Reflection for the 18th Ordinary Sunday 2024

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.”

The Apostles had gone out and ministered to the people of Galilee. They proclaimed the Gospel message, declared the Kingdom, and healed. They came back tired and alongside Jesus were soon confronted with more work, teaching a large crowd of people who were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus seeing deeply into the totality of their need miraculously fed them.

Now the rubber meets the road. What would be the reaction of these people? Would they embrace the Kingdom and its truth? Would they follow a heavenly King Who would give them Himself as food for eternal life?

We sit in a moment of anticipation. Factually, that is what the true followers of Jesus have been doing for two thousand some years. We anticipate our receiving the Bread from Heaven in sacramental word, bread and wine. We anticipate the full revelation of the Kingdom we are working for. We anticipate Jesus’ return and the exaltation of all believers.

The Gospel of St. Mark led us into a continuation of events as recorded in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John. As we look at today’s passage, we sense an upcoming realization, the rubber beginning to meet the road. This will play out over the next several weeks. The truth of people’s hearts will be revealed.

The Old Testament offers a foretaste, a shadowy revelation of the coming Messiah, Jesus. In our First Reading from Exodus, we find the same events: people grumbling, unsatisfied even though they had clearly seen God’s power in saving them from the Egyptians. They focused solely on temporal, everyday needs and remained blind to God’s promise of rest, a land of plenty, and continuing provision. Today’s Introit from Psalm 78 recounts it so well: They spoke against God, and said, “Can God spread a table in the desert? Can He also provide bread, give meat to His people?”

That says it all and is an indictment down through the ages. It indicts us if we do not put our full faith in God’s saving power which we see here regularly.

God came among us to give us Bread from Heaven, the full and eternal presence of Jesus among us. We are called to believe and receive Him – and that includes receiving His great promise – life now, life eternal, a full satisfaction of all things people long for, the healing of their souls and peace. Let us truly enjoy and rejoice in His feeding, provision, and true life. Let us believe.

Reflection for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021

Strength of Faith

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.’

Over the months of Ordinary Time, a time dedicated to growth, we focus on how we live out the Christian faith, how we walk in Strength of Faith. Remember, we are focusing on our Strength of Faith.

Over these past few weeks, in John’s gospel account, we see a steady progression from a feeding with the day’s bread as Jesus multiplies and distributes it, to a teaching on the true meaning of our daily bread, an everlasting feeding with the bread that came down from heaven.

See the change in tone from the day’s bread to our daily bread. See the power of the food Jesus provides – a food that does not perish or waste, a food so abundant that no one who wants it will go hungry. A food so powerful it gives us life.

A day’s bread, the stuff we put on our tables, the ordinary food needed for life will sustain us for a period. Our daily bread however is all that comes forth from God, and most particularly He Who came forth from the Father, Jesus, the Son of God. It has eternal power and life in it.

Who doesn’t love a banquet invitation? We get them for weddings, anniversaries, our parish centennial, and special birthdays. We send our RSVP in the mail and make our food choices. We anticipate the celebration and the exquisite hors d’oeuvres and main course. We go to celebrate and receive a portion of the day’s bread. I’ve eaten great bread of the day and I’ve had some doozy rubber chickens at banquets. Funny how I can remember the bad day’s food so clearly. Better that I remember the great food here at the Lord’s table. Here I have life.

Proverbs tells us that God has prepared a banquet and in Jesus that is true. He is the banquet. What He feeds us on is certainly the Holy Eucharist, the flesh and blood we eat and drink in communion, but not just limited to that. That would make His bread too small. His daily bread is the complete food we need. It is His complete self – flesh, blood, words, teaching, and way of living.

Jesus echoes Proverbs when He invites us to RSVP and show up for His daily bread. Answering yes on the RSVP and showing up has broad consequences for our whole lives. Those who accept the invitation must eat and drink of the entire daily bread, thereby choosing to “live.” We chose to live now and eternally by walking the gospel path in strength of faith.

In the Our Father we ask for our daily bread. The Father gives us Jesus, the perfect daily bread. As we partake of Jesus, Who gives us true life, let us open ourselves to share Him with a world that is so very hungry for life. As Jesus withheld nothing, so let our faith be so strong we never hesitate to proclaim and share Jesus – our daily bread.