Today’s Gospel Reading at the Sunday Mass comes from John 6:24-35:
So they said to him,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“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.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
So they said to him,
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.?
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
“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.”.
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Today’s Gospel Reading follows the one from last Sunday when Jesus feed about five thousand through the miracle of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes. It’s no surprise that after encountering Jesus as a healer and a prophet of God who has the power to feed multitudes by the simple efficaciousness of His prayer, that the crowd would follow Him to discover more; in fact; to see what else He could do for them. While unbeknownst to them, all along, Jesus was reeling them in by providing for their base needs to gradually open them up to some deeper truths, and to appeal to them to go beyond seeking things that come from this world, for the sake of seeking things that come from Heaven.
The statement from our Lord that struck me most deeply in this reading was, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.”
Gabby Douglas gets her face on some food that perishes.
These were all reminders that sometimes people want more from me than what I am able or capable of giving at times. I’m reminded quite often in these recent years of my limits in this world. I try to always compensate for those limits by grounding my life in Christ Jesus and by pointing my finger to Him, much like John the Waymaker did. I’m growing in the principle that it’s through Christ Jesus that all things are possible; not through me. Inasmuch as people need things from me – whether it be personal things or business services – outside of my ministry the things they all seem to need are things that perish. While it is oftentimes good and necessary to provide those things, my duty as a Christian is to always redirect the goods that I provide in the world to Heavenly goods. I even have to cooperate with God to direct the bad that I do in the world back to a Heavenly good.
There are many Gabby Douglas’ in the world. There are many people working arduously to achieve great things in life that are bound to perish – things that don’t really matter in the big picture of Heaven or Hell. My hope is that you’ve had something in your life that you’ve been passionate about – something that you’ve wanted more than you’ve wanted anything else, because I believe that our task it to consider the energy, time, passion, and sacrifice that we put into obtaining that thing and to remold, reharness, and redirect that same singular drive and energy into obtaining eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
There is only one necessary thing in this life. There is only one thing that doesn’t perish. And the irony of it all is that we ourselves end up perishing if we don’t obtain the one thing that doesn’t. . . . FOCUS
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“The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
We will declare to the generation to come
the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he wrought.
He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountains his right hand had won.
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Scripture texts in this blog are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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Some More Related Perspectives:
- The Love of God and Our Response to His Love (First Things) The Divine truths that these Gospels readings are opening our minds up to is that when we recognize the presence of the Christ Jesus, whether in person, as the Holy Eucharist, through sacred Scripture, or...
- How to Claim Your Harvest from God (Pentecost Reflection) The Christian Feast of Pentecost is the fulfillment of Jewish agrarian festival. For on this day we commemorate the anniversary of Christ Jesus giving His people the Holy Spirit, which He said would guide us...
- Dude Tip: The 3 Things that Dudes Don’t Swing At What I really don't get is dudes awswinging at the wrong things. There are Three Things that dudes are never supposed to swing at unless they want to be laughed at by other dudes and/or...
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