Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

(08/23/2026) Gospel Reading: John 6:44-51

“If Anyone Eats of This Bread, He Will Live for Ever”

 

You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

 

From the desk of Fr. Leo

     We are constantly being told our government is doing a great job of protecting us and we can only assume they are doing the best they can, but can we depend totally on the government? When was the last time we actually asked God to help our country? You might say a hacker for example breaking into a department of Homeland Security phone system and charging $12,000 in long distance phone calls is just a small thing, and maybe it is, but wars have been won and lost over seemingly small things.  We can say all this, not with the intent of frightening people but reminding all of us we need to constantly pray.

     There are two important ideas in this weekend’s gospel. First of all, there are many places in the Scriptures that emphasize the preeminent position of St. Peter among the apostles, but there are two places where St. Peter's position of leadership is spelled out more clearly than anywhere else. The one is in St. John's where Jesus tells S. Peter after the resurrection: “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” Also, in Scripture where St. Peter's position of importance is clearly emphasized is in this weekend's Gospel. Such insistence on the position of St. Peter vis a vis the other apostles is what underlies our belief that after Christ, the Holy Father is chief shepherd and head of the Church. This doesn't mean he has perfectly represented Christ at all times in history, but that is still the position he holds. He has the final word on any issues relating to the Church. The keys Jesus said He would give St. Peter symbolize this authority. The keys Jesus gave to St. Peter were not buried with Him and that position of authority did not end when St. Peter died. It was passed on to his successors. This is implied in the gospel St. Matthew wrote. St. Matthew made a big issue of this incident, not to tell us about some personal favor Jesus bestowed on St. Peter, but because the leadership position of St. Peter would remain as part of the structure of Christ's community of believers.

     A second important idea in this weekend's gospel is the answer to the question Jesus asked His apostles. “Who do you say that I am?” How we answer this question will determine how each of us relate to Him. Is He, for example, someone worth our time on Sunday or even during the week? Is He someone we can trust? Is He someone who loves us, forgives us, wants only the best for us? Is He someone who has the authority to tell us how to live, what we should do, what we may not do. Is He someone we look forward to spending eternity with? Can any of us give a complete and perfect answer to that question “Who do you say that I am.”? If we do not know Jesus personally, what can we do that will help us know Him, not just by hearsay, but in a deeply personal way? How we do it is how we get to know anyone in a personal way. By spending time with a person. There are no shortcuts. Spending time with God, with Jesus. It is called prayer.

Meditation: God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it. What is the bread of life which Jesus offers? It is first of all the life of God himself - life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness have no part in the life to come. In the Book of Numbers it is recorded that the people who refused to brave the dangers of the promised land were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they died. The Rabbis believed that the father who missed the promised land also missed the life to come. God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from heaven. This bread foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.

Jesus is the "bread of life"

Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The manna from heaven prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist or Lord's Supper which Jesus gave to his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice. The manna in the wilderness sustained the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. It could not produce eternal life for the Israelites. The bread which Jesus offers his disciples sustains us not only on our journey to the heavenly paradise, it gives us the abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us for all eternity.

The food that makes us live forever

When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.

Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?

Jesus offers us the abundant supernatural life of heaven itself - but we can miss it or even refuse it. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist or Lord's Supper is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?

Lord Jesus, you are the living bread which sustains me in this life. May I always hunger for the bread which comes from heaven and find in it the nourishment and strength I need to love and serve you wholeheartedly. May I always live in the joy, peace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and in the age to come.

read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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