Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jn. 6: 24 – 35 The Bread of Life Discourse

Background

As I mentioned last week, the church shifted our focus from Mark’s Gospel to John’s Gospel and it continues that Johannine focus through the end of August on the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time. This whole period is devoted more or less to John’s Bread of Life Discourse. If we skim chapter six we see that it is divided as follows:

  1. 6:1 – 15 Multiplications of the Loaves
  2. 6:16 – 21 Walking on the Water
  3. 6:22 – 59 The Bread of Life Discourse
  4. 6:60 – 71 The Words of Eternal Life

The Sunday readings, however, skips the story of the Walking on the Water to stay focused on the Bread of Life even though in John’s thought Walking on the Water is located here for a very precise reason and is related to the Bread of Life Discourse.  We can’t get into that right now.

If we read the whole of The Bread of Life Discourse, 6:22 – 59, though we will be able to set our reading, 6:24 – 35, in a little broader context. http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/6.

Once again I will list the characters in our passage and ask the question, what role are they playing in the episode? There is a tendency in listening / reading the Scriptures to identify the Good Guys and the Bad Guys and then to identify with the Good Guys and identify the Bad Guys with some social group we don’t approve of. In this episode, after we know who the Bad Guys are, it might really be an experience to ask ourselves what are they doing and how are we like them, do what they are doing [not about matters religious but rather matters in ordinary life, at home, work, in the community]?

Our Characters

  1. The crowd
  2. Jesus, addressed as Rabbi and at the end as Sir, seems to identify himself as Son of Man
  3. His disciples, no one of them is named in this episode
  4. Father, God and later as my Father
  5. Ancestors of the crowd, Jesus identifies one of the ancestors as Moses

Before we read though, let’s quiet ourselves, remember whatever we can from our previous readings, and, most importantly, pay attention to what happens inside of us as we read.

The Reading

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, 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.” So they said to him, “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. There is obviously a play on the word “bread” but in both ways the word is a symbol. As a symbol it has many meanings, not just one; that is what makes it a symbol, many meanings. How many might we be able to list and list in the two categories that Jesus makes. Good luck.

Your responses, questions, and / or comments are welcomed. You can add them by clicking on the comment link at the end of this post.

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