We are glad that you found us, the DEACON-5! Here, we will be posting daily Gospel reflections, Mondays through Fridays, each day written by a different permanent deacon in our group. We pray that you find inspiration and a touch of God’s love for sharing some time with us. Please feel free to leave a comment or a prayer request for us!
Blessings to you all! Deacon Ray Gallego, Deacon Mike Hidalgo, Deacon Paul Machuca, Deacon George Mora, Deacon Carlos Porras, Deacon Ray Emnace and Deacon Chuck McDaniels
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection: This miracle of the multiplication of the fish and loaves is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospels, which means it is an exceptional event with meaning that goes much deeper than the extraordinary feeding of the thousands. All of the Gospel accounts are very similar. John’s Gospel is the only one who adds this detail of the boy who had 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. Who was this boy? His identity is not important. What is important is what he did. This boy was just one of the thousands and probably lost in the crowd. He was carrying his basket with bread and fish, probably his lunch. But when he heard that there was not enough food to feed everybody, he made his way through the crowd. This probably drew Andrew’s attention. The boy then shared what he had, and Jesus used that to feed the people.
In this miracle, Jesus uses the same words we later find in the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and gave the bread to the people inviting them to take as much as they needed. As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” I believe this is what the boy did. He did a small thing with great love. Because he shared what he had, many were fed. We are also called to share what we have with great love, and our Lord will use it for the good of others.
Action for the day: We know that our Lord is generous beyond our imagination. Our Lord continues to spiritually feed us with his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist. God also expects us to come to the aid of one another, and to share what little we have. May we pray for the courage we need to risk giving even the little that we have to help others in need.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 3:31-36
(Glory to you O Lord!)
The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
(The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!)
Reflection: Jesus is the Son of God!
Have a you been in a situation where you were trying to help someone, by informing them of a concern that you noticed, but they refused to accept what you are saying? Like when you notice that one of the sprinklers at the front yard of a home is broken and you see water gushing up like a geyser wasting a lot of water. So you inform the owner of the problem, but they refuse to believe you, or they may even accuse you of breaking their sprinkler? Isn’t it sad when we try our best to be kind or helpful, and our efforts are rejected?
This is similar to what our Lord Jesus experienced when He proclaimed the Gospel message on the need for everyone to repent, the kingdom of God is at hand, as Jesus encourages everyone to change our ways, to love God and one another, and to follow Jesus. Because of the gift of free will every person has the ability to choose. Unfortunately, most of the Jewish elders and leaders refused to listen and follow our Lord Jesus. Most of them felt threatened by Jesus’ message of salvation and rejected His teachings. They let their pride take hold and only thought of not losing their positions in government, as the teachers, priest and elders of our Jewish brothers and sisters. They did not want to lose their place as the rulers in Jewish society,
We also have a daily choice to make at every moment of our lives. Are we listening to the call and prompting of Jesus to set aside our pride, to not be defensive when our testimony or our ideas are not accepted or rejected, to continue to speak in gentleness and humility to everyone? Are we willing to change our ways, to truly listen to one another, to choose what is holy, and to listen and follow Jesus’ ways that lead to salvation and eternal life?
Our Lord Jesus is journeying with us daily through His Spirit and He calls out to us daily. Listen and follow Jesus’ call, be aware of His daily prompting in our minds and heart, to choose to do what it holy, to be a voice of peace, reconciliation, and encouragement. Accept the mercy and peace that Jesus offers us, proclaim His messages of forgiveness of sins and salvation for all in His name. May we always remember that “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life”.
Jesus is Lord! Jesus is the Son of God!
Action for the Day:
Lift up in prayer the people who are difficult to love, whether it is a family member, a neighbor, a friend or a colleague at work. Ask our Lord Jesus to continue to increase our faith, to grant us patience and the wisdom to understand how every person is loved by God, and how everyone needs to be granted the chance to be forgiven and we all have the ability to change for the good. Choose to be holy and follow our Lord Jesus!
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
REFLECTION: Dear brothers and sisters, some of you might agree with me, and we may be dating ourselves, that the first verse in today’s Gospel “John 3:16” is a famous verse. It was displayed by fans in sporting events, mostly football, for everyone to see.
“John 3:16” is still displayed at sporting events today, although it is not nearly as universal, as it was during the 70s and through 90s.
While the iconic homemade signs, held up behind goalposts have decreased, the reference still appears, often on an athlete’s eye in black (famously by Tim Tebow). It is also seen now in social media trends and occasional fan signs.
The peak of the trend was driven by Rollen Stewart, known as the “Rainbow Man,” who attended hundreds of events. His absence and tighter stadium security regulations regarding signs caused the massive, frequent display of the verse to fade, but it never fully stopped. Recently, I also discovered that it is often called the “Bible in a nutshell.” It is called that, because it is a profound declaration of love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” Yet, this profound declaration of love, and comforting promise in John 3:16, is not all. It is followed by a challenging truth, about light and darkness.
Jesus tells us today “…the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” He is challenging us to do a self-examination of our own lives: Do we truly live in the light, or are we comfortable living in the darkness?
Some of you may have watched the television series called The Chosen. One of my favorite scenes from the early episodes, is when Nicodemus decides to meet with Jesus. However, he chooses to do it in the dark of night. He did not want to be in the light, for fear to be seen with Jesus and thus loose his reputation, status, and position among the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, as he was a respected teacher who feared the social and political consequences of associating with a controversial figure.
Nicodemus was deeply curious and believed Jesus was sent by God, but he was hesitant and cautious, seeking answers in secret to avoid being seen as a follower of Jesus, by his peers.
Often, we are like Nicodemus, coming to Jesus at night—looking for truth, but afraid to let our whole selves be seen. We want God’s love (John 3:16), but we don’t want to expose our selfishness, our secrets, or our brokenness, to the light.
But the Good News tells us today, that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. If you feel you are hiding in darkness, the invitation from today’s Good News is, to let the light in.
ACTION FOR THE DAY: Reflect on today’s Good News, and ask God for the grace, to stop running from the light, to confess what is hidden, and to step into the glowing truth of God’s love. It is easier said than done, I know, believe me, I’ve been there. Exposing these areas, requires vulnerability, repentance, and the removal of self-reliant masks. But with God’s help, His light will overcome our darkness, and we will receive the grace and healing, that God’s Light actually offers.
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
Reflection:
At our parish of St Rita, we are doing a Bible Study on the Gospel of John. We started it during Lent and it will take us pretty much all the way through the Easter Season (our last session will be on May 27th). It has been great to start this process, as I hadn’t done a Bible Study in depth on the Gospel of John before and this one is quite well done.
We’ve already gone through John 3 in that Bible Study, and one observation I’ll share is that the presenter from Ascension Press, Dr Edmund Sri, doesn’t paint Nicodemus in a very good light for this conversation with Jesus. In Dr Sri’s view, Nicodemus is trying to control the discussion, rather than being open to the truth of who Jesus really was. In a way, though, that’s a good lesson. Each of us may think we know what is best for us, and so our prayer becomes “MY will be done, not THY will be done”.
Even though Nicodemus is missing the point in this conversation, we know from later in the Gospel of John that he does seem to come around somewhat. He defends Jesus to the Sanhedrin in John 7 and is there with the disciples to anoint Jesus’ body after His death. Maybe that’s the biggest lesson – God is a God of second chances (and third chances, and fourth ones, etc.). God never deserts us. He walks with us, and even when we turn away, He is still there, longing for us to turn back to Him.
In these days of the Easter season, may we always take time to be thankful for God’s loving care for us, and His presence with us that never fails. No matter how our days may be going, know that we are always in His care.
Action for the Day:
May each of us today take a moment and ponder God’s blessings in our lives. Some days, that can be very easy, and if today is like that for you, that is wonderful. But it is especially powerful to seek the blessings when all is not well. So, after thinking of the blessings, pray for anyone in your life who is struggling, that they know that God is with them, and is blessing them, too.
There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Reflection: To fish rivers or streams effectively, learn to “read the water” by identifying underwater habitats and areas attractive to fish. Also, observe currents and shelter spots to locate where fish are likely to be found. You have to think like a fish.
Today’s scripture reminds me about those days on the river when the wind blows. And the teacher is telling me that He (God) is the water and spirit and it’s up to me to see His signs and accept it. In Hebrew, there is word “Ruah” which is translated to wind or spirit depending on its context. This same spirit is with us throughout our lives, each and every day, every moment and every breadth. All we have to do is acknowledge it and accept the path we are asked to journey on.
Nicodemus allowed the spark of faith within him to grow as He listened to Jesus, struggled with the pressure from his peers, but ultimately openly professed his faith in Christ. And though this hurt his worldly position of honor within the Sanhedrin and among the earthly rulers, it earned Nicodemus an eternal honor in Heaven. Think about the courage he must have had to go against the pressure of his peers by allowing the faith he found in Christ to grow and fill his life with the light of Truth. Seek to imitate this good man and allow yourself to be inspired by his courage so that you, too, will receive the same eternal glory he now enjoys in Heaven.
Deacons Fish Story: Fishing in windy conditions, I struggled to cast where I wanted. Frustrated, I heard a voice urging me to try another spot upstream. Although doubtful, I moved and cast again. My line landed away from my target, but suddenly a large trout struck—FISH ON! After a tough fight, I landed and released him. The voice returned, reminding me it had given good advice.
Sometimes we (I) have to be able to read the signs that God puts right in front of us and all we have to do is just listen and trust in the unknown.
Action of the Day: Stop or Pause for just a minute. Push away from your phone, TV or book and ask this question. Lord, what is it that you want me to do for you? Then listen to His answer. Then ask Him to send the Holy Advocate to accompany you on your journey.
