The day after the miracle of feeding the 5,000, the people kept following Jesus and Jesus in essence told the people that they were following Him not because they were excited about what Jesus had been teaching them. They were following Jesus because of the miracles and that He fed everyone.
And so - we need to ask ourselves – Why do we seek the Lord? Why do we follow Jesus? Why do we come to Mass? Why are we here?
Do we love God – for Who God is – or do we love God because of His blessings… or because we are afraid not to receive His blessings if we do not love Him or serve Him? What are our intentions?
Jesus was aware of people’s physical needs – so, he demonstrated his concern for them -- he cured the sick… and he fed them… but His purpose was something deeper and more than food for the body… Jesus wanted to do more than give people bread to eat. He wanted to give them a new relationship, a new life, salvation, eternal life…. He wanted to give them a better understanding of what life is all about.
So, Jesus began to talk about spiritual needs – he offered himself as the bread of life - to raise their aspirations beyond worldly needs but the people had little or no interest in that kind of talk…
That is why if you read the rest of chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, the people found his teachings too much for them to accept – So, as the Scripture says…they “returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” …because his teachings are just not what they expected….Not in their agenda…so to speak.
That is still happening today…
Many people, it seems, come to Christ and His Church in search of something that Jesus really never promised to provide... and so - not being satisfied – not having their expectations met – not hearing what they want to hear – or hearing what they do not want to hear - they “murmur like the Jews in disbelief” - they drop out of church… and they turn their attention and time to something else.
So – what are you looking for in life? What are your expectations as followers of Christ?
Let me share a few thoughts:
First of all - in following Jesus – admittedly, we expect something that would make life a little easier… at least.
Somehow, somewhere, we have gotten the idea that faith in God – following Jesus - is supposed to solve our problems, free us from our daily struggles, and virtually eliminate suffering. We seem to forget that it did not work that way even for Jesus. Jesus never expected His Father to shelter him from the harsh realities of life. Faith for Jesus was never like a shield. For Jesus, his faith – his relationship with His Father was, instead, a source of strength that enabled him to face up to life with all of its cruelty. Life is hard. Life is unfair.
Meaning – similarly – for us - that means that we should think of our relationship with God, of following Christ, not so much in terms of blessings, comfort or convenience but should be in terms of courage and strength, and trust – which is what God wants from us – to trust Him. Jesus’ purpose is not to make life easy enough for us to handle, but His purpose is to make us strong enough to handle whatever life may bring.
And that - with Christ in our lives - we can confidently go through life’s journey with hope – even with peace and serenity and joy – regardless of the circumstances we might find ourselves in; the life of Christ in our lives nourishing us, his presence giving us the ability to look beyond the present with our eyes focused on our ultimate goal, which is eternal joy with the Lord in heaven… not focused on passing perishable things of this world.
Hopefully, this past year and a half of pandemic reminded us that everything – and everyone, including our loved ones - will pass. Even this pandemic will pass. Even beautiful things and great experiences regardless of how intense the sensual pleasures might be… they, too will pass.
Jesus said: Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
Jesus as our Bread of Life means nourishment for our soul, joy in our sorrow, strength in our weakness. It means community, family, friendship with Jesus. Jesus as the Bread of life means Jesus in the Eucharist, in the Scriptures, in the church, in life itself. Jesus Christ means all of these things…Christ is all in all… for those who believe…
Jesus is the Bread of Life that satisfies the deepest longing of the human heart… Jesus is the Summum Bonum – the Supreme Good.
Let me focus on Jesus in the Eucharist – Jesus being present - body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine. When we come to Mass and receive the Eucharist, we experience a foretaste of heaven.
We come to Church, we receive Communion, not because it is the rule of the Church but because our journey through life is difficult, to say the least… and so we receive communion because we need food for this journey of life. The Lord gives us this food. He is our food. He is the Bread of Life.
Christ gave his disciples, and He still gives us, His body to eat… the “bread of life,” the food we need to eat often to keep us going… till we get to heaven.
We need Christ in the Eucharist to become the Christ-like people we are called to be. When we receive the self-giving love of Christ in the Eucharist - being strengthened by the real bread of life, then - it becomes possible for us to “truly love God and others” … because it is now the love of Christ that loves God and others - meaning – ourselves becoming what we eat … the Body of Christ… for others.
In receiving Holy Communion, it is very important to realize and understand and to remember that the Body of Christ does not nourish us spiritually by simply receiving it – by just going through the motions – because it is a Catholic thing to do. What is necessary - is - we must believe… we must have the proper disposition – we must have the right attitude - when we receive the Eucharist… We must have the awareness, the faith in whom we receive, Christ himself… that we truly enter into communion with Christ…
…And that we also enter into communion with one another – that is why we greet one another with the sign of peace before communion - because - to truly believe and receive Christ and be nourished by him – by his life – by his Spirit - means that we must commit to live our lives every day unselfishly like Christ.
We must also be bread of life for others… We must also be the source of hope, courage and strength for others… especially in these hard times.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote: I quote: “Ultimately, the Church draws her life from the Eucharist, from this real, self-giving presence of the Lord. Without this ever-new encounter with Christ, she would necessarily wither…
You cannot touch the Body of the Lord again and again, without being affected by him and challenged by him, being changed and led by him.
… Christ genuinely shared himself out, gave himself with the torn-up bread, so that his life might be ours: that is the incredible event that occurs ever anew. Herein lies the great significance of the Eucharist and it is quite real.” (Unquote) …
… Meaning – Christ is wholly completely truly really present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.
St. Thomas Aquinas said so beautifully: When we approach the Eucharist, four of our senses fail us because the bread looks, smells, tastes and feels like bread. We can only trust one of our senses – and believe what we hear: the Word of Jesus which the priest repeats at every Mass: This is My Body. This is My Blood.
Amen.
