Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 30, 2015)

Gospel:

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. —For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. 

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” 

He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. 

“From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Gospel Trivia:

Why so much fuss about whether one washes one's hands or not?  Washing one's hands before or after certain acts were parts of the Jewish rituals and laws.  Not doing so were serious violations.

Jesus criticized how the law has put barriers between God and humanity.  People, particularly the Pharisees and scribes, have reduced righteousness with God to simply following a set of rules.  Certainly, our faith is more than following laws, but building a relationship with our God.

What is being rejected is not the law, but the slavish attitude towards the letter of the law.  Moral uncleanness, according to Jesus, is not about the food or the ritual, but about the heart.

Do you love one another?  Do you forgive?  Do you care for your hungry neighbor by giving food to eat, or water to drink?

It is easier to wash one's hands than to wash one's heart.

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), pp. 58-59.

John 6:60-69 (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 23, 2015)

Gospel:

Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” 

As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Gospel Trivia:

The teaching referred to as "being hard" is the previous verses just before this Gospel passage, specifically, John 6:46-51, where Jesus says "I am the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die."

Really?  Eat Jesus as bread?  Isn't this saying "hard to accept", even scandalous?  

In Hebrew language, the body/flesh and blood represents the entire person so that the meaning of eating Jesus’ body and blood is to have a personal communion and encounter with Jesus.  

When we receive Jesus who is present in the Eucharistic host, then we encounter him in a personal way.  

We become who we eat.  We become like Jesus to others.  We just don't do good, but we do good with Jesus' level of goodness as our standard.

This is radical teaching. This is why "many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him."  But some of them stayed.

Reference:


- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 104-107.

John 6:51-58 (20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 16, 2015)

Gospel:

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” 

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Gospel Trivia:

Imagine we were among the audience of Jesus in the gospel. We would wonder whether Jesus is speaking symbolically or literally. Just observe the many times he repeats the references to his flesh to be eaten and blood to be drank:

- Verse 51 – The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.
- Verse 53 – Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
- Verse 54 – Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life
- Verse 55 – For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
- Verse 56 – Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me
- Verse 57 – … the one who feeds on me will have life…

Having repeated himself so many times, Jesus insists that indeed what he is saying is to be taken literally.

Unlike the other three gospels, the gospel of John does not have a Eucharistic meal during the Last Supper. Instead, John presents the washing of the feet. 

John tells us that Jesus did not come simply to satisfy earthly hunger, but to provide life without any kind of hunger. For John, Jesus provides this by feeding his disciples with his Eucharistic flesh and blood.

In Hebrew language, the body/flesh and blood represents the entire person so that the meaning of eating Jesus’ body and blood is to have a personal communion and encounter with Jesus. When we receive Jesus who is present in the Eucharistic host, then we encounter him in a personal way. 

John says, “we remain or abide in Jesus, and Jesus remains or abide in us.” This is a unique expression found only in John. In a few simple words, John is able to express something unique in the whole of creation, namely, two beings (Jesus and us) achieve the closest possible union without either losing our distinct personality. 

While remaining human, we become like Jesus, who remains divine.

Why did John write his Last Supper account different from the other evangelists?

During the early Christian communities, there was doubt on the presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic bread and wine. Jesus’ real presence in the bread and wine is not in the physical sense, since the bread and wine maintain their taste, look and other physical similarities. 

John’s audience included those who considered Jesus as divine, but that his human body was simply a disguise, (then known as the Docetist heretics). Hence, John presents Jesus as insisting that his “flesh is true food and his blood as true drink.” s?

Something to think about:

Nutritionists say that “we become what we eat.” If we partake of Jesus in holy communion, then we should become who we eat, Jesus.

Reference:

Nil Guillmette, SJ, Hungry No More, Manila: St. Paul’s Publications, 1989, 100

John 6:41-51 Bread of Life for Wayfarers (19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 9, 2015)

Gospel:

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 

Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Gospel Trivia:


This passage can be considered as the "keynote of John's gospel."*

It presents Jesus as the most intimate and personal mediator between the Father and humanity -- the Father speaks and teaches through Jesus, and it is faith in Jesus that enables one to know and learn from the Father.

The "murmuring" refers to the Jews' doubt and lack of faith, just like in the Old Testament when the they doubted Moses during certain challenges in their journey through the desert: "The people grumbled [murmured] against Moses, saying, 'What are we to drink?'" (Exodus 15:24)

They doubted because they knew the origins of Jesus ("the son of Joseph"), and it was the general belief at that time that the Messiah will appear suddenly.

John, the evangelist, clearly draws the line, and this is his keynote message:

- God does not speak to man directly (this is perhaps to counter other preachers claiming to speak in behalf of God); but only through Jesus who has the most intimate and most personal relationship with the Father.

- The way to God is through Jesus, and faith in him is required.

- Jesus is the "bread of life."  If one has faith in him, then you can overcome both physical and spiritual death.

When you receive Jesus, the bread of life, in the Eucharist, such an act does not automatically transform you, but it is an expectation for you to become who you partake.

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 90-93.


*J.H. Bernard, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John.

John 6:24-35 Jesus the Bread of Life (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 2, 2015)

Gospel:

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.”

Gospel Trivia:

This account connects two themes: faith and Jesus as the bread of life.

Faith:

Jesus distinguishes between seeing physically (seeing signs and being filled with bread) and seeing spiritually (believing in Jesus).

To do so entails "working for food of eternal life" which refers to faith.  But not just faith as a one time act, but a life of faith, which refers to a total commitment of one's life when following Jesus' teachings and way of life.

Jesus as Bread of Life:

Jesus distinguishes the bread of eternal life from the manna in the desert:

- manna was given by God, and Moses was only an intermediary

- this manna is not the real bread; the real bread is the teachings of Jesus

- Jesus is the only real bread.

Thus, Jesus proclaims "I am the bread of life."  The expression "I am" is inspired from the Old Testament expressions used by Yahweh himself, as in, I the Lord your God.

In other parts of John's gospel, Jesus also proclaims that he is the "light of the world," "door of the sheep pen," "good shepherd," "resurrection and life," "way, truth and life," and "true vine."

When we receive the Eucharist, we proclaim not only our faith in Jesus, but a total commitment of our life to his teachings and way of life.

Reference:


- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 83-87.