Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 8, 2025 - 3rd Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 8:26-40 and John 6:44-51]"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world." [John]
With the last sentence from today's gospel scripture, the Bread of LIfe discourse takes a big leap into the second part. We go from believing in Jesus as the One whom God has sent, and having eternal life in that belief, to the most profound way we can express our faith: consuming his Body and Blood as food. The big question asked by his adversaries will be asked tomorrow: "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?" It's one thing to use an analogy like "bread of life" to express faith in Jesus, but quite another to believe that he is offering himself as "real bread" to eat!! The intangible becomes the tangible!!
Tomorrow the dialogue will take us into greater detail. But the foundation for what is coming is faith in Jesus as the One whom God has sent. The most physically intimate way we can express that faith is in receiving him in the Eucharist. The dialogue will take us deeper tomorrow. Stay tuned! AMEN