Jesus is the true bread from heaven that the Father gives us.  To eat this bread means to gain strength and to live forever.

The Israelites murmured against Moses at every turn (Ex 15, 24; 16, 2; 17, 3). These murmurers, it appears, had no faith in God and did not trust in his power to save. Maybe it did not dawn on them at all that God could give them bread from heaven.

The religious leaders among the Jews also murmur. What triggers such a show of lack of faith is this saying of Jesus:  “I am the bread that has come down from heaven.” They say that he cannot be the bread from heaven. For, like them, he is from here, from the earth. In fact, they know him as the son of Joseph; they know his mother, too. So, they do not get it that he dares to say he has come down from heaven.

In reply, he tells them to display their lack of faith no longer. He further says that for them to believe in him, the Father must first draw them. In other words, faith in the one whom the Father has sent is a matter of grace. The Father is the one to teach them, but through the one who is from God. After all, the one from God, the Word made flesh, is the only one who has seen him. He alone makes the Father known. And grace, which has come through him, is what makes humans just, not the law, which has been given through Moses.

Jesus, the true bread from heaven 

Yes, we all are to be taught by God; we all must listen to the Father and learn from him. But for this to be true of us, we have to go to Jesus. And we cannot go to him claiming to know all things, to know him well, to know where he is from.

We cannot stand tall before him, proud that we know and keep the law, putting down those we deem sinners. Rather, we should stand far off, lowly, admitting we are weak sinners and begging for mercy.

And we should gather around him as helpless children. Then, through him, will the Father reveal to us things that he hides from those who are wise and learned. As we listen truly to Jesus and learn from him, we take in not just his words. We take in his whole self, too, flesh, blood and all.

Moreover, as we take him in, we turn into him, end up being like him. Hence, his two great virtues will be ours also: reverence for the Father and charity for all men and women (SV.EN VI:413).  As we keep the true religion of the poor (SV.EN XI:190), we will understand that goods are for all. So, we will not be like the rich fool who hoards goods or the rich man who does not care.

And as we, kind and forgiving, live in communion with Christ and with one another, we all grow stronger. We also get to taste here on earth what it means to live forever in heaven.

Lord Jesus, make us hungry men and women long for you, the bread from heaven, until you satisfy all longing in heaven.

11 August 2024
19th Sunday in O.T. (B)
1 Kgs 19, 4-8; Eph 4, 30 – 5, 2; Jn 6, 41-51