By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted August 23, 2024

(See the readings for the 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time)

The Gospel passages of our Sunday liturgies for the last four weeks have been taken from the Gospel according to John, chapter six, sometimes referred to as Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. The passages began with the account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Following that Jesus engages with a crowd who is following him after the great miracle or “sign.”

He invites all to put their faith in him who is sent from the Father. He refers to himself as the Bread of Life. As such God feeds the flock of believers with his Word, the Word who “took on flesh” (John 1:2). Jesus teaches that as the Bread of Life he will offer himself for the lives of all.

The life he offers is a participation in divine life. He offers his body in sacrifice. Reflective of the lamb sacrificed at Passover, he becomes the food that nourishes his followers on the path of life.

The teaching culminated in last week’s passage where he says: “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

Today we hear the last section of the Bread of Life discourse. The scene opens with “many” of Jesus disciples incredulous at Jesus’ words from last week. They say: “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Jesus realizes what they are thinking and saying, and he asks them: “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

The interchange quickly returns to the question of faith. Early in the dialogue the people had asked Jesus, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” His response was a call to faith: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” The belief is not a simple acknowledgement that Jesus is a prophet or a holy man. It is a life-changing trust and confidence in him who will later refer to himself as “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).

As the dialogue with the crowd has developed, Jesus refers to himself as one who will offer his life so that all might live. In today’s passage, the reference to his “ascending” to “where he was before” points to the Father but also to Jesus’ crucifixion, his offering of himself. He will lay down his life.

Perhaps this is not the notion that the crowd were expecting from the Holy One of God. Perhaps they had other visions of the Messiah. We soon find out that “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”

The departure contrasts with what comes next. Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks: “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter, speaking on behalf of the disciples who remain, answers with an act of faith in Jesus: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

The doubt of the many is supplanted by the faith of the few. The invitation to believe is accepted and proclaimed. Faith trumps doubt. Jesus is acknowledged as the Holy One of God and the Bread of Life.

The act of faith is also seen in the first reading from the Book of Joshua. In this account, Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel and asks them to decide what gods they will serve. He then tells them, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” The people then respond with an act of faith:

Far be it from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods. 
For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. 
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. 
Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.

Jesus calls us to make the same act of faith, to put our trust in him, to be fed and nourished by him. He is the Holy One sent from the Father. He is the One who will offer himself on the cross. He is the One who will offer himself as the Bread of Life. He is the One who offers us himself as “true food” and “true drink.” He is the One who offers us eternal life.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.