A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord’,
Today I am going to attempt to compare the lives of 3 men, John the Baptist, Saint Peter and Ananias. They all have different and similar characteristics that qualities that we can emulate.
First of all, let us look at Ananias. I so much identify with him. He is that reluctant servant who says, “Here I am Lord”. He doesn’t necessarily like what the Lord is telling him, but the beautiful part is that he does the Lord’s will anyway. I can think of times in my life when I have felt a strong feeling to do something that I did not want to do, and it turned out to be exactly what I was supposed to be doing. Anna and I had a tax refund that we gave to some close friends, Geneva and David. Turns out it was the money they needed for a hot water heater. Geneva was recouping from breast surgery. We were the exact thing they needed.
In Sunday’s Gospel we hear from Saint Peter, After the meal Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Peter is the servant that I want to be. To look after, feed my lambs, feed my sheep. These are the duties of a Pope, but also us looking after our fellow human beings.
Lastly let me speak of John the Baptist. He was the cousin of Jesus, but they might not have been that close. The Gospel of John does not repeat the beheading by King Herod. In the Gospel of John, the last we hear from John the Baptist is about Jesus. (John 3:30) He must increase; I must decrease.” These are the last words of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John.
Simply put, Ananias is the open door. He simply says Here I am Lord. I am your servant. Peter, our first Pope is directed to take care of us and we in turn must care for each other. Great qualities of our new Pope whoever he might be. John simply says more of Jesus and less of myself. The three men show us that we have to be open to God in our lives. In Peter we need to take care of each other. And finally in John we need more of Jesus in our lives and less of ourselves.
Jesus gives us the tools to accomplish His mission. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. We have the Holy Eucharist to bring these qualities together. The Eucharist sustains us to fulfill our mission. It is a bond like no other with Jesus working in and through us.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for the soul of our beloved Pontiff, Pope Francis and for his successor.Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for the Holy Land. Pray for peace! The impossible could and can happen. Never deny God.
