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"I am the bread of life."
John 6:48
In today Gospel, Jesus taught us where we need to place our hearts.
Are we to emphasize in and search for things that are perishable or
things that is everlasting? Jesus reminded the people of the manna
which their ancestors demanded and ate in the desert immediately after
the Lord had liberated them out of Egypt. The Israelites grumbled and
complained at the first sign of hunger, and surprisingly they had
already forgotten that through God's very hands they were delivered.
They had forgotten that to the uprights and righteous, "the Lord will
not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage." Psalm 94:14
Out of love and mercy, the chosen people were liberated from slavery
into freedom. The Lord had destroyed and defeated the greatest armies
on earth. Before they could praise and acknowledge God's saving act,
however, they turned inward and put priority on things that are
perishable. They had misplaced their priority.
Today, however, Jesus is promising to give the whole world a bread
that needs no replenish: His Body. This Bread is given out of total
love and not in response to human's complains. This Bread is truly
coming down from heaven. Unlike our ancestors who ate the bread in the
desert and died, the bread which Jesus gave us, His Body, will sustain
us in an everlasting relationship with God.
Many of us had experienced at one time or another when we physically
went hungry for days. Those were the times when we felt anguished and
dispirited. During those time, we might even ask if God has abandoned
us. And yet there were also times while we felt the physically hungry,
we did also experience the feeling of brimming with love, grace and
peace. Although we must attend to the need for ourselves and our
family, our faith requires us to bear in mind that our God is the God
of love and mercy. The prophet Jeremiah told us that before we were
born, God has already knew us and consecrated us. (Jer. 1:5) Let us
not concentrate so much of our lives on the bread that can be
decomposed and perished, but direct our hearts and souls to the bread
that came down from heaven. Our priority is Jesus Christ.
Fr. Nick Hien Nguyen, SVD
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