John 6:41-51

1 Kings 19:4-8

Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

John 6:41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,

“I am the bread that came down from heaven,”

and they said,

“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?

Do we not know his father and mother?

Then how can he say,

‘I have come down from heaven’?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

“Stop murmuring among yourselves.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,

and I will raise him on the last day.

It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.

Not that anyone has seen the Father

except the one who is from God;

he has seen the Father.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;

this is the bread that comes down from heaven

so that one may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven;

whoever eats this bread will live forever;

and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, teach me today and every day of my life. Draw me to your Son so that I can share in eternal life. Raise me up, restore me to supernatural life, and feed me with the Bread of Life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Faith in Jesus’ Divinity: Two Sundays ago, we read about the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. Last Sunday, we listened to the crowds ask Jesus for the New Manna that will feed them always. This Sunday we see the Judeans begin to murmur and question Jesus’ origins. Jesus teaches the crowds that just as the manna in the desert was heavenly in origin, so he is heavenly in origin. The manna in the desert came down from heaven, he too comes down from heaven. He is God who has assumed our human nature. Jesus wants the crowds to believe that he is God before he reveals to them the mystery of the Eucharist. Just as the people of Israel struggled to trust in the Lord who brought them out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, so the crowds struggle to believe that Jesus, who has performed mighty deeds, has a heavenly origin. To make an act of faith in the divinity of Jesus, we need to be moved and drawn by the grace of God.

2. Food for the Journey: The First Reading highlights how the Eucharist is food for our earthly journey. It tells the story of Elijah and his journey to Mt. Sinai (Horeb). Just as the pharaoh persecuted the Israelites as they journeyed toward the Red Sea and Mt Sinai, Queen Jezebel persecuted Elijah, who fled to the same mountain. Like the Israelites who were fed with miraculous food from heaven during their forty years in the desert, Elijah was fed by miraculous food that sustained him for forty days and forty nights on his way to Mt. Sinai. Both Israel and Elijah were sustained by miraculous bread from heaven. In the Eucharist, Jesus gives us miraculous bread – the Bread of Life and Bread of the Angels – that sustains us on our journey to the eternal promised land. That means that our life is like an exodus journey in the wilderness. It is a time of testing. Will we grumble and complain and fall into idolatry and temptation like the Israelites? Or will we imitate Jesus and Elijah and remain faithful to God as he provides for our daily and supernatural needs?

3. Do Not Grieve the Spirit of God: In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul asks them not to “grieve the Holy Spirit.” He is alluding to Isaiah 63:10 which recalls how the people of Israel “grieved God’s Spirit by rebelling and grumbling against God in the desert and by worshipping the golden calf. Paul adopts the same language in Ephesians 4:30 to warn believers against grieving the Holy Spirit by various forms of evildoing (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Isaiah, 105). Instead of practicing malice, slandering others, or shouting at others, Paul encourages them to be kind to one another. Instead of being full of wrath and anger, be tenderhearted and gentle. Instead of being bitter and holding on to grudges, forgive one another. As children of God, we need to imitate our heavenly Father, especially his holy and merciful love. The last line directs our attention to how Christ lived as the Son of God. “Just as the priests of biblical history burned animals upon altars as a pleasing aroma to the Lord (Genesis 8:20-21; Exodus 29:18), so Jesus offered himself on the Cross as an ascending sacrifice of love to the Father (Hebrews 7:26-27); 10:8:10). We share in Christ’s priestly ministry by offering to the Father acceptable sacrifices of our time, talents, and treasure in the liturgy of everyday life (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 2:15) (CCC, 614)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 351).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Bread of Life! Without you, I would not truly have life. I have been baptized into your death and resurrection. I have become a child of God through your grace. I am nourished with heavenly bread because of your sacrifice.

Living the Word of God: Do I see my everyday actions as a liturgy? Am I marking the passing hours of the day with prayer? Am I offering up my works as acceptable sacrifices to the Lord? Am I giving myself to the service of others, especially the poor and the sick? Am I extending the Kingdom and working to create a more just and charitable society?