Beyond What Eyes Can See

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:41-51.

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
"I am the bread that came down from heaven, "
and they said,
"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? 
Do we not know his father and mother? 
Then how can he say,
'I have come down from heaven'?" 
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves. 
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day. 
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father. 
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life. 
I am the bread of life. 
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die. 
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

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Reflection

The Jews murmured against Jesus because they thought they knew Him fully. But they didn’t know Jesus’ true identity and mission. For although they knew Jesus’ parentage, they didn’t know his true origin. Their knowledge of the person of Jesus is limited.

This is why Jesus invites them to faith. There are realities that escape our grasp because we cannot fully understand them. These we call mysteries. The small hole that our intellect can make cannot contain the ocean of God’s truth. What the intellect does not fully understand, faith provides. Faith is a gift but it also is a response. 

The outlandish claim of Jesus that He is the bread of life is more than enough for the Jews. Cannibalism is not part of their menu. Faith however allowed early Christians to see that the Bread they partake in is really the Body of the Messiah, that the meal is also fellowship and communion, and such food is Life Himself. Faith allows us to see beyond what eyes can see. 

The First Leap

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 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."

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Reflection

For most of us, we would not believe until we see it for ourselves. The people who saw Jesus multiply bread were looking for Him because they saw that He could do wonders. Jesus had to point out to them the purpose of those wonders. Jesus had to remind them that His purpose is much higher than feeding people and establishing a utopian society. Jesus came to share with us the fullness of life.

Christianity is all about entering into that fullness of life. Such is the work of God, to bring His children into His Life. But to achieve that fullness one must make the first leap - the leap of faith. This episode of the Gospel reminds all Christians of the fundamental requirement of their faith - the belief in Jesus as the Bread of Life, who came from the Father in order to feed us His very own Life. To be Christian means to believe that Jesus did come down from heaven from the Father, in order to unite Himself more fully with humanity by giving them His own Life.

As Catholics, we celebrate this in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Sacrament is our celebration of Jesus’ own promise of the Bread of Life. Ours is not only taking in His teachings but most of all, that communion with Him in the most physical, most profound, and most human way - taking Him as our Bread from heaven, His Body and Blood, in the form of bread and wine. Our Catholic life takes its vitality from this first leap of faith.

Numbers and Signs

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:1-15.

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. 
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples. 
The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
"Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" 
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do. 
Philip answered him,
"Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little." 
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
"There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?" 
Jesus said, "Have the people recline." 
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. 
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
"Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted." 
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments 
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat. 
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
"This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." 
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

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Reflection

Numbers run the risk of limiting value. This beautiful episode from John is a parable of the great things that Jesus can do with the little good that we can offer. Numbers pepper the story, detailing the need and urgency of the moment. Jesus, who knew the need but also has the situation in control, have to remind his disciples that faith goes beyond numbers.

It may be a story of generosity, or a story of how God can multiply what we offer but it is also a reminder that Jesus as the Prophet promised of old has more than enough to meet our needs. When Jesus feeds, He feeds to the full. He is not one who magically multiplies food, but in the same way that he takes, gives thanks, and distributes food in the Eucharistic Meal, He gives Himself as the Sign of God’s love.

People who saw the numbers saw the prophet who could do wonders but mistook the message. We who see the Sign, received and believed, sees Jesus the God-man who gives Himself that we may want for nothing. He exceeds in value to what we can count in numbers. Jesus does not work with numbers, He works in self-giving.