embarking next into the profundities of the Bread of Life discourse!