LECTIONARY READINGS
First reading: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15
Responsorial psalm: Ps 77(78):3-4, 23-25, 54
Second reading: Ephesians 4:17, 20-24
Gospel: John 6:24-35
Link to readings
The liturgy for this Sunday builds on the theme of Eucharistic Communion that we began to explore last week in St John’s Gospel. Today, we are invited to be transformed by the Bread of Life, made flesh in Jesus, and present in the word of God.
The First Reading tells how the people of Israel were grumbling about the painful new life they were living in the desert. God heard their cry, and gave them all that they needed to survive. With the Psalmist, we celebrate how the Israelites were fed in the desert.
St Paul (Second Reading) nevertheless calls the Christian community in Ephesus to adopt a completely new way of life, with a more radical understanding of God’s loving providence. The true abundance of God’s love for us is not to be found by focusing on our material needs; instead, it is found in the goodness and holiness of the Gospel truth.
Ine the Gospel, Jesus challenges us: he doesn’t want followers who are just looking for material security and a guarantee of plenty of food to eat. Following Jesus requires a more radical response. Our true spiritual food isn’t manna from heaven; rather it is to be found in a personal encounter with the risen Christ, the Bread of Life and truth eternal.
As we pray with this week’s scripture, let us ask for a spirit of complete transformation and renewal in ourselves, and in our faith communities. May we have the grace to remain sustained by the life-giving word of God.
SECOND READING
Ephesians 4: 17, 20–24
I want to urge you in the name of the Lord, not to go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live. Now that is hardly the way you have learnt from Christ, unless you failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus. You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.
REFLECTION
I choose a time and a place away from possible distractions where I can allow myself to become still before the Lord. Adopting a prayerful posture, I ask for the grace to be present to the Lord in my time of prayer.
I slowly read through this letter to the Christians of Ephesus as often as I need. What words or phrases draw my attention as I begin to pray? Focusing on these same words, I notice any emotions that arise within me. Perhaps there is a part of me that dwells on a note of criticism in the text . . . while other parts of me hear words of encouragement and renewal? I try to remain open and curious about all that arises within me. I then spend a few moments sharing how I feel with the Lord.
Imagining that I am in the presence of my loving Lord, I reflect on my values and desires. I notice the way I am choosing to live my life now. Is there anything that I need to let go of in order to be drawn into a deeper relationship with God?
Am I ready or willing to accept a ‘spiritual revolution’? What would that revolution mean for me? What would I need to make this possible? Pondering on this, does it bring me a sense of joy, of freedom, or . . . what? Trusting in the acceptance and love of God, once again I share how I am feeling with the Lord.
As a way of drawing my prayer to a close, I imagine seeing the love and compassion of God flowing all around me, filling my being and transforming me with a warm and soothing presence. I allow it to draw me into a new sense of self, focused solely on God’s love and goodness.
GOSPEL
John 6: 24–35
When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. They said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent’. So they said, ‘What sign will you give us to show that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert: as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered: ‘I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to me will never be hungry; the one who believes in me will never thirst.’
REFLECTION
Following the example of Jesus, I go to my place of private prayer, and in the silence of my inner being, I bring myself consciously into the presence of our loving God. Reading the Gospel as many times as I need, I allow my spirit to be fed by God’s Holy word, the Bread of Life. Perhaps I imagine being part of the needy crowd approaching Jesus for yet another miracle.
I hear his responses, and I wonder what this could mean for me. Like the people in the crowd, is my relationship with God mostly transactional? Is it possible that God is inviting me into a deeper, richer relationship?
What would that be like? I wonder where do I experience the ‘Bread of Life’? I share my reflections with Jesus. When I feel ready, I pray ‘Our Father . . .’, imagining Jesus saying the prayer with me.
Courtesy of St Beuno’s Outreach in the Diocese of Wrexham, UK