Deacon Tom Anthony

 

 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 113

 

Reading 1

Ex 16:2-4, 12-15

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

The Israelites said to them,

"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,

as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!

But you had to lead us into this desert

to make the whole community die of famine!"

 

Then the LORD said to Moses,

"I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.

Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;

thus will I test them,

to see whether they follow my instructions or not.

 

"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.

Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,

and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,

so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God."

 

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.

In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,

and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert

were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.

On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?"

for they did not know what it was.

But Moses told them,

"This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54

R. (24b) 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.

R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

He commanded the skies above

and opened the doors of heaven;

he rained manna upon them for food

and gave them heavenly bread.

R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

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.

R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

 

Reading 2

Eph 4:17, 20-24

Brothers and sisters:

I declare and testify in the Lord

that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,

in the futility of their minds;

that is not how you learned Christ,

assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him,

as truth is in Jesus,

that you should put away the old self of your former way of life,

corrupted through deceitful desires,

and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

and put on the new self,

created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

Alleluia

Mt 4:4b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

One does not live on bread alone,

but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 6:24-35

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."

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

Oftentimes, we can find ourselves conflicted in our lives. Where do we concentrate the majority of our time? Is it on personal gain or personal goals that fulfill material wants and desires? As Christians, we are encouraged to look beyond these things, understanding that the life that we are living now is only a precursor of things to come. Whatever experiences that we have on this earth will pale to the experiences that we will have when we are reunited with our Creator and God. The Apostle Paul describes us as being new creations. In other words, once we have been exposed to the truth and have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, there is no turning back. The scales have dropped from our eyes and the truth is before us.

We are then challenged to live by this truth and embrace the transformative experience that it will bring.

 

In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus describes Himself as being the Bread of Life. This is a continuation of the theme that was revealed to us last week with the Feeding of the 5000. Jesus wants us to switch our attention from the material world to the spiritual. We need to look beyond what is in front of us to that which lies beyond. It is very easy to be consumed by the daily demands that are put upon us in a world that is immersed in materialism. This is not where true joy can be found and this is not where Jesus wants us to spend our time. There is so much more to us and we can discover these things when we focus on the eternal instead of the material. Being open to presence of Jesus Christ in our lives is not a limiting factor. It does not prevent us from doing anything. In fact, it empowers us; removing all obstacles that would have prevented us from becoming the best version of ourselves. It is through Jesus that we can achieve all that we want to achieve mentally, spirituals, and physically.

 

 

 

The people asked Jesus, “"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

The first part of His answer was that they should believe in the one that He sent. Belief is only the beginning. The next step is reacting to the beliefs that we have. It is easy to profess who Jesus Christ is. It is much more difficult to allow what we believe to influence our thoughts and actions. Jesus does have the capability to nourish us and to lead us to a more satisfying life. In order for this to happen, we have to be open to what is being said and to allow what is being said to shape and mold us.

 

As the prophet Isaiah said:

 

“You are the potter, and we are the clay.”

 

We cannot be resistant to the presence of Jesus in our lives. We have to be reactive. If we try to fight Him, then we will break as a result. Instead, being submissive to His will and allowing Him to do the work necessary to bring about a masterpiece, is the more sensible option. We will then be able to fully benefit from the relationship.

 

Deacon Tom