So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me. For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to
you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you
may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of
the world.”
Lectio Divina:
READ: Jesus continues His discourse on the bread of life. He now publicly
identifies Himself as the bread that came down from heaven. People began
to murmur having difficulty understanding the claims of Jesus. However, Jesus
continued and reinforced His claim as the bread that gives life to the world.
REFLECT: Bread is an important symbol in the consciousness of Israel. They recall
each time the wonderful bread that descended from heaven when they were
wondering in the desert and pining for the fleshpots of Egypt that they have left
behind. Also, on the eve of their going away from Egypt, they baked bread hastily
for the long journey ahead. It reminded them of God’s special care for them. And
here in front of them is Jesus claiming to be the bread coming down from heaven.
It is a shock for them. That is why some leave immediately. The enormity of Jesus’
claim is beyond their comprehension. And so, people who cannot grasp the truth
sometimes prefer to walk away rather than chew on it in time until comprehension
dawns. For sure, some mysteries last even beyond life time. But each time an
insight is drawn, it gets clearer as we progress along. What we do not know yet,
faith supplies. And so, believing in Jesus needs vigorous spiritual muscles that can
take the grind of spending a life time understanding the teachings of the Lord. The
lazy and the weak walk away. Those willing to be shaped by Jesus’ truth remains
despite of the long walk ahead to grasp the mystery.
RESPOND: How are we in the face of a mystery. Do we never bother to
understand them and prefer to cling to what we have no matter how small?
Perhaps we have to flex our spiritual resolve from time to time to spend moments
wrestling with the mystery of our faith. We can start a journey of understanding
a little bit deeper the articles of our faith as laid forth in the Apostles’ Creed. This
will be a wonderful adventure in the deepening of our understanding of faith.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021