Readings: 1Kgs 19:4-8; Ps. 33:2-9; Eph. 4:30-5:2; Jn.6:41-51
The Bitter Truth!
May the Lord give you His peace!
The Gospel text for last week Sunday ended with the request by the crowds for the bread of life that the Lord Jesus revealed in His conversation with them: “’Sir’, they said, ‘give us that bread always.’” (NJB, Jn. 6:34). One significant thing about the Lord in the Johannine Gospel is that He never refused the genuine request of those He conversed with. For instance, the Samaritan woman, requested for living water, and the Lord generously satisfied that request (cf. Jn. 4:15). Here, too, the Lord responded to the demand of the crowds for the bread of life by that solemn declaration: “I am the bread of life that has come down from heaven” (cf. Jn. 6:35). This revelation serves as the foundation for today’s Gospel.
The narrative began with the reaction of the crowds to the solemn revelation made by the Lord, “I am the bread of life”. They embraced the message with anger: “They were saying, ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know. How can He now say, “I have come down from heaven?’” (NJB, Jn. 6:42). Misunderstandings are the usual style we often find in the Johannine Gospel; when the Lord speaks, His listeners normally misconstrue the import of the imagery He uses, for instance, the dialogue with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. Why the sudden change of mood of the crowds? What bitter truth did the Lord reveal to them? They had a bellyache with the origin of the Lord Jesus. They knew the home He came from; the son of the carpenter; and the mother of a woman they knew very well! How could such a person come down from heaven at the same time? How can a carpenter’s son claim to be a special emissary of God; how dare you? They requested for the bread of life, but they did not expect it to be supplied by a person from a poor background. This was the source of their exasperation! They prejudged the Lord with their human lenses; they could not transcend the tendency of human beings to judge others based on their physical appearances, which as the axiom goes, could be deceptive.
Beloved, judging the competencies of others based on external factors is an unpardonable mistake that many of us make. How many times do people visit some offices and refuse to greet the person they meet outside and jump straight to look for the director, without thinking that the person they woefully ignored could be the one they are actually looking for? Do we not oftentimes judge the competence of a professional based on her/his stature? What criteria do you normally use to vote in an election be it religious or political? Ironically, because of their myopic considerations, the crowds easily forgot that it was that same man they disrespected who fed them with five loaves of bread and two fish. Nevertheless, the bitter truth is that, it is that carpenter’s son who has been sealed by God to supply the living bread they requested. The son of the high priest could not play that role; the Lord Jesus was and is irreplaceably the bread of life!
Another subtle flaw in the reaction of the crowds against the bitter truth the Lord revealed to them was the fact that they kept on living in their collective ignorance: “Jesus said in reply to them, ‘stop complaining to each other.” (NJB, Jn. 6:43). Is it not perplexing that it never even occurred to them to ask someone outside their spiritually polluted camp for further explanation, but instead proudly kept on lamenting to each other? Beloved, is this not how we oftentimes handle issues in the Church? Whenever we do not understand a particular decree of those who lead us, how do we react to it, where do we first run to? Do we not oftentimes rush to the media for hearing? How many married couples nowadays send their private marital issues for resolution on social media platforms by non-Catholics? The crowds could have asked the Lord for further clarification but they tragically opted to complain among themselves, thus, perpetuating their fundamental ignorance. Beloved, let us learn to take issues to God in prayer for redress, for only the Lord Jesus can save hopeless situation. Let us avoid rumour mongering and deal with thorny issues with spiritually and competent leaders in the Church.
The Lord Jesus revealed another bitter truth to the crowds because of their uncompromising resistance to accept Him: “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise that person up on the last day.” (NJB, Jn. 6:44). It is by the grace of God that we are able to respond to the invitation of the Lord Jesus. Thus, if someone refuses to accept the Lord Jesus as the bread of life it is within the usage of his/her freewill; and the consequences of that is the forfeiture of real life now and in the world to come. God cannot coerce you to accept the Good News of the Lord Jesus.
Beloved the bitter truth is that only the Lord Jesus remains the bread of life for our epoch, hence, to consciously resist His invitation by not believing His message is to freely opt for death instead of life. Just as the prophet Elijah was strengthen by the special meal served by the angel of God to embark on the forty days and forty nights journey; so, the bread of life fortifies us on our earthly pilgrimage (cf. 1st Reading). The truth is indeed bitter, but swallowing it now without any further delay will guarantee you eternal life. Let faith compensate the bitter part of the truth!
In a nutshell, today’s Gospel reveals to us that without the grace of God we cannot obey the word of God; and accepting in faith the bitter truth the Lord reveals to us through His daily word is the only way to enjoy life now and in its fulness in the life of the world to come. May the Lord give you His peace!
