Word to the Wise
Monday, April 20, 2015 - 3rd Week of Easter - Mon
[Acts 6:8-15 and John 6:22-29]"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]
APRIL 20, ST. AGNES OF MONTEPULCIANO, O.P.
In the Gospel of John, every "sign" that Jesus performs has a purpose: to reveal him as the one who has come from God. The "work" that he refers to is the act of believing in him. Here the gospel is not referring to what we would call "good works" such as "feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, etc." (as important as those are), but rather an interior acceptance.
In the document he co-authored with Pope Francis, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI refers to faith as the recognition of a love greater than any other love we could imagine. Jesus will begin to offer himself as "the bread of life" to the world in the discourse which will form the gospel scriptures for the next few days. His audience will think he is offering cannibalism, but what he is offering is a relationship with himself that is eternal life! There will be a challenge to our understanding of what the meaning of the Eucharist is when we ponder all of this, but stay tuned as we work our way through it. AMEN