Word to the Wise
Monday, May 2, 2022 - 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]
One of the prominent features of the Gospel According to John is that the "signs" that Jesus works serve as a kind of introduction to a discourse. Two signs begin the sixth chapter: multiplication of the loaves and fishes and Jesus' walking on water. The whole purpose of a sign in the Gospel According to John is to bring people to faith in Jesus. But the crowd focuses on the bread. Jesus tells them not "to work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." It is then that the crowd asks "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus' response is really a summation of the whole gospel: "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." This sets the stage for what is traditionally known as the "Bread of LIfe discourse." The gospel scripture for Wednesday through Saturday of this week will be taken from that discourse. [Tuesday is the feast of Sts. Philip and James, apostles, which has its own gospel scripture from John.]
I urge the Beloved Congregation to read through the entire chapter six early in the week to get the "big picture," because the division of the discourse over a period of four days can be a distraction. The Bread of LIfe discourse will bring us face to face with the central sacramental event for all baptized Catholics: the Eucharist. If we believe that Jesus is the one whom God has sent, then we must believe in what he says about giving us his flesh and blood to eat and drink. "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." AMEN