A young priest was assigned to work in a new parish with many stations. On his way to celebrate Mass at one of these churches, he lost his way, but saw some children playing in the street and approached them to ask for directions. When he asked one of the children: “which way to the church?”, he was surprised to see that there was a stranger in their village. So, he asked the priest: who are you? In response, seeing that the little boy was too young to understand what being a priest meant, he explained: “I am someone who shows people the way to God.” And the young lad replied, “and you don’t know the way to the church?”.
Direction
This Sunday’s readings demonstrate that our journey of faith has a definite direction. It is not an aimless walk. It leads to a destination we know and are convinced of. As we grow in faith, we become more convinced about certain life decisions. We cannot be confused or distracted from our goal, because as a chosen race we have full confidence that God will fulfil His promise. The disciples did not allow themselves to be so distracted by other matters that may make them neglect God’s word.
Prayer and Service
Of course, they had to deal with the same material temptations as Jesus, who said: “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Hence, the apostles encouraged the charitable act of distributing food, but not at the expense of devoting themselves to prayer and service of the word of God. This is why they appointed deacons, so that the work of kindness would go hand in hand with the service of the word. Our acts of kindness must not stand in the way of the word of God, for we cannot claim to know God if we are not committed to His words like Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
Through Him we are united with the Father in prayer, almsgiving, and the service of the word. How can we say we know God if we don’t believe in prayer and in His own word – Jesus Christ?
