DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMBLE?
September 23, 2018
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

Mark’s Gospel Chapters 9 and 10 is on a series of lessons that the Lord taught His disciples. His
public ministry in Galilee has ended He is traveling down to Jerusalem.  The final months prior
to His death, the focus of Mark is on His instruction to the Twelve in private.. He repeats to them
continually about His death and resurrection. Trying to prepare them for that coming event, there
are things they need to know. All that he talks in this passage is on humility.  I might call it, “The
Virtue of Being Last” I am sure that title would seem offensive to the culture in which you and I
live because everybody wants to be first, number one. Today when we look around humility is
not viewed as a virtue in our culture, and it wasn’t viewed as a virtue in ancient pagan culture
either. It is a time People are dominated by self-esteem, dominated by pride And so I say, if we
put a big banner out in front of the church and said we’re going to have a conference on how to
be last, I am sure nobody would show up.

But learning to be humble is essentially finding the foundation of sanctification because this is
the very bottom line in what it means to be a Christian. As our Lord instructs His disciples and us
what humility is by living it, He washed the disciple’s feet and then said, “Do this…”They
needed that lesson because they were battling normal human pride. They needed it because they
had a kind of messianic, triumphalism, and they were expecting the Messiah to enter into His
glory any time, any moment, and, of course, they were going to enter into His glory with
Him. They were excited about the glory. They were excited about the exaltation. So their
triumphalism needed to be knocked down a few notches and their normal human pride needed to
be assaulted as well. Additionally they had some terrible examples of what spirituality looks
like. What they had grown up with was Judaism and the dominant features of Judaism were
essentially spiritual pride, in every imaginable form, symbolically and practically, for example
They went to give money in the temple and in wanting to make sure everybody do that, they had
a trumpeter blow a trumpet to call people’s attention to their giving. When they wanted to appear
humbling themselves and fasting and praying, they threw ashes on their heads and sat in a public
place. When they wanted people to know how diligent they were in prayer, they prayed in public
out loud long prayers with endless repetition. These are the spiritual models the disciples had, so
it has to be corrected. In fact, they were so caught up with pride that, as you just read, they were
all the time arguing about which of them was the greatest. And every time the Lord talked about
suffering and death and cross bearing and self-denial, they pushed it away.

So here comes the lesson on humility. He begins where He seems always to want to begin, with
His own coming death and resurrection. This is the main thing they need to understand. So He
says, “The Son of Man,” that great messianic title drawn from Daniel 7, “is to be delivered into
the hands of men and they will kill Him. And when He has been killed, He will rise three days
later.” Now the question is, who delivers Him over? Who does that? Who is responsible for that?
Who is guilty of that? Well, we already know the answer to the question.  Is it the scribes and
chief priests that constitute the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Judaism? Are they the ones that
deliver Him over? Yes. Certainly they do.  And according to Matthew 27:2, it was the Jewish

leaders who delivered Him to Pilate. They are there and they’re part of that delivering up. But it
isn’t just them, how about Judas? Yes, according to Matthew 26:24, “The Son of Man is to go
just as it has been written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is delivered,” or
betrayed is another way to translate that word, and that’s referring to Judas. Judas played a role
in delivering Him up. And the Jewish leaders played a role in delivering Him up. How about
Pilate? Pilate played a role.  Matthew 27:26, Pilate delivered Him to be crucified to the
executioners. But the real story is not understood until you read Acts 2:23 where Peter on the
Day of Pentecost says, “This man,” meaning Christ, “delivered by the predetermined plan and
foreknowledge of God.”

 And now let’s turn to the disciples. Verse 33 to 41, these needy students like us, and we’re going
to look at the Lord’s lesson on humility.  Verse 33, “They came to Capernaum,”  “And when He
was in the house “He began to question them, ‘What were you discussing?’” It was an
embarrassing discussion. And our Lord exposes that. They didn’t want to admit what they were
talking about. Jesus was talking about death and self-denial and taking up a cross and
suffering and persecution but they’re still ambitious. They’re still self-seeking. But they still
knew it was wrong.  Jesus wanted to teach them pride destroys unity.” When Jesus asked they
kept silent.”They knew those kinds of attitudes were wrong.  The Lord has just spoken about His
own humiliation and all they can think about is their own exaltation. Proud belittles. It demeans.
It pushes others down for the sake of self-elevation. This is absolutely destructive of unity. Pride
also creates exclusivity, John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone…” let me stop right here.
casting out demons in Your name and we tried to prevent him because he wasn’t following us.”
Look, they were competitive with each other, trying to be the greatest, and they certainly didn’t
want anybody else succeeding outside their group. Jesus said, “Don’t hinder him.  “And no one
is going to be performing a miracle in My name and be able soon after to speak evil of Me.”
But Humility gains reward.“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink  truly I say to you, he
will not lose his reward.”  we’re talking about what humility does because that’s the only way
you can define it.  it’s basically kind, it’s The simple act of sacrificial kindness to one who
belongs to Christ will result in what you will never achieve by elevating yourself. You won’t
lose your reward, you’ll gain it.

ALIGN YOUR WILL WITH THE WILL OF GOD
September 16, 2018
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

MARK’S GOSPEL throughout is describing a learning experience, first for the disciples of Jesus but also for the reader and hearer. Knowing who Jesus is and what following him means is something that the disciples did not tumble to all at once. It was a painful journey for them. Today’s passage is immediately preceded by another healing story, this time that of a man who was blind. The interesting thing about this story is that his blindness was healed in stages. That is exactly what was happening to the disciples and we see it clearly illustrated in today’s story. Why did Jesus command his disciples to be silent about his identity as the anointed Son of God? They were, after all, appointed to proclaim the good news to everyone. Jesus knew that they did not yet fully understand his mission and how he would accomplish it. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, explains the reason for this silence:There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching about him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and the death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne him that the Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. He utterly abolished death and wiped out destruction. He robbed hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven. These things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable conclusion.

Today’s encounter of Jesus with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi we see  a question of Jesus’ identity. "Who do people say I am?" he asks them. They give various answers,yhe general opinion about Jesus by the people."But you, who do you say I am?" presses Jesus. "You," says Peter, speaking in the name of them all, "you are the Christ." That is, you are the Messiah, the long-awaited liberator king of Israel. To call Jesus the ‘anointed One’ is to say that he is King. 
It must truly have been an exciting moment for the disciples. Their Master was no mere rabbi; he was the Messiah, the King of Israel! What a future was unfolding for these uneducated men! And then totally unexpected comes the shock. Because Jesus begins to tell them what is going to happen to him, the Messiah. He will be rejected by the religious and civic leaders of his own people, he will undergo terrible sufferings, he will suffer a horrible and shameful death by execution on a cross, and at the end will rise on the third day.

Peter, again obviously representing all his companions, protests to Jesus in the strongest terms. "Lord, this can never happen to you." It was unthinkable that the Messiah should meet a fate like this. It is clear that the disciples’ learning experience was not over. They had reached the critical stage of knowing who Jesus is. what kind of Messiah he was going to be. They won’t know this and they will not see its terrible and compelling beauty until after the resurrection. 
The rest of Mark’s gospel deals with this topic in which we are intended to be the real learners. After all, most of those disciples were dead and gone by the time Mark’s gospel appeared. 
Jesus continues: "If ANYONE wants to be my disciple, then he has to take his cross and come after me." Jesus’ Way has also be our way. Dear friends we want  to be "good" Catholics and we don’t want crosses. We even think that one of the purposes of prayer is to ask Jesus to take away the nasty things and make life smooth all the way. Let our prayer be "Lord Jesus, I believe and I profess that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my life, my will, and all that I have, that I may be wholly yours now and forever." When my will crosses does not align with God's will, then his will must be done

HE DOES ALL THINGS WELL!
September 9, 2018
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

The  passage opens with Jesus leaving the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon headed back to Galilee. But, Jesus and His men do not go straight back to Jewish country. Verse 31 tells us that they went to “Decapolis.” What was He doing? We can only speculate, but I would imagine that He was teaching them and training them for the difficult days ahead. When He and His men return, Jesus finds Himself under increasing attack by the Jews. This will be one of the last opportunities that He will have to be alone with His men before He goes to Calvary to die.

If you will remember, the people of that region had asked Jesus to leave their country, Mark 5:17. Jesus had cast a legion of demons out of the Gaderene Demoniac. Those demons had entered into a herd of swine and the pigs had all drowned. The people of Decapolis had rejected Jesus and forced Him to leave. Now He returns and they receive Him with open arms.

Why the change? What made the difference? The answer can be found in Mark 5:19-20. That redeemed demoniac went home and told everyone he met what Jesus had done for him. He was such an effective witness that the people were eager for Jesus to come back to town, and when He did, they embraced Him. What a lesson for those who know the Lord. They rejected Him and He would have been justified had He never returned. But, Jesus came back and gave them a second chance! Aren’t you grateful that He didn’t write you off the first time you rejected Him? I praise His name that He keeps on loving; He keeps wooing; He keeps drawing; He keeps calling; until He gets what He’s after!

In this passage, Jesus comes to Decapolis and the people bring a deaf man to Jesus for healing. Jesus heals this poor man and the crowds marveled. They saw His power and they were amazed. They said, “He has done all things well.” I want you to see that He still has the power to amaze those who come to Him. Let’s watch Him work this miracle and learn the lessons contained here. The Bible tells us that this man was “deaf”. Not only was he deaf, but he also had a speech impediment. He could talk, but his speech was impaired. These two conditions seem to go hand in hand. Because a deaf person cannot hear themselves saying words, they tend to have trouble using verbal language correctly. I will say more about his condition in a minute. This man, even though he was handicapped, had people around him that cared about him. They heard that Jesus was passing by and they brought their deaf friend to Jesus. They just believed that the man Who had cast a legion of demons out of the demoniac could heal this poor handicapped man!

Handicapped people seem to be drawn to Jesus. And do you know why? It is because He accepts them and loves them just like they are. They are looking for that kind of love and acceptance from a society that rejects them because they are different. The first thing I notice is that Jesus “took him aside”. The deaf will tell you that their affliction makes them a special class of people. Jesus refuses to make a spectacle of this man. Jesus takes him aside and does a great work in his life. By taking him aside, Jesus is saying, “You are more than a problem, you are an individual and you are important to Me! I care about you!”

Jesus continues His special ministry in this man’s life. He cannot tell the man verbally what He is about to do, so Jesus uses a rough form of sign language to communicate His intentions. First, He sticks His fingers in the man’s ears to let him know that He is going to do something about his deafness. He spits on His finger and touches the man’s tongue to let him know that He is about to lubricate his speech. Then, Jesus said one word, “Ephphatha”, which means “be opened”. When Jesus said this, the man’s ears were healed and his tongue was loosed. He could hear! He could speak! Oh, what a miracle! One command from Jesus and his life changed forever! That is the power of the Word of God!

The man in this text met Jesus that day and his life was never the same again. Meeting Jesus changed everything forever for this man. He can do the same thing for any person who will come to Him today! Why? He does all things well! Come to Jesus and see for yourself. “All” is a mighty big word! It covers a lot of territory. He does all things well. Come to Him and let Him teach you that truth today! He can fix it so you leave here today saying, “Well done! Well done! Well done!”
 

WHY QUESTIONS
September 2, 2018
Deacon Dennis Walters

Some of you may have dealt with young children going through what I call the “Why-phase”.  Why do you comb your hair that way? Why do you shave? Why are you bald? The “why-questions” just keep coming.  Most of them are a nuisance, but sometimes the child asks one that makes you wonder: Why do I comb my hair that way?

    Sometimes it’s good to ask questions like these of some of the religious customs we have.  So here’s a little test. See if you can answer these questions:

When you come into church, why do you dip your finger in the holy water and cross yourself?

Why do you say the words you say when crossing yourself?

Why do you genuflect before entering the pew?

When you pray, why do you hold the palms of your hands together?

During Mass, why do you stand sometimes, then sit sometimes, then kneel sometimes?

    Some Pharisees asked Jesus a question like these in today’s gospel reading.  On the surface, the question appears innocent: “Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions of the elders but eat with unclean hands?”  We may be surprised at the vehemence of Jesus’ answer. He calls the questioners hypocrites — those who act pious — and then quotes a passage from Isaiah chastising people who make human traditions obligatory.  But of course, there’s more to the Pharisees’ question than their Why indicates.

    In Scripture, the word “why” at the beginning of such a question is not asking for an explanation.  It’s a rebuke. In this case, it implies that Rabbi Yeshua is not training his disciples properly. Washing hands before a meal was not done for reasons of cleanliness.  It was done for ritual purity, in imitation of the way priests would purify themselves by washing before offering sacrifice in the Temple. The passage from Isaiah calls it vain or empty worship, in that it’s automatic, it’s routine, it’s not heartfelt.  In his context, Isaiah’s point is that religious observances only make sense if they come from and have an effect on the heart. Likewise, Jesus’ concern is with what comes from the heart. Dirty hands don’t make the person dirty; only what comes out of him does.

    Protestants sometimes criticize Catholic traditions like crossing oneself or even Mass itself as mere “human traditions,” and they cite this gospel passage to prove their point.  But Jesus is not condemning all ceremonial customs. His criticism is aimed at traditions not based on God’s word but added to it. Tradition is important; it is the handing down of what God has revealed.  That’s why St. Paul tells the Thessalonian church to “hold fast to the traditions you were taught, either orally or in writing” (2 Thess 2:15).

    On the other hand, Protestant criticisms may be justified if Catholics do them without understanding why they do what they’re doing.  Because in that case, customs like crossing oneself are only superficial and unreflective gestures, and may even amount to superstition if they don’t address what should happen in the heart.  With that in mind, here are the answers to the test questions I asked earlier, about why you do certain rituals.

    Blessing yourself with holy water and making the sign of the cross on entering the church recalls your baptism.  All Christians are marked at baptism with the sign of the cross, the preeminent symbol of faith, and immersed in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  The words you say come from Matthew 28:19.

    Genuflecting — not simply curtseying, but going all the way down with your right knee to the floor (for those who can physically do it) — is an act of homage to Jesus as Lord.  The custom is based on Philippians 2:10 (“at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”). The knee is a biblical symbol of strength, so in genuflecting you submit your strength to Jesus as commander, just as a knight would by going down on one knee before his king.

    Placing your palms together when you pray is another act of submission.  A person entering the service of a master signifies submission by placing both hands between the master’s hands.  At ordination, the new deacon or a priest places his hands between the bishop’s, promising him respect and obedience.  In prayer, we place our hands in God’s.

    During Mass, standing is the biblical position for prayer.  You stand during the penitential rite, the recitation of the Creed, the prayers of the faithful, and whenever the celebrant says “Let us pray.”  Standing for the reading of the Gospel is a position of respect and attention to the words of Jesus. Sitting is the position of a disciple being instructed by his teacher.  You sit when listening to readings and the homily in the Liturgy of the Word and during preparation of the gifts.  Kneeling is the position of adoration, and is appropriate at Mass when the consecrated elements, the Body and Blood of Jesus, are on the altar.  All three bodily positions have numerous Scriptural sources.

    If we do these little acts of reverence out of routine or without thinking, they become empty gestures, and may amount to little more than superstition.  Then our bodies honor the Lord, but our hearts are somewhere else. On the other hand, these acts may be traditional, but they’re not mere human traditions.  When we do them consciously and deliberately as acts of true devotion, they express what is in our heart. So as you genuflect and cross yourself on leaving the church, let these acts remind you of the respect and honor you owe to God.

WAYBREAD
August 26, 2018
Deacon Dennis Walters

In the film version of The Lord of the Rings, the Elves of Lorien give the nine travelers to Mordor several packets of bread called lembas. They caution that this lembas is very filling, and is meant as a reserve food supply. But the gift is the occasion for some comic relief. On being told not to eat too much of it, the hobbit Pippin belches, because he’s already consumed four packets of it.  
In the book version of the story, the treatment is more serious. Tolkien writes, “The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the color of cream.” The dwarf Gimli, suspicious of the taste, “broke off a crisp corner” of one of the cakes “and nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish.

“’No more, no more!’ cried the Elves, laughing. ‘You have eaten enough already for a long day’s march.’” When Gimli excuses himself for his misunderstanding, the Elves explain, “We call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men.” 
Waybread is a term that Tolkien, a Catholic, would have chosen because the Eucharist, as viaticum, is “food for the journey”. In fact, lembas (as the book presents it) has several characteristics that are highly Eucharistic.

For one, a mere nibble suffices for a long time. We normally receive the Eucharist in small amounts, a single host and possibly a sip of consecrated wine. In his Bread of Life discourse, Jesus calls His flesh real food, and His blood real drink; but it may seem to the average communicant that the amount he receives hardly qualifies as food. But like lembas, the Eucharist is not designed to satisfy hunger so much as to provide strength for endurance. Most people will live relatively long lives, much of which will be marked by temptation, disappointment, physical and emotional suffering, and personal trauma. The Eucharist is intended to provide nourishment during both good times and bad.
It’s a matter of common Christian experience that those who frequently receive the Eucharist grow spiritually stronger over time, which is one of the reasons many spiritual directors recommend attending Mass daily. Through frequent reception, one gradually develops a hunger for the Eucharist — for the Lord Who is the Eucharist — to the point where doing without it for any length of time seems unimaginable. A friend of mine who is a frequent communicant once told me that he felt he was being immersed in the Eucharist, like water to a fish.

The Eucharist is spiritual food and drink, but that doesn’t mean that its effects are only spiritual. The strength provided by the Eucharist shows itself in how frequent communicants live their daily lives. They become less anxious about ordinary things, more confident of their ability to handle the future. Indeed, they even lose any fear of going to Hell, since they know that (as St. Paul says) “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Eucharist keeps them in Christ Jesus.

Another thing about lembas is that no evil thing can abide it. Orcs won’t eat it and the mere taste of it disgusts Gollum. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul chastises the Corinthian church for treating the Eucharist too casually, almost with contempt. He asks, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor 10:16; 11:27). Profaning means treating the Eucharist as something common, not holy. But profaning the Eucharist does worse than that. For Paul adds that anyone who consumes the Eucharist with that attitude “eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor. 11:29). Certainly, someone in an evil state of soul can receive the Eucharist; but for him it is not a blessing, but a pledge of condemnation.

Finally, as the hobbits struggling toward Mound Doom ponder their food supply, they realize that the lembas “had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire…. And yet this waybread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travelers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods. It fed the will, and it gave strength to endure.” That passage could have been copied from almost any manual on the effects of viaticum administered to the dying. It reflects a tradition in the lives of saints like Catherine of Siena and others who were reputed to subsist on the Eucharist alone for extended periods of time. This potency explains why administration of the Eucharist usually accompanies that of the Sacrament of the Sick. Just as this waybread strengthens healthy people who receive it often, it strengthens them in time of illness and for the final journey from this life to the next.

Lembas may be fictional, but the Eucharist is real. Received faithfully over a lifetime, it strengthens the spirit, empowers virtue, and removes fear of eternal death. While we protect the Eucharistic species from accidental or deliberate profanation, we venerate it by showing it, by parading it, by kneeling before it, by consuming it thankfully. For those in danger of death, it accompanies them on their way. Eucharist is the real waybread, a little taste of which is enough for a long day’s march. 
 

DO YOU DESIRE THE BREAD OF ETERNAL LIFE?
August 19, 2018
Fr. Praveen Francis Kurisingal

In Jn 6:51-58 we see that Jesus’ listeners quarreled amongst themselves. Because Jesus says, “I am the bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Who can eat the flesh of a man? So, they object, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
 
Before examining the Lord’s reply, let’s place today’s Gospel passage in its proper context of John 6. There’s a unified theme closely linking the three parts of this chapter. First, the chapter begins with Jesus feeding the crowd of 5000 by multiplying five small loaves of bread. But Jesus’ simple blessing dispenses with both time and effort. Later that night, while the disciples are struggling to steer their boat on the storm swept sea, Jesus comes walking towards them on the surface of the water. In this case Jesus was declaring, “I can suspend the laws of nature for My BODY.” Later that afternoon, some of the crowd that had been fed, came to Jesus on the other side of the lake in order to make Him their ‘bread king.’ Jesus used the occasion to promise that someday He would give a special BREAD that would be His own BODY.
 
In short, when He fed those hungry thousands with only five small loaves, He proved, “I can do what I want with bread.” And by walking on the water, He confirmed, “I can do what I want with My body.”
 
When did Jesus fulfill the awesome promise? At the Last Supper, when He blessed the bread and wine saying, “ This is the cup of my blood …” For almost 2000 years the Church has firmly taught that whenever the priest at Mass does what Jesus did at the Last Supper, the bread and wine are changed in substance to the Lord’s true flesh and blood, even though they are physically remain the bread and wine. The accidentals of the bread and wine stay the same; the substance changes into the Lord’s own body and blood, soul and divinity. This marvelous change the Church calls transubstantiation.
 
We cannot understand this by our intellect but by faith. Faith creates an intimate relationship with us. So, Jesus wishes to become the bread of life eternal and that desire is realized in His sacrificial death. All these are done and is doing the same in the Sacrament of the Eucharist for making a good relationship with us, to love us and show the love of God. That’s why when some disciples refused to accept this teaching, Jesus allowed them to walk off and leave Him. He did not call them back by rationalizing, “Wait, you’re misunderstanding Me! I’[m only referring to a symbolic eating of My flesh.” No, He turned to the twelve and asked, “Do you want to leave Me too?” Jesus really wished to teach them that the presence He spoke of was not symbolic, but real. So serious examination of John 6 leaves no room for doubt that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist to reveal His love. If He could do miracles, if He could cure the sick, if He could raise the dead, He can be present really, truly and substantially in the Eucharist. All these are to reveal His love.
 
So love demands union. The greater the love, the more intimate is the union desired. The lover longs to be joined to the beloved—in thought, in letters, in phone conversations, in physical presence. So Jesus’ love demands our response, that is, our eagerness to eat this bread, our eagerness to get in touch with Jesus and His love. That intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is the fullness of life. Jesus, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him.” It is the will of God that we have life in its fullness. This fullness of life is in Christ, the living bread of life.
 
So today St. Paul, through his teaching warns us, “ do not continue in ignorance but try to understand what the will of the Lord is.” So, let us humble ourselves rather than remain stubborn like the Jews and come to the banquet of the body and blood of Christ. Let us stop doubting the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Instead, let us make efforts to be reconciled to Christ the living bread of life.  
I know that some of us have many reasons that seem genuine for staying away from the Holy Eucharist. But they are doubting without tasting this love by receiving the Bread of Life. All we need to do is to make efforts by clearing all the obstacles that block our spiritual eyes, minds and ways. That is, those obstacles preventing us from receiving the body and blood of Christ. Once again today, the psalmist tells us, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

ARE YOU EATING MANNA, OR THE BREAD OF LIFE?
August 12, 2018
Fr. Bosco Padamattummal

In John’s Gospel we read Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. Today He challenges the people to consider what kind of bread they are seeking and eating, perishable or imperishable, then He declares Himself to be “the bread of life,” “the living bread that came down from heaven.” That’s when the conflict started. “The Jews began to complain about Jesus. “He didn’t come from heaven. We know all about Him. He’s Mary and Joseph’s boy.” They know facts about Jesus but they don’t really know Him or where He comes from. He doesn’t look a thing like the bread they or their ancestors have eaten. When it comes to bread they don’t expect any more than the manna their ancestors got in the wilderness. Jesus tells them to be quiet and stop complaining. “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died…. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” Jesus offers them a choice, living bread or manna, life or death. That is the same choice He sets before us.

The conflict for the Jews is not so much about Jesus but about their frame of reference, the box they have created for God. Jesus is challenging them to step outside of the established, comfortable, and familiar context they have created for themselves. He refuses to be limited by either their understandings or their misunderstandings. He invites them to live a new life, a larger life, a life that springs from but is not bound by the past or the context they have created for themselves. He invites them to eat new bread. When John speaks of the Jews He is not referring to the Jewish people, individually or collectively. He is referring to any person or group who opposes Jesus, who refuses to see and understand the signs, who would separate the gift of bread from the giver of life. The Jews could be anyone who acts in this way. In this case it just happens to be the religious leaders and authorities of Jesus’ day.

We are not so different from the Jews. We too have our own frames of reference. When we live only from our personal frame of reference we live hungry, empty lives. We work for manna rather than opening ourselves to receive the gift of the bread of life. No matter how much manna we collect and eat we can never satisfy ourselves. Manna might fill our bellies but it leaves our souls grumbling. Often the things we have done and left undone prevent us from eating the bread of life or come to the table of the Lord. Sometimes our patterns of thinking, believing, the way we see the world, each other, or ourselves convince us there is no other bread and we should just settle for the same old manna our ancestors ate in the wilderness. Other times our history, fears, anxieties, guilt, regrets, pain, and losses become so firmly established we are deceived into believing that we are not even hungry.

We are not destined to eat manna that perishes for the rest of our lives. Our past, our history, never keep us away from the bread of life that is broken at this altar. The living bread has come down from heaven to feed each one of us. Every moment of every day God invites us to eat new bread, to step out of the old context into a new way of living and being. God gives us bread from heaven, knowing that we are hungry. Our conflicts, our restlessness, our deep longings, our desires to love and be loved are hunger pains by which the Father draws us to His Son at this altar; Let us trust Him. Jesus makes a claim only God can make, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”

Let me conclude with these words one teenager wrote about the Eucharist. At the Last Supper when Jesus took bread and in the end of the consecration He said, “Do this in memory of me”.  “Was ever another command so obeyed? For century after century, spreading slowly to every continent and country and among every race on earth, this action has been done, in every conceivable human circumstance, for every conceivable human need from infancy and before it to extreme old age and after it, from the pinnacle of earthly greatness to the refuge of fugitives in the caves and dens of the earth. Men have found no better thing than this to do for kings at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold; for armies in triumph or for a bride and bridegroom in a little country church; for the proclamation of a dogma or for a good crop of wheat; for the wisdom of the Parliament of a mighty nation or for a sick old woman afraid to die; for a schoolboy sitting in an examination or for Columbus setting out to discover America; for the famine of whole provinces or for the soul of a dead lover; in thankfulness because my father did not die of pneumonia; ….. for the settlement of a strike; for a son for a barren woman; for Captain so-and-so wounded and prisoner of war; while the lions roared in the nearby amphitheatre; on the beach at Dunkirk; while the hiss of scythes in the thick June grass came faintly through the windows of the church; tremulously, by an old monk on the fiftieth anniversary of his vows; furtively, by an exiled bishop who had hewn timber all day in a prison camp near Murmansk; gorgeously, for the canonization of St. Joan of Arc—one could fill many pages with the reasons why people have done this, And best of all, week by week and month by month, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays and weekdays, faithfully, unfailingly, across all the parishes of world Eucharist is celebrated.”