JESUS, THE BREAD OF LIFE
If you have been paying attention to the Sunday Gospels over the past two weeks, you might have noticed that they were taken from the Gospel of John. If you noticed that, you might have thought it odd since this year, when we are in Year B of the three year Liturgical cycle, the Sunday Gospel is ordinarily taken from the Gospel of Mark. Since Mark’s Gospel is rather short, however, we have more Sundays than we have Marcan pericopes so periodically throughout the year, readings are taken from other Gospels, and especially from John’s Gospel. In fact, the next several Sundays will also feature Gospel passages from John – all of them are from the sixth chapter which is an important chapter in John’s Gospel since it contains the powerful Bread of Life discourses. As we continue the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Eucharistic Revival with this Year of Mission, this is a good opportunity to pay special attention to these Gospel passages.
You will recall that the Gospel passage two weeks ago presented Jesus feeding the multitude who had followed him across the Sea of Galilee to the shore of Tiberias because he had cured so many in their midst. All of the Gospels present miraculous feeding accounts – in fact, Matthew and Mark each have two accounts, with interesting similarities and differences that have given Scripture scholars much to think about and discuss over the centuries. But, John’s Gospel lingers over this event, giving us time to go deeper into its meaning. As we spend these weeks doing just that, allow me to offer some theological and ecclesiological reflections.
The three synoptic Gospels (Matthew 14:14-21; 15:32-37, Mark 6:32-44; 8:1-9, and Luke 9:10-17) present the feeding of the multitude as miracle stories, demonstrating our Lord’s concern for the people who followed him because of his teachings and miraculous cures. Although they certainly have Eucharistic overtones, none of the synoptic Gospels offer theological reflections after these miraculous feeding pericopes.
On the other hand, after John’s Gospel presents the feeding of the multitude (which we heard two Sundays ago), it launches into an extensive reflection on the significance of this event. We heard the first reflection last week and do well to meditate on it since it establishes the importance of believing in our Lord who is “the Bread of Life.” Jesus makes it clear that “whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Jesus chastises the people because they “ate the loaves and were satisfied.” He admonishes them to “not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” Although we have to work for our everyday livelihoods, Jesus calls us to focus on that more important work that permits us to share in the Eucharistic meal. We should spend time daily to build our relationship with God our heavenly Father who offers us his Son, the Bread of Life.
This Sunday, we hear Jesus drive home to the Jewish people of his day both the reality that he is “the bread that came down from heaven” and that the bread that he has to offer is different from the bread that their ancestors ate in the desert. For the Jew, “bread from heaven” refers to the manna that fell from the heavens to nourish their forefathers during the time of their exodus from Egypt back to the Promised Land, that is, the land of Canaan. Although this bread nourished them during their journey, they all died. But Jesus is “the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” In making this bold proclamation, Jesus is declaring that he is divine and that he can offer something greater than what God gave the Jewish people through Moses, whom the people considered the greatest of all prophets. Jesus then makes an even bolder proclamation: “the bread that I will
give is my flesh for the life of the world.” This declaration is so difficult to accept that, in two weeks, we will hear the “Jews quarrel among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” and concluding, “this saying is hard; who can accept it?” In fact, “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” Jesus then turns to the Twelve and asks them, “Do you also want to leave?” Speaking for all twelve, Peter responds, “Master, you have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Our Lord’s declaration that he offers us his flesh to eat for eternal life remains the cornerstone of our faith. And yet, it is a very challenging truth to believe – so difficult, in fact, that most other Christian communities have rejected it. Instead, they consider their communion services to be mere remembrances of our Lord’s Last Supper. When we gather around our Lord’s Table, however, we participate in our Lord’s once-and-for-all sacrifice on the cross. And, like the Twelve, we profess our belief in Jesus as the Holy One of God and in the truth of his teachings as we follow his command to “take and eat of it for this is my body; take and drink for this is my blood.” These are, as Peter said so well, “the words of eternal life”! As we listen to these readings over these few Sundays, let us meditate on the powerful truths they teach us once again and reaffirm our faith in the real presence of God in the Eucharist and thank God for the gift that nourishes us to eternal life! That’s one of the most important reasons we come to celebrate the Eucharist in person. Just as we can’t enjoy a good steak virtually, we can’t receive our Lord virtually; we can only receive him in person. How blessed we are to be invited around the Table of our Lord!
ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
On Thursday, we will join with the universal Church in celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, into heaven. It is a Holy Day of Obligation and the principal feast day of the Blessed Mother, so I would like to offer you some reflections on it.
The commemoration of the death of Mary is known as the Assumption because of the tradition that, shortly after her death, Mary was raised up, body and soul, into heaven. In the Eastern Church, it is called the Dormition, or the “falling asleep”, because the Eastern Church does not speak of her death but of her falling asleep before being assumed. This tradition was already recorded in the sixth century; by the beginning of the 20th century, it was widespread. So, after consulting with the bishops around the world, Pope Pius XII formally declared the Assumption to be part of the authentic doctrine of the universal Church in 1950.
As you know, we derive our beliefs from both the Bible and Tradition. Although there is no Biblical reference to Mary’s assumption into heaven, there is a rich and varied tradition. Allow me to provide a summary of it; it is quite interesting!
Nothing certain is known about the day, year and manner of Mary’s death. Dates assigned for her death vary from three to 15 years after her son’s Ascension. Two cities claim to be the place of Mary’s Assumption: Jerusalem and Ephesus. The Church of the Dormition just outside the walls of Jerusalem, has a tomb where tradition dating back to the 6th century asserts Mary was interred. The House of Mary outside of Ephesus enjoys an even earlier tradition that claims that she lived there with St. John and was buried in a nearby cave. Popes have visited both sites (I had the privilege of celebrating Mass with Pope Benedict XVI when he visited the Ephesus House of Mary in November 2006) and have declared them both to be worthy pilgrimage sites. Historical references favor the Jerusalem site but the tradition that John took Mary to Ephesus is also strong. On the one hand, St. John of Damascus, an 8th century Doctor of the Church, wrote this about the Assumption.
St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.
On the other hand, in a letter sent in 431 by the members of the Council of Ephesus to the clergy of Constantinople we read that Nestorius “reached the city of Ephesus where John the Theologian and the Mother of God, the Holy Virgin, have their tombs“.
The origin of the feast that we will celebrate on Monday is also uncertain. It is more probably the anniversary of the dedication of some church than the actual anniversary of Our Lady’s death. Tradition has it that it originated at the time of the Council of Ephesus, or that St. Damasus introduced it in Rome, but there is no surviving evidence to support these traditions.