Word to the Wise
Monday, May 1, 2017 - 3rd Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 6:8-15 and John 6:22-29]"Do not work for food that perishes but for the foodthat endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." [John]
The loaves and fishes have been multiplied. Jesus fled the scene to avoid the misunderstanding of the crowds. He manages to escape later by walking on the water and scaring the disciples. But the crowds manage to find him. He tells them that they have misunderstood his "work." They are thinking about more loaves and fishes to live another day. He is going to give them eternal life. They ask what the work of God is and he replies with what I think is the core of the Gospel According to John: This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.
This statement is very important for what follows. The food sign serves as the "platform" for the "Bread of Life" discourse which will be featured in the gospel scripture for the next few days. If we believe in Jesus as the one whom God has sent, then, at the end of the discourse when many leave him because of his teaching about the bread of life, and he asks the disciples, "Do you want to leave, too?" we can respond as Peter did, "Lord to whom shall we go. You alone have the words of life." If Jesus is the one whom God has sent, our belief in the Eucharist is assured. But, first we must hear what Jesus has to say over the next few days. AMEN
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