Jesus, the Living Bread

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 9, 2015

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

First reading                                    1 Kings 19:4-8

Elijah went into the wilderness, a day’s journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were dead. ‘O Lord,’ he said ‘I have had enough. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down and went to sleep. But an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked round, and there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

Psalm                                              Psalm 33:2-9

Second reading                              Ephesians 4: 30-5:2

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for you to be set free when the day comes. Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper, or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any sort of spitefulness. Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.

  Try, then, to imitate God as children of his that he loves and follow Christ loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.

Gospel                                               John 6:41-51

The Jews were complaining to each other about Jesus, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other.‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day.

It is written in the prophets:They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life.‘I am the bread of life.Your fathers ate the manna in the desert

and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’

Reflection

By Rose Markell

The significance of Jesus’ statement cannot be ignored though His claim seems just too radical.  People begin to murmur against Him and in response, He defends Himself by tracing His origin back to God. Quoting a passage from one of the prophets (Isaiah 54:13), Jesus demonstrates this relationship.  He maintains that those who have been drawn by God will be taught by God that He is indeed the One sent by God. When they have learned this lesson from God, they will come to Him.  Salvation is the work of God, whom He calls His Father.  He concludes His teachings with an audacious statement that He is the only One who has seen the Father, because He is the only One who has come from the Father.

There are so many religions all around us that people are getting confused and do not know what to believe anymore! And some countries try to take Jesus out of the picture, not even allowing kids to pray in schools. That is why our world is a big mess. Robbery, killings, kidnappings of children are rampant in the world. It is so heartbreaking that it feels like nowhere is safe anymore, even in our own houses. There is so much hatred in this world. There is fire, typhoons, earthquakes, tornadoes, plane and train crashes, even at sea there are accidents. So much disaster.  But let us not lose hope.  

Jesus made two proclamations.  "I am the bread of life" and "I am the living bread that came down from heaven”.  We just need to stay with Jesus, take Him into our life so God’s grace, mercy and protection will freely flow into us and our families.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, our Bread of Life, please fill us with Your love. Enlighten our minds, comfort the discouraged and the confused. Please let us see through the dark clouds and discover the silver lining of Your love. Amen.