Cycle B - Year I:

9 August 2015: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

John 6:41-51

"Jesus, our Bread of Life"

"Bread" is the universal symbol of food. And we need food to nourish our body and sustain life, while on journey in our world.

In past weeks, however, there had been some depressing news about food that caused some health problems. It started from the reported "fake" rice and some incidents of food poisoning after eating candies, cup cakes and even the popular ice candies. There is no conclusive findings yet to date on these cases. The reality is that food that nourishes our physical body can perish or get spoiled sometimes.

The Good News this Sunday has something to do with food too, but food that cannot perish or spoil.

Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals himself as the bread of life. You recall that two Sundays ago the Gospel readings served as the springboard to Jesus' discourse on himself as the bread of life, which sustains us for life everlasting.

In making such claim that he is the bread of life. Jesus is actually showing us the depth of his humble and self-effacing love. This revelation lies at the heart of our Lord's teaching, which also forms the very foundation of our belief in the Holy Eucharist. As we reflect deeper into this mystery, we realize that it was not enough that our Lord Jesus Christ took our humble nature upon himself in all things but sin. It was not enough that he also died at Calvary for our redemption. And now he goes the extra mile, so to say, by choosing to remain physically with us always, until the very end of time in our world, in the sacramental form of the Eucharist.

Yet Jesus' hearers at that time cannot believe the seemingly unbelievable claim of "bread of life". Because the Jews cannot accept something even more fundamental in Jesus' claim that he is the Son of God. That is why they murmur among themselves that to them Jesus is nothing more than the son of Joseph, just another man like them.

And the murmuring of disbelief, as narrated in the Gospel story, continues in our time, for those who do not accept the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. And this is particularly sad and disturbing when the "murmuring" comes from within our own fellow brothers and sisters in faith who want to call themselves "Catholics".

So let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts so that we may understand the teaching being revealed to us in this Sunday's Gospel. Let us pray that we continue to grow in our belief of the seemingly unbelievable because Jesus himself has revealed the truth to us, and to teach others to love our Lord in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

In every celebration of the Holy Mass, let us open ourselves to the Father's invitation that we listen to and believe in his beloved Son: "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."

Amen, Lord, amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!