Word to the Wise
Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - 3rd Week of Easter - Tues
[Acts 7:51-8:1a and John 6:30-35]"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 takes another step today when Jesus speaks of himself as a kind of new manna from heaven. To believe in him is to have eternal life. This is not just life beyond the grave but life now, in the present. As we learned yesterday, to believe in Jesus is to do the "works of God." Scripture scholars speak of this teaching as "realized eschatology." This means that life with God begins with faith in Jesus, the one whom God has sent, and not just at death or the end of time. Tomorrow (Wednesday), Jesus will expand on "realized eschatology" in another step toward the full meaning of the "bread of life." Like so many of the encounters with Jesus in the Gospel According to John, we are being drawn step by step into greater understanding. Stay tuned! AMEN