Acts 7:51 - 8:1 / John 6:30-35 (2017)
In the 1st reading we hear of two young men.
One was being executed and dying on the ground.
The other was there watching and approving the execution of the first young man.
At that point in time, Stephen and Saul had nothing really in common.
But later on, Saul, whose name will be changed to Paul, will be the greatest missionary for Christ and an apostle to the Gentiles.
As we reflect on the scene of the 1st reading, we may come to see that Paul's later conversion could be the fruit of Stephen's dying prayer.
It is said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity.
Stephen was martyred; in time to come Paul will also have a martyr's end.
Both were able to sacrifice their lives for Christ because in Christ they have found all that they longed for, all that they hungered and thirst for.
Jesus was their life and their bread of life and from Him they drew strength to pour out their blood in witnessing to Him.
May Jesus also fill our hunger and quench our thirst so that we in turn will share the bread of our lives with others.