OPENING PRAYER

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Heavenly Father, there are some things we don’t really understand and the answers in the scriptures are difficult to hear. When we are asked to consume your body and blood, we struggle to understand. Only through your Holy Spirit can we understand this spiritual mystery. Please send your Spirit to touch our hearts and inform our understanding. We ask this in the name  of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 25, 2024

Psalm 34:15-22  (NIV)

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;  but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;  he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.  Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.  Amen.

The Gospel:  John 6:56-69

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”  He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.  On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”  Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?  Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!  The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.  Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.  He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

MEDITATION

What Jesus Meant When He Said, “You Must Eat My Flesh”

( By Jon Bloom – Desiring God, June 2008)

The day before, Jesus had fed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish. Then that night he walked miles

across the Sea of Galilee before catching up with his disciples in their boat. The crowd had seen him send his disciples away in the only boat available. So the next day, when they found him in Capernaum, they knew he could have only got there miraculously. They wanted him to be their king. Then he went and ruined everything. To his adoring fans Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:26–27)

Confused, they asked him how they could work to please God. He replied, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29). (God isn’t looking for workers. He’s looking

for believers.) Jesus was a hero to the crowd because he had fed them. But Jesus discerned something very wrong about their enthusiasm. They wanted more “bread from heaven” (John 6:32).

More Than Bread

But wanting the blessings Jesus provides is not the same thing as believing in him. Indeed,  Jesus had

come to give them bread from heaven. But not that kind of bread. So, to test them, he began to make statements that sounded very strange. He told them that he was the true bread from heaven that gives life to the world, and whoever eats this bread would live forever.  “Jesus had come to give them bread from heaven. But not the kind of bread they were looking for.”  Then he said, “And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). This sounded like cannibalism. His listeners balked. He pressed it even further:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” (John 6:53–55)

The “Jesus for King” campaign evaporated. The people walked away, shaking their heads. The crazy man wants us to eat his flesh! They completely misunderstood what Jesus was saying.  So what did he mean? Here are the clues:

How do you labor for the food that endures to eternal life? Believe in me! (John 6:27, 29)

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me [in faith] shall not hunger, and whoever believes in

me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should

have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” (John 6:47)

Eating Is Believing

For Jesus, eating is believing; drinking is believing. He promises eternal life to those who believe in him. Believe what?  Believe that his death — the breaking of his body and spilling of his blood — pays in full the penalty for our sin, and that his perfect righteousness is freely given to us in exchange for our unrighteousness.  Believing this is how we “eat” Jesus’s flesh and “drink” his blood. This is why he instituted the Lord’s Supper: he did not want us to forget the very core of what we believe.  When the crowd took offense at his gruesome talk, Jesus exposed their unbelief: “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe” (John 6:63–64).  Let’s you and I be like Peter. He didn’t walk away, but instead said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68–69).

CHRISTIAN POEM

The Body and Blood of Christ
(J. Janda , June 2, 2024)

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

Covenant

My child

I know it is difficult to love

I know it is difficult to suffer

but look

I am taking away your heart

and in its place

I am putting my heart

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come,

thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine

is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen

BLESSING

Beloved of God,
Go now in peace, filled with the Bread of Heaven
Go now in power, filled with the Holy Spirit
Go now to love and serve as Christ. Amen.

 

Respectfully submitted by Lori Toro

Verger, Chaplain Corp, OTJ

Translation assistance by Archbishop Raul E. Toro, Jr

Chaplain Corp, OTJ