Bishop reflects on Gospel of St. John

Homily 5: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 21, 2003

This is our final Sunday in reading chapter six of the Gospel of Saint John. We might call the verses today the epilogue and reaction to the strong words of Jesus about himself as the Bread of Life. We remember that the entire episode begins with the multiplication of bread to feed a hungry crowd.

The miracle is misunderstood by the crowds who try to see in it the beginnings of some political messiah-figure or the source for rebellion against the Roman political authorities. The Lord Jesus, in his sermon that follows, throws a "cold-shower" on all such interpretations and deepens further the meaning of his coming as the "Word Made Flesh," a coming among us that leads to the cross as the event of our salvation and the continuing vitality of the cross in the partaking of his Body and Blood, real food and real drink.

Many in the crowd, even some disciples, on hearing the full force of Jesus' words, become disillusioned and cannot abide his teaching. They walk away. But Jesus does not back down. Instead he throws out the greatest challenge of all: that the Spirit gives life and causes one to come in faith to him. Thinking in normal human terms, in a "fleshly" manner, will profit nothing! Jesus turns to the 12 and asks them if they too will walk away.

In a remarkable scene, the leader of the 12, Peter, speaks for them all in words that are as clear as they are courageous and reveal the action of God the Father in the depths of Peter's heart. "Lord, to whom shall we go. You have the words of everlasting life."

Thus, the scene of the Bread of Life ends on a note of decision about the Lord Jesus, a note of sadness on those who freely decide to reject Christ as Incarnate Lord who has the power to give us the Bread of Life, and a note of prominence and primacy to the leader of the 12, Peter!

Let us look a bit at the words of the Holy Father, in his recent encyclical on the Eucharist and the church, and what he says about the Eucharist as being "apostolic." The pope states that the church is founded upon the apostles and that there are three meanings in this expression.

First, the church remains built on the foundation of the apostles, the privileged witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself. Jesus entrusted the Eucharist to the apostles and it has been handed down to us by them and their successors.

Secondly, the church is apostolic because, with the help pf the Holy Spirit, the church keeps and hands on the teaching, the "good deposit" and life saving words heard from the apostles. The Eucharist is celebrated in conformity with their faith. In the church's history, to keep Eucharistic faith alive and clear, the church's teaching office has more precisely defined the doctrine of the Eucharist, including proper terminology!

Thirdly, the church is apostolic in continuing to be taught, sanctified and guided by the apostles until Christ returns. This happens through the pastoral office of the Successor of Saint Peter, the Church's supreme Pastor, and the college of bishops. The Eucharist is apostolic also insofar as a bishop or validly ordained priest in communion with the bishop is necessary for its celebration. The priest acts in the person of Christ the head in presiding at the Eucharist. He is sent to a local community by the bishop in order to emphasize the transcendence of the Eucharist and its character as a "gift."

We must pray that priests keep the Holy Eucharist as the very center of their personal holiness, their pastoral ministry and their priestly lives. The Holy Father makes clear that we must pray for priestly vocations and beg the Lord for more laborers for the harvest. In our own diocese, most parishes have at least a monthly Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament to pray for priestly vocations. May this practice thrive in our midst.

The Eucharist is a summons to a decision about ourselves, about faith in Christ Jesus, and about the living tradition of our Catholic Church, built on the Apostles. May we never grow lukewarm or glib about the gift of the Eucharist, but be decisive about its central importance to our lives. With the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, great theologian and poet of the Eucharist, let us pray:

"Come, then, Good Shepherd, bread divine, Still show to us thy mercy sign; Oh, feed us, still keep us thine; So we may see thy glories shine in the pastures of immortality. O Thou, the wisest, mightiest, best, Come, make us each thy chosen guest, Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest With saints whose dwelling is with thee.