Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the second week of Easter, May 2, 2025, Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

Delivered by Ellyane Theresia from the Parish of Saint James in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 5: 34-42; Rs psalm 27: 1.4.13-14; John 6: 1-15.BECOMETHE INSTRUMENT OF GOD Ourmeditation today is entitled: Become the Instrument of God. Our Christian lifeas expected to be in the spirit of Easter is not only a true practice duringthis Easter season but also during our life time on earth. The resurrection ofJesus Christ should animate our entire lives. The period after resurrection isa period when Jesus Christ is not physically present in the midst of all Hisfollowers, unlike when He was still living and walking with His disciples andpeople of His time. After resurrection, He went up to heaven and seated at theright hand of the Father. But as He had promised, He is forever with us at alltimes, because His Spirit lives with us in the world. Whatmust we do to make our faith strong and active in daily life by keeping alwaysthe spirit of Easter? The inspiration from our readings today can give us theanswer. God has chosen and made us his instruments. The Holy Church as thePeople of God carries out the ministry of Jesus Christ as her main mission toserve the humanity and the world. This has been the duty entrusted by Jesussince the foundation of the Church in Jerusalem. Who are those people to beministered by the Church? It maybe each one of us, our brothers or sisters andfriends. It maybe people we don't know who they are or where they are from. Itmaybe persons God has entrusted to us to be educated and cared for. Becomingthe instrument God is a basic calling for us Christians, as the Psalmist saysof the following: Here I am Lord, to do Your will (Ps. 40). The goal of thisvocation is to make the Lord truly present in a real and a personal way throughthe ministry of Jesus Christ that saves, heals, teaches, speaks of truth,comforts, and forgives. The Lord bestows to every person this vocation andleads every person the way of life as priest, religious and lay person. Whenevery person can carry out well his or her own vocation, it means that he orshe acts in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and fulfils the works of the Lord. Wehave an example about the apostles who bravely defended the truth of the Gospelthey preached, however, the Jewish Religious Court falsely tried and imprisonedthem. There was a famous Jewish priest, Gamaliel, also spoke in the name oftruth and at the same time defended what the apostles fearlessly did. Both theapostles and Gamaliel had proved to be the real instruments of God in preachingand teaching the true faith. Then on another occasion we can see also thepractice of this truth. The apostles became the instruments for the feeding ofthousands of people who were hungry after a full day following and listening toJesus away from the city. A child who provided a small portion of bread andfish also proved to be the instrument of God for the miracle of multiplicationof bread and fish. They were the instruments of God's mercy for the urgentneeds of people at that moment. Wecan be the instruments of God in any given condition in our lives today,especially the conditions that really needs urgent solution or treatment. Itall depends on our willingness and commitment to do. Let's pray. In thename of the Father ... O generous and merciful Lord, strengthen us in everystep and work that we take, so that we can be your true and useful instruments,especially for the benefit of our needy brothers and sisters. Hail Mary full ofgrace ... In the name of the Father ...