Word to the Wise
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - St. Agnes of Montepulciano, O.P.
[Acts 7:51 - 8:1a and John 6:30-35]" Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to Jesus, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010 ST. AGNES OF MONTEPULCIANO, O.P. [Acts 7:51 - 8:1a and John 6:30-35] One of my preferences is for bread that I bake myself, either "by hand" or in a bread machine. In addition to the taste and the absence of all the preservatives (or as much as I can avoid them), there is the personal satisfaction of the process and the challenge of it. Jesus' audience was thinking of bread in two senses. The first is that of material food and the second was that of deliverance in the sense that Moses (which Jesus corrects to show that it was his Father who did it) delivered the Chosen People from starvation. They quote from the Psalm 78:24. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. This is the sense that they think Jesus is using. Jesus is, indeed, offering deliverance, but he is offering it in the form of himself! That's where the misunderstanding occurs for the audience! They cannot imagine the preacher being "bread from heaven." They just saw him hand out enough bread and fish to feed a big crowd. However, in the gospel of John, all signs point to Jesus. The story will continue to develop over the next couple of days as the preaching begins to sink in. Jesus and his word are one and the same, and they are eternal life! This is one kind of bread neither you nor I can bake, but I don't think we can live without it! AMEN
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