It is I, Be Not Afraid

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ John 6:16-21 ~~~

 

Doing the work of the Lord does not give you an excuse

for taking care of your responsibilities.

Unless you are living in a cloistered secluded community

you have daily chores that must be maintained.

 

The apostles and the other new Christians are so excited

about participating in their ministry

that they began to neglect their other duties.

They were no longer providing assistance for the widows of the community.

They became the forgotten ones since they had nothing of their own.

They relied completely on the community for their needs.

 

As the number of disciples continued to grow,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews
because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution.

 

Someone needed to bring the twelve back to reality;

they could not just go about preaching all day every day

ignoring the needs of the people.

This was never the plan of Jesus.

We have many examples where he recognized and addressed

the need of the crowds who followed

 him for hours and days.

 

 

So the apostles took action and chose a few good men to attend

to the daily administrative needs

of the people.

 

We are reminded in the gospel that Jesus is there in our times of need.

He may allow the storms of life to toss around a bit before

we can hear him say

 “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

 

He is always there by our side in good times and in bad times.

We often chose not to recognize his presence.

 

In times of trouble see his hand extended out toward you...

hear him saying to you

 “It is I. Do not be afraid.”