"For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (Jn 6:33)
READING OF THE DAY
First reading from the Book of Exodus
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."
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John
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."
SUNDAY OF THE EIGHTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Jn 6:24-35
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
In today's Word of God, God the Father teaches His children to seek happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven. Eternal life and happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven are the goals humans need to achieve.
From the very beginning, God the Father created the entire universe and created mankind. He wanted humans to be with God the Father, to be happy with Him. But because humans committed sins that displeased God the Father, humans had to suffer the consequences and endure the temptations of Satan. But God the Father could not bear to abandon humans because of His boundless love and mercy. God the Father continues to love, accompany, and care for humanity through the very renunciation and sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ, to the point of being willing to die on the Cross. Jesus came to the world and lived with humanity, but before He came to the world, and lived with humanity in His true form, He loved, cared for, and protected humanity through the prophets of God the Father.
God the Father teaches humanity in many ways: through trials, through purification, through suffering to see whether people are still faithful and love God the Father or not, to see whether people will give up and repent of their sins and ask God the Father to forgive them. Like the image of the Israelites in the desert, He let events, disasters, and calamities happen to the people. This was to test whether they truly loved and worshipped God the Father as promised to Him or not. But mankind is still weak, continually complaining and blaming God, and still stubbornly following the satisfaction of the body. They are worried and absorbed in seeking wealth, pleasure, food, and drink, all the material things of this world that they forget to carry out their path and promises made to God the Father, which is to be faithful and worship Him. But God's love and mercy has always forgiven the weaknesses and sins of mankind when people know how to repent and return to God the Father. God the Father calls on people in today's world not to fall into the sinful paths, and the tempting schemes of Satan anymore, to abandon them and believe in the power, love, and strength of God, to believe in the Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Run to Him because He is the true God, but He came to mankind and lived like any other human being. God's mercy will spread to those who believe in God's promise that He will reward the Kingdom of Heaven, when they worry about getting rich before God the Father, through professing in the Only Son of God the Father who sacrificed Himself, died and was resurrected to save humanity. It is through this sacrifice that Satan's death is dispelled, bringing life to humanity.
God the Father does not want people to fall into Satan's traps of caring for the body without caring for the soul, without worrying about seeking the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the Word of God today, Jesus Christ invites people to worry about seeking the Kingdom of Heaven, to worry about nourishing their souls through receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through a life of love, by fearing God who is the absolute power, by obeying the will of God the Father. As Jesus Christ loved humanity and practiced the path of justice and charity, people should follow His example and do the same. Jesus Christ is the absolute example that people need to follow.
These are all the things that God the Father teaches, so that people can hold close to the Word of God the Father and put it into practice, that is, to seek the Kingdom of Heaven, to practice justice and charity; to trust absolutely in the Word of Jesus Christ's promise, to believe in the Word of the Only Son of God the Father who came to earth to become a human, sacrificed Himself, died and was resurrected to save all mankind. So that mankind can repent, recognize their sins, and return to God the Father. This is also the greatest grace of mankind in the era of the Holy Spirit. He comes to sanctify and re-establish the order of this world according to what Jesus Christ has announced.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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