I am the bread of life.
Friends,
The Gospel acclamation echoes the theme of this Sunday’s readings. It points to the sacramental truth of the Eucharist. The bread of life, Jesus Christ, our life and strength.
In the first reading, Elijah ate the food of angels and gained the strength to walk for forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. The nourishment he received depicts the Eucharistic nourishment we get from Christ, the bread of life. The Psalmist encourages us to appreciate the goodness of the Lord who nourishes us and cares for us. St. Paul also urges us to imitate Christ, who loved everyone and demonstrated his love through sacrifice on the cross. He also invites us to love and sacrifice for one another to build a loving Christian community. This kind of community, in other words, can be called a Eucharistic community that generates communion.
In the Gospel, the Jews murmured because Jesus tells them he has come from heaven, and he is the bread of life. As Jesus seeks to lead us into a deeper understanding of the sacramental reality, similarly, our life of faith must become an expression of the Eucharistic life. Faith in Jesus reveals a Father who nourishes and cares for us and is necessary to lead Eucharistic life and let communion with him grow and develop.
Today, therefore, we are drawn by the readings to see how God nourishes us with Eucharist, the living bread. Like Prophet Elijah, we get tired, depressed, and even think of ourselves as failures, but God comforts and nourishes us. Jesus, the living bread from heaven, reveals a comforting and nourishing Father, while the Psalmist invites us to thank this good Father. This week, let us open our hearts to the Lord’s tender, nourishing care especially, in the challenging times of Covid19 and the economy. Let us also take the words of St. Paul in the second reading to build loving and supportive communities.
Joy and Peace.
