CATHOLIC CONVERSATIONS ON THE SCRIPTURES Archdiocese of Miami - Ministry of Christian Formation August 5, 2012 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B) Gospel reading John 6:24-35 [To be read aloud] When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.? So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." Brief commentary: Although the Fourth Gospel does not include a narrative account of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, as do the Synoptics and 1 Corinthians, it does offer the most extended reflection on the meaning of the Eucharist in the whole of the New Testament. Set as a discourse, which follows the story of Jesus’ messianic sign of the multiplication of the loaves, the reflection is characteristic of the deep Christology found throughout John’s gospel. In today’s first reading we listen to the biblical story that is at the root of Jesus’ ‘bread of life’ discourse. Namely, that the savior-God who liberates is also the Creator and life-giver who provides for, sustains, nourishes and strengthens his people with manna as they journey toward the land of promise. As the ‘bread come down from heaven for the life of the world’, Jesus’ life and mission are envisioned in the Gospel in continuity with the great work of God. Yet, his life and mission are also something new and definitive, not like the manna. Astonishment at this fresh and unusual revelation is evident in the resistance that Jesus meets in the story. In Jesus, the God who is life-giver and liberator comes to us in the person of his divine Son. God comes to us in person , ‘in the flesh’. Sent by the Father, the Son of God, born in Bethlehem (literary, ‘house of bread’), comes to live his life for us and to offer himself for the life of the world. This descent-ascent motif in the Fourth Gospel conceives the Word coming from the Father and returning to the Father, accomplishing the end for which he was sent (compare with Isaiah 55:1-13). Receiving divine life from Jesus, we ought then to be – as we learn in the letter to the Ephesians – increasingly transformed in the way we think, value and live. In so doing, we will bear much fruit. Throughout the next three Sundays further portions of the bread of life discourse will call us to consider the meaning of Jesus and of following him. Today’s reading offers significant messages: As the people of God who journey through the desert of this world we do not depend on our own strength, but on the grace of the One who journeys with us and leads us toward the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. • The events and scriptures of the Old Testament period are the foundation for the teaching and ministry of Jesus, and thus of our Christian faith. His life and ministry affirm God’s great saving work begun in the life of the Jewish people, with whom God made a covenant and who were the first to hear God’s word and put it into practice. • The Word and the Eucharist are, among many other things, perpetual signs by which the Church receives her life, identity, sustenance and mission. We receive life not from human agency, but from Jesus Christ. For our shared or personal reflection: After a brief pause for silent reflection share your answers, ideas or feelings. • “The Lord gave them bread from heaven” (Responsorial Psalm). How can we distribute this bread to the many people in our lives and our world hungry for food, love, companionship, justice, freedom, meaning and hope? • As God heard the murmur and complaints of his suffering and struggling people, do we hear the murmur and complaints of those who call for help…and are we responding? • Are we working (seeking) only for “the food that perishes” (mainly material and consumer possessions) or do we hunger especially for God, seeking first and foremost God’s kingdom and righteousness? • Jesus gave his life for the life of the world. How can we be more Eucharistic in our attitudes and actions toward others, especially those most in need? Suggested readings: Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 50-73, 1114-1116, 1322-1419