Life of God

Today’s Gospel Text: The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever." 59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um. John 6:52-59

Reflection: Yuck! Eating the flesh of any man? Yet there have been tribes who have been cannibals by nature and there have been some who have been even living on the dead.

How can men who are rational being ever do that; rationality with a conscience?

However yucky it may sound, in reality we sinful creatures tend to be cannibals, if not in the literal sense then at least in the allegorical sense we do.

We eat up people when we kill them with words or trouble them.

We kill people through our self-centered sinful ways, even though these ways may not affect our relationship with others directly.

Above all we kill people by allowing ourselves to be killed. How do we do this?

When we do not recognize the source of life or are unable to recognize him who alone is able to save us then we are walking the path of death and even drag those over whom we act as guardians and leaders and all those whom we relate with.

Apart from God each one of us is walking the path of damnation; the God revealed by Christ Jesus and through whose sacrifice we have life, even eternal life.

Jesus reconciles us to the God by the sacrifice of the cross and introduces us to God as our beloved Father.

The necessary sacrifice of Jesus was to save us from death as asserted by the following scriptures: 

• "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; (vs. 53)

•  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.(vs. 54)   

• He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. (vs. 56)  

• As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. (vs.57)

Prayer:  Lord, give us your life that we may never walk in darkness.

                                                                                     

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Jesus: Bread of Life

Today’s Gospel Text: The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:41-51

Reflection:  Either the Jews caught the message of Jesus by the tail or they got it right and said exactly what they wanted to say.

It did not matter to them much whether Jesus was the bread that came down from heaven. What mattered was that he lay claim to his having come down from heaven. 

It was like saying that the bread element we discuss later, lets discuss your antecedents first, whether you have really come down from heaven or you belong to your parents who are over here in our midst.

We all are capable of listening to a message with a block in our hearts, just as the Jews did. They were more interested in cornering him rather than listen to the key message he was communicating to them.

When Jesus  announced himself as the bread that came down from heaven he was proclaiming to them, the life,  he came to give them,

May be we could put up a block while listening to people, for not all are worth listening to and more so when they come to us with wisdom other than from the one true God.

But it would be a great folly, not to listen to Jesus, who first of all has proved himself by his death on the cross. Here in the gospel he comes to them and teaches them from their own scripture and tradition in order to lead them to the truth. 

Scripture interpreted in the light of a sound tradition is sure way of knowing and following the truth.

The miracle of the manna had always captivated the imagination of the Jews. They always believed and at least, at each Passover, reminded themselves of the providence of God.

Jesus by announcing himself as the bread of life was now proclaiming himself as the ultimate and final providence of God for the life of the world.

Prayer: Give us this day our daily bread; the bread of our Salvation, Jesus Christ and all that he has to offer..  

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us