The Hope of Eternal Life
Today is a special day of hope. Saul, who will soon be named Paul, is blinded by a flash of light. Anyone that is blind hopes that one day they will see again. Ananias is told by God to help Saul. Ananias is afraid of Saul because he has been arresting people and is putting them in jail. Ananias hopes he will not have to go to jail. But Ananias trusts in God and follows God’s instructions. Whenever we hope for something, we find ourselves trusting in others. Hope and trust work together in all that we do.
Jesus tells the people that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. They do not understand. Many people leave and no longer follow Jesus. Nor do they believe in Jesus. Peter is asked by Jesus; do you want to leave too? Peter tells Jesus, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
Peter does not understand what Jesus has said, but Peter trusts Jesus. He trusts Jesus so much that Peter’s faith tells him to have hope in eternal life. This is what we all must do. Trust Jesus completely to have hope in eternal life.
After a baby is baptized, the priest offers the mother a special prayer. In that prayer the priest blesses the mother as she sees eternal life in her child. Through baptism the baby is now a child of God and is part of heaven.
Today we honor Mary with the May Crowning. We must keep in mind the love Mary had for her Son, the giver of life to all.
We also honor grandparents today. I think of their great faith, how it has grown over the years. As they have learned to trust in Jesus their hope of eternal life becomes a reality. I think of the faith in the little children. They trust in their parents and grandparents. One day their faith will allow them to trust in Jesus too, and the hope of eternal life lives on.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen