Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: What does the bread of life mean for me?
“The significance of Jesus as the bread of life is further revealed. Today’s readings lay before us two different ways of responding the demands of God. One of them is doubt and disapproval; the other is acceptance in obedient faith. The claims that Jesus made about himself in his bread of life discourse are quite radical. People began to murmur against him. In response he defended himself by tracing his origins back to God. He concluded his teaching by making an even more radical claim.”
The above quote comes from scripture scholar Sister Diane Bergant, C.S.A., Ph.D., professor of biblical studies at The Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, Illinois. The CTU is one of the world’s largest theological universities and trains men and women, for both clerical and lay work, in the Roman Catholic Church. Her quote, while simple, is as meaningful today for the modern day Catholic as it was for the first of our ancestors who listened to Jesus Himself.
Jesus Christ taught based on a new authority: He was God, the Word Made Flesh, sent into the world to be the light that will lead the way for all humankind to know absolute truth, the fullness of compassion, and the ultimate reality of eternal hope. Yet, as the gospel last week said about accomplishing the work of God. This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
To the Jews whom Jesus was speaking, He told them that He was God (very radical); sent by the Father to be the Son to the world a brother to His adopted sisters and brothers, a teacher to offer the new way of God; the Word made flesh to feed us with His Truth, Life and Love. Eat my flesh and drink my blood and you will never hunger or thirst, but will have me always to guide and strengthen you.
We as Catholics believe the Jesus Christ instituted the seven sacraments of the Church and gave them to His apostles to hand on to future generations. We believe, as we say in the Creed each Sunday, that our Catholic Church is Apostolic in nature: unbroken and undivided from Christ to Benedict XVI and through the union of each and every bishop acting by the power of the Holy Spirit to guide His Church in all moral teachings until the end of time.
Each Pentecost we Catholics believe and profess that the Holy Spirit was given to the Church, through the Apostles and their successors, to unify the Church in doing the Will of God. That same Holy Spirit, given to us in the Sacrament of Confirmation, empowers all Catholics with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to confirm the church community furthering God’s will. It is evidenced in our religious education program where those who teach, pass on the Spirit. Evidence abounds in our youth ministry program where they are formed and guided to be active Catholic Christians in the world—so that through service to others recognizing their unique role in God’s Kingdom here on earth. In Pantry Partners, in Feed the Hungry, in our Lenten Mercy program, through the Ladies who make Easter baskets for the needy, in the service projects of the Men’s and Women’s Clubs, in the volunteers who help out at McLean Healthcare, in the donations to the school supply boxes, in our Advent Giving Tree and in countless other ways
our faith, empowered by that same Holy Spirit which Christ speaks to in His bread of life discourse is the life blood of the Catholic Church. For all of her human warts and mistakes, She is still empowered by God’s Spirit to fulfill His Will in His time. As I have said in homilies time-and-time again, if the Catholic Church were merely a human institution, it would have imploded a millennia ago at least.
But we believe we trust and know—that because of the Holy Spirit of God moving, guiding and forgiving our Church will continue to be the source and summit of compassion and love all for seeking the truth that she has been, is now, and will be.
According to Sister Bergant, “Despite the fact that he was so boldly challenged, Jesus gave those who murmured against him an answer to their protest. He traced his origin back to God, thus showing that he had the right to make such claims. However, the evidence he offered could only be accepted in faith. And so it is with us. When we ask God for some kind of sign that will assure us that this new challenge is really want God wants for us, the answers we receive must themselves be accepted and understood in faith. The only assurance we are given is the promise that those who are open to God will be taught by God. The only assurance we have is rooted in faith, and those who are not open in faith will not understand. God does indeed ask a great deal from us.” Like Peter in the boat on the stormy waters, being res- cued from God requires His reaching out to pull us to Him and our reaching for Him to accept His help.
But the world challenges the Church just as it challenged Christ after His bread of life discourse. The world always challenges God, for the good is always the target of evil and selfishness. Sr. Diane Bergant noted that there are only two ways to respond to the demands of God: one is doubt and disapproval and the other is acceptance in obedient faith. If we believe Christ was sent by God, and thus Christ sends His Church forth by God, then we must trust in Christ’s promise of an unending Advocate to be with us until the end of time. That Holy Spirit of God guiding His church in this world.
It is human nature to disapprove of teachings that seem “old fashioned” or “inconvenient” in our world today. It seems real to the secular -mind which always wants to “please” everyone, hoping that there is no “white” or “black,” just “grey truths.” But God created us in His Image and Likeness...and He raised us above the animal kingdom with a conscience and a soul, to distinguish good from evil and to seek the excellence in our lives, both now in this world and in the world to come. Our choices have consequences. We have been given the absolute, never-changing truth in the Word made flesh. The question is: do we listen and learn in faith...or do we “doubt” and disapprove?