Saturday, Second Week of Easter

In today’s gospel reading the disciples keenly feel the absence of Jesus. He was not with them as they struggled in their boat with a strong wind and a rough sea in the darkness. As people of faith we too can feel the absence of Jesus in our own times of darkness and struggle. Sometimes our struggle can take the form of a dispute with other believers that has the potential to become divisive. This is the situation we find the early church facing in the first reading. The Greek speaking members of the still Jewish church felt they were being overlooked when it came to the daily distribution of food. The dispute was resolved when the Twelve called a meeting of all the disciples and suggested a way forward. The Twelve would focus on their ministry of prayer and preaching the gospel, and others would be selected to look after the ministry of hospitality. The proposal was approved and confirmed in prayer. The Lord came to the church in their struggle through these very appropriate human conflict resolving steps. The Lord comes to the church today as he came to the disciples on the Sea of Galilee and to the early church in Jerusalem. He often comes to us through our own efforts to resolve conflict and deal with struggle reasonably and prayerfully. The Lord will not be found wanting, but he needs us to draw on our own resources of wisdom, courage and prayer so as to create the space for him to work in a way that leads to our own personal growth in faith and to the growth of the community of believers.