2024 Sun Aug 4

For the first 3 weeks in Aug, 2024, we hear the “Bread of Life” discourse in John Chapter 6. It is a discussion led by Jesus with later responses from the people following him. The discourse uses the metaphor of bread to emphasize faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Jesus compares himself to bread, which is essential for life, and says that he is spiritual bread that provides eternal life. It takes the people beyond the physical bread the they received in the “Feeding of the 5,000” (July 28, 2024) into something more. The discourse becomes the basis for Holy Communion. While communion was introduced as a practice during Holy Week, these passages explore the meaning.

At the beginning of the discourse, Jesus takes the crowd beyond mere food they received in the “Feeding of the 5,000”. The bread from heaven that the people ate in the wilderness met the people’s needs daily, but Jesus meets the needs of our whole lives.

The crowd the day after the “Feeding of the 5,000” finds Jesus in Capernaum where He introduces Himself as the Bread of Life, teaching that whoever comes to Him will never go hungry or thirsty, and whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. Jesus is instructing them on the importance of Holy Communion and receiving him in the bread and wind. It is not just a daily meal!

In Week 1, there is the first Bread of Life statement “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

By Week 2 Jesus expands the “Bread of life” to provide more clarification. ” I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The people were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” The listeners knew that Jesus, by claiming to come from heaven, was declaring that he was God. He was the real Bread of Heaven—the ever-present daily Manna—the lifegiving, eternal source of provision for today, tomorrow, and all eternity.

Week 2 ended with “…the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” which is repeated and expanded in Week 3

Then in Week 3 he starts where he ended in Week 2 by repeating verse 51. In verse 51 “Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The people’s reaction turned to revulsion when Jesus explained that he had come to give his flesh and blood—to sacrifice His life—so that the world could have eternal life. Eating flesh and drinking blood seemed an affront to the Jewish faith.

Many disciples find Jesus’ teaching hard to accept and decide to leave Him. When Jesus asks the Twelve if they want to leave too, Simon Peter in Verse 68-69 affirms their faith in Jesus as the Holy One of God. He saved the day. ” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

“We are constantly relearning Jesus” (Gospel of John: A Commentary – Frederick Dale Bruner). “Sometimes Jesus removes himself from us, though he still wants us, until we learn to accept him on his own terms, as he defines himself — which self-defining is exactly what happens in the Bread Sermon that follows.”

I. Theme –   Living for God includes living for the welfare of others

"The Bread of Life" – Hermel Alejandre

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm – Psalm 78:23-29
Epistle –Ephesians 4:1-16
Gospel – John 6:24-35  

Today’s readings portray God as our ultimate provider and sustainer of both our physical and spiritual lives. In Exodus  God feeds the people of Israel with quail and manna.  Paul reminds his community that they must put away their old way of life and be renewed in Christ. In anticipation of his eucharistic gift of himself, Jesus declares that he is the bread of life.

We’ve interrupted our Liturgical Year B trek through  Mark’s gospel for a five-week sojourn in the gospel of John, Chapter 6, the extended teaching about Jesus as the Bread of Life. 

After the Feeding of the 5,000, Jesus and His disciples cross back to the other side of Galilee. When the crowd sees that Jesus has left, they follow Him again. Jesus takes this moment to teach them a lesson. He accuses the crowd of  only following Him for the “free meal.”

Jesus tells them in John 6:27, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” The real import of Jesus’ activity isn’t simply to feed those who are hungry but to reveal something vital about Jesus and, in turn, about God. In this case, Jesus is the One who can satisfy every human need.  They were so enthralled with the food, they were missing out on the fact that their Messiah had come.

They want proof. So the Jews ask Jesus for a sign that He was sent from God (as if the miraculous feeding and the walking across the water weren’t enough). They tell Jesus that God gave them manna during the desert wandering. Jesus responds by telling them that they need to ask for the true bread from heaven that gives life. When they ask Jesus for this bread, Jesus startles them by saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

This is an invitation for those listening to place their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God as the one who is essential.  The concept of bread is expanded from a physical substance of life into that into the spiritual realm. He is spiritual bread that brings eternal life.

A unifying theme in today’s passages is the reminder that living for God includes living for the welfare of others, and not putting our own desires first, for our own desires lead to giving into temptations and lead us away from God. And our response to those in need must be to meet the needs first, not to judge or complain. We are called to help and heal, not blame and condemn. We are called to live out the life of Christ in our own lives, to seek to be last and servant of all rather than first and right. We are called to put aside our own desire to be right to do what is right.

The scripture last week also included the story of Jesus walking on the water, Jesus is the one who transcends limits.  In the process we need to allow Jesus to transform us which we more than often than not are unable to accept. 

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