Homily for Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Easter

In our first reading, we encounter the deacon Philip, who shared the Gospel with the people of Samaria and was warmly welcomed. In the first volume of Luke's writings, Jesus attempted to speak to the Samaritans, but they rejected Him because He was on His way to Jerusalem. However, after hearing the Gospel from the cheerful and open-hearted Philip, the Samaritans welcomed it joyfully. This illustrates that God's Word can thrive even in places where it was initially rejected. Even when we sometimes turn away from the Lord, He never turns His back on us. In fact, we have Jesus' promise that He will not reject anyone who comes to Him.

Easter celebrates God's unwavering faithfulness to His Son, Jesus, and all of us. This encourages us to trust in Him. Even after we may have rejected Him in various ways, He will never reject us. Though we often fail to respond to the grace of Jesus Christ, He continues to offer Himself to us as the Bread of Life. He assures us that if we come to Him, we will never hunger; if we believe in Him, we will never thirst.