Continuing with John 6 and Jesus' conversation with the crowd: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

The second week within John 6

Let’s begin in the Old Testament in Exodus

·     Just after the Hebrews were freed from Egypt—after 400 years of slavery

o  They wanted to go back into slavery because they were hungry

·     So God fed them

o  “In the evening quail came up and covered the camp. 
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. 
On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.”

o  Manna

o  “…Moses told them,‘This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

Then our responsorial Psalm 78

·     “Man ate the bread of angels,food he sent them in abundance.”

·     Hmmm…interesting.  Bread of angels?

Finishing up with the second section in John 6 with a essential conversation with Jesus

·     This took place after the thousands of people were fed from Jesus on earth

·     They asked Jesus, "Amen, amen, I say to you,you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”

o  They were like the Hebrews…they were hungry…again

·     “Do not work for food that perishesbut for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.”

o  Do you notice that this is getting deeper already in John 6?

·     They then asked how to work for God

·     And the nugget today is a simple line: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." 

o  Interesting…Jesus was not commanding for the law, or their actions, but first their faith and belief…and God’s son is standing before them!

·     They asked another question for a sign (a crucial word in the Gospel according to John), and reminded Jesus that their ancestors ate manna—they said it was Moses who fed them, but Jesus clarified that it was not Moses, but God from heaven

·     "Sir, give us this bread always."

·     “Jesus said to them,‘I am the bread of life;whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

o  At this point, Jesus is teaching these people and is slowly bringing them to the depths of faith, belief, reality, and pointing towards the supernatural food: the Eucharist

Scene #2 is ended until next weekend, or if you finish up John 6 yourself!