Word to the Wise
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - 3rd Week of Easter - Tues
[Acts 7:51-8:1a and John 6:30-35]The crowd said to Jesus: "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." So Jesus said to them, "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." [John]
The "Bread of LIfe" discourse begins in earnest today. The first of two different levels of understanding of what "bread of life" means unfolds. This level focuses on faith in Jesus as the one whom God has sent. The second level will be more "eucharistic" in content. (I cannot help but notice how today's dialogue between Jesus and the crowd resembles his dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well. [cf John 4:4-41]. She misunderstands the meaning of "living water" and appeals to the example of Jacob.). The crowd is focused on physical bread of the kind Jesus multiplied and they appeal to the example of Moses and the manna in the desert. Jesus' response to the crowd is one of his "Amen, amen..." and "I AM" statements. Faith in him means eternal life, as will be seen in the gospel scripture for Wednesday.
It is our faith in Jesus that is the "bread of life." This faith is what enables us to move further into our understanding of the eucharist. This faith has survived in places where the celebration of the eucharist was not possible. We have experienced this to some extent in the current pandemic when the celebration of Mass has been live-streamed only and access to communion was not possible. The act of "spiritual communion" was invoked to emphasize that the relationship in faith to Jesus is what enkindles the desire for a more physical expression in the eucharist. Both levels of faith feed us with "the Bread of Life." AMEN