“Jesus is the Bread of Life and So Must We”

John’s Gospel is about signs pointing towards Who Jesus really is.

Our Gospel reading from John Chapter 6 began last Sunday - with the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. The day after the miracle, - as we heard in our Gospel reading today - the people kept following Jesus and Jesus 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.

Do we love God – for Who God is – or do we love God because of His blessings… because we are afraid not to receive His blessings if we do not serve Him or love Him or if we do not go to Mass. Of course, we miss out on God’s graces if we do not go to Mass… but is that your only reason – to get something? Do we seek the God of consolations or do we just seek the consolations of God?

It is like being nice to people, thinking that - we “love them” because they are nice to us, because they do things for us, because of what we get out of the relationship… which really is NOT true love. That is not kindness – that is business.

Let us ask ourselves – Why do we follow Jesus? Why are we Christians and why do we go to Mass?

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 food to eat. He wanted to give them a new relationship, a new life, salvation, eternal life…. Better understanding of what life is all about.

So he began to talk about spiritual needs - as we heard in the Gospel – 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…That is still happening today…

So – what are we looking for in life? What are our expectations as followers of Jesus – AND - What does Jesus expect from us? - both ways - This is as it should be. In our relationship with Jesus, He can be trusted to keep His part of the bargain. But - We need to be reminded of our part… what we are called to be and to do

First – what are our expectations as followers of Christ?

At times, much of the religious frustration and failure of our day are the by-product of false expectations. Many people, it seems, have come to Christ and the Church in search of something that is not there, something that Jesus never promised to provide.

In following Christ – 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 Christ - is supposed to solve our problems, free us from our daily struggles, and eventually 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 him 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.

Meaning – similarly – for us - that means that we should think of our relationship with God, following Christ, not so much in terms of comfort or convenience but should be in terms of courage and strength, and trust – trust in God… believing in Jesus whom He has sent.

Jesus’ purpose is not to make life easy enough for us to handle, but Jesus’ purpose is to make us strong enough to be able to handle whatever life may bring.

That - with Christ in our lives - we can confidently go through life’s journey with hope – even with peace and joy – even in the midst of life’s struggles; 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/eternal life with the Lord in heaven… not focused on passing perishable things of this world.

Jesus said: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

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…Jesus is all in all… for those who believe…

Let me just focus on Jesus in the Eucharist – the Source and Summit of our Christian life - Jesus being present - body, soul and divinity in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine.

Jesus does not intend only to take care of the physical needs of those who followed him. He desires to satisfy the deep hunger for eternal life and mercy only found in communion with God.

We come to Church, we receive Holy Communion, not because it is the rule of the Church – not because it is an obligation - but because our journey through life is difficult, to say the least… and so we receive communion because we need food for our soul for the journey. The Lord gives us this food. He is our food. He is the Bread of Life… to keep us going.

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 Jesus 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 God – the love of Christ that loves others - meaning – ourselves becoming what we partake, becoming what we eat - … we become the Body of Christ… for others.

Now – what does Jesus expect from us? As we heard the people in the Gospel asked Jesus: What can we do to do the work that God wants?

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. I am saying this with all due respect - it is so sad to see people come to receive communion and you can see in their faces, their eyes, their demeanor that they are just going through the motions and have no clue – no reverent awareness of Who it is they are about to receive.

What is necessary - is that - we must believe… As we heard in the Gospel: Jesus said: “This is the work of God – that you believe in the One He sent.” To believe in Jesus is not just believing intellectually as who Jesus is – but believing Jesus grounded in a profound relationship with Him.We must have the proper disposition when we receive the Eucharist… We must have the awareness, the faith in whom we receive… that we truly enter into communion with Christ Who is present Body, Soul and Divinity - with our whole being – with Jesus as the foundation of our life.

Holy Communion means also - that we enter into communion with one another – that is why we offer each other a sign of peace before Communion – because - to truly believe and receive Christ and be nourished by him – by his life – by his Spirit – it is important that we be united in worship around the Eucharistic table.

We must also be bread of life for others… We must also be the source of hope, courage and strength for others… for one another.

Like Christ, like the Eucharist – our lives must also be blessed, broken and shared… Like the blood of Christ, our lives must be poured out in loving service of God and our neighbor.

That is why at the end of the mass – like the apostles – we are sent into the world – “Go in peace – glorifying the Lord by your life.”

We reply - Thanks be to God.

 God bless…