I Am the Bread of Life
Reflection for August 12, 2018, 19th
Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Order
Franciscans of Mercy
Readings: 1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:2-9;
Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51
Divinemercyparish@msn.com
On Wednesday, I will be celebrating the 15th
anniversary of my ordination which gave me the very special gift to consecrate
the bread and wine into the body and blood of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ.
This honor from God, of being among the few
chosen ones to carry on the instruction to the apostles “As often as you do
this you do so in commemoration of me” is both humbling and awe-inspiring.
Because this gift means so much to me I have
chosen today, to reflect on that reading from the scripture readings for
Sunday, to enumerate on just how special the Eucharist is for sustaining us in
our relationship with God and the need for us to avail ourselves of every
opportunity to partake of it.
Christ, Himself has said; “I myself am the
bread of life, no one who come to me shall ever be hungry” The bread of life is
the Eucharist, given to us by Jesus Christ at the Last supper when Christ
celebrated the Passover Feast with His apostles. Christ took the bread and with
His eyes raised up to heaven blessed it saying, “Blessed are you, Lord God of
all creation. Through your goodness, we have this bread to offer which earth
has given and human hands have made, it will become for us our bread of life.
Blessed be God forever” then He took the cup of wine blessed it saying;
“Blessed are Lord God of all creation. Through your goodness, we have this wine
to offer, fruit of the vine and the work of human hands. It will become our
spiritual drink. Blessed be God forever”
Christ then tells us “This is my Body, This is
my Blood, take and eat” If we accept that Christ came to give us a new covenant
other than that which God had given to Moses. What better day, than the
celebration of the Passing over of the angel of death and the covenant made at
the time to Moses, to make know the new covenant.
Today’s gospel continues the story of Christ’s
visit to the temple in Capernaum where Jesus had just told the apostles and the
crowd “You should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains
until life eternal, Food which the Son of Man will give you, it is on Him that
God the Father has set His seal”. When asked “What must we do to perform the
works of God?” Jesus answered “This is the work of God, have faith in the one
He has sent”.
Have faith, in other words believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the son of God made man, who came among us to give us the way to
gain eternal glory with God. “I myself am the bread of life, no one who come to
me shall ever be hungry”. Jesus went on and tells the crowd that even though
they have seen all He had done, they still did not believe. Unfortunately, today
so many of us still question and have doubts. There are even some who say that
This is all a myth conjured up by individuals to achieve power and wealth. Some
even claim that there is no God at all. Then, as now, people murmur and say the
same things as those recorded in today’s gospel, “HOW CAN HE CLAIM TO HAVE COME
DOWN FROM HEAVEN”. To even allow this thought to enter your mind let alone
express it indicates that you do not believe that all things are possible with
God.
“I am the Living Bread which comes down from
heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread
which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51) This gift
of the Eucharist which Jesus left us is perhaps the most precious gift we could
ever have. It is sad that so many choose not to partake of the gift at every
opportunity. Christ has promised us “Let me firmly assure you, whoever believes
has eternal life”
By participating in the liturgical celebration
of the Eucharist we are given that extra boost to be able to ward off the
forces of evil that surround us. The Eucharist is like a vitamin from God,
which strengthens our defenses and brings us closer to God. Everyone who
believes in God and Jesus Christ as the son of God should be able to partake of
this God given gift to us.
To deny someone this gift, not because they
have committed a grievous sin, but because they have been divorced from an
individual who was abusive or a philanderer or because they were created by God
with a sexual orientation toward a member of the same sex, is wrong. If
anything, these individuals need that
extra boost to find God in their hearts and to
live a life that is pleasing to Him.
It saddens me that I, at this time, am limited
in how many I can share the bread of life with because of not having a
permanent chapel or place of worship. But I a humbled to have been chosen as
someone who is able to consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of
Our Lord, THE BREAD OF LIFE.
I urge all to take advantage of this
life-giving gift and to partake of it at every opportunity. It is a very
precious gift and one that we should not waist. In these very chaotic times, we
need to turn to Almighty God for strength to endure them and to partake of all
the channels available to us.
Prayer alone is not enough; we need to live our
faith by our actions and fully participate in all the opportunities to
strengthen that faith. The Eucharist will give us the endurance to carry on
until we are called home to the promise “Let me firmly assure you, whoever
believes has eternal life”
AMEN
