First Reading: Acts 5:34-42
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27
Gospel: John 6:1-15
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. (John 6:14-15)
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. (John 6:14-15)
Decisions, decisions ... life is always full of so many decisions. Most decisions that we are faced with are very small; like should I have a turkey or ham sandwich for lunch? Some decisions that we need to make are very hard and difficult. Some decisions that we have to make do not really have a clear picture, meaning we are not really sure which to choose because either can seem right. It is when we are facing these decisions that we tend to have anxiety and doubts about what we are to choose.
In today's gospel, we are shown that Jesus too was faced with many difficult decisions in His life on earth. Here He has just fed 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and some fish. The people were astonished, and sought to make Him king, but Jesus knowing this withdrew to the mountain alone. Now let's think about this for a second, Jesus has a choice to make, let the people make him king or continue on with what He was sent to do. Now for Jesus, I am sure that this was not a hard decision, but for us it would be. Our thoughts might lead us to begin thinking of all the good that we could do as a king, all the people we could help, the mouths we could feed, the justice we could bring to the land. We start to get confused, thinking, well maybe God is calling me to this royalty thing. It is for these reasons that prayer is so important in our lives. Jesus shows us that the most important thing is not to make the decisions that we think will be best, but instead to go out and do God's will, instead of our own. In doing God's will, Jesus did become the King of these people, only not by their way, but by God's way, and His way is perfect.
Everyday we are faced with difficult decisions, ask the Lord to help make His path for you clear. If we pray for God's will to be done (instead of our own) and seek first His kingdom, then we will all be on our way to being the people that He created us to be. May God's grace be poured out on us through each decision and choice that we make in our lives, and may His will be done.
Father above, we thank you for the gift of this day. Lord, you are our rock and our salvation, help us to serve you will every thing that we are. Lord, you know what is best for us, and you have a plan for our lives; help us to be patient through that plan and to trust in all that you have in store for us. Lord, we love you and seek you first, and we pray for all those who do not know you. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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