18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

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.”

Jn 6:24-35

Last Sunday we switched from the Gospel of Mark (the Gospel for Year B) to the Gospel of John Chapter 6. We continue today the reading from John Chapter 6.

The people look for Jesus in Capernaum. Jesus frankly tells them that they were looking for him NOT because they understood the meaning of the multiplication of the bread but because they wanted to see another miracle or they wanted to get free bread again. Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them. “Do not work for bread that perishes (naluluma at inaamag). Instead work for food that does not go stale (di naluluma, di inaamag) and that can give you eternal life. This I, the Son of Man, can give you.”

They reply, ““What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” What they mean is: “How can we get our hands on this special bread you are talking about?”

Jesus answers, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” Believing in Jesus does not only mean accepting what Jesus says as true. It means taking the side of Jesus. In the present INC crisis, to believe in Ka Tenny and Ka Angel means to take their side against the Sanggunian of the INC. And that was what the INC minister in California did.

The people respond: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert.” If I were Jesus, I would say, “Hello! And what do you think I did on the other side of the Lake. Did I not perform a sign? Did I not feed more than 5,000 people with bread and fish?” Instead, Jesus corrects them by saying that it was not Moses who gave them manna but his Father in heaven. He makes a second correction. That manna is only a symbol of the bread that his Father is going to give to them today.

When the people said: “Give us this bread always”, they wanted Jesus to be their supplier of this special bread that does not go stale. They were still thinking of earthly, physical bread!

Finally, Jesus makes the final correction to their mistaken belief by declaring that the bread he was talking about all along was he himself. “I am the bread of life.” And therefore, to eat the bread of life is to have faith in Jesus, to take the side of Jesus (isugal ang buhay at kapalaran sa pagpili kay Jesus).

And by doing so, one receives life from Jesus.

17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 

Jn 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.

It is a lake. The water is sweet. Also called: Sea of Tiberias, Lake Galilee, and Lake of Genesareth.

A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.

Many years ago many people went to Agoo where it was said that the Blessed Mother appeared to a 16 yr old boy named Judiel Nieva. Priests even accompanied pilgrims. There was a Saturday that the number of people who went there were so many that there was a traffic jam along the highway going back to Manila. Parishes were calling Don Bosco for a priest to celebrate Mass because their own priests were stuck in that traffic!

Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.

This reminds us of Moses going up the mountain. Jesus sat down because rabbis sat down when they teach.

The Jewish feast of Passover was near.

The Passover was a memorial to the Exodus, the liberation of the Jews from the slavery of Egypt.

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

Bread made from barley is the bread of the poor. Wheat is the usually used for bread.

So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.

This number does not include women and children.

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining.

The verbs are important: took, gave thanks and distributed. They are associated with the Last Supper institution of the Eucharist. This already gives us a hint that John chapter 6 will speak about the Eucharist, about Jesus, the Bread of Life.

“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves.

First, this miracle of the multiplication of the bread reminds us of the manna in the desert. Manna was the bread provided by God when the people of Israel was wandering the in the desert for 40 years. It stopped when Israel finally entered the Promised Land.

Second, take note that Jesus doesn’t want food to be wasted.

When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”

The gospel of John does not use the word “miracle”. He used the word “sign” because the miracles that Jesus performed contained a message. In fact, Jesus would often talk about the message after performing the miracle or sign. In this chapter (Chapter 6), Jesus will talk about the Eucharist and about himself as the Bread of Life. The gospel for the following Sundays will be portions of John Chapter 6.

The people identify him as THE Prophet not just A prophet. In the OT Moses said that God would send a prophet like him. By calling Jesus the Prophet, they understood that Jesus was the one Moses was speaking of.

Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Jesus escaped because he didn’t want them to make him king. Of course, Jesus was a king. In fact, we celebrate Christ the King. But Jesus was not the kind of king the people had in mind. The people wanted him to a warrior king who would liberate the Holy Land from the Romans.

16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Mk 6:30-34

IN PROCESS

15th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two.

Mk 6:7-13

POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION

Twelve Apostles

Twelve because they remind us of the 12 Tribes of Israel. They form the People of God in the OT. In the NT the 12 Apostles will be the instrument of Jesus to form the New People of God. If the Jews had accepted Jesus, there would have been no need to form the New People of God.

Apostles mean sent. They were sent on a mission under the authority of Jesus. Did God send Mananalo on a mission? Or did he send himself? Did God send Soriano on a mission? Or did he send himself? The same question is true of Villanueva, Quiboloy etc.

Why walking stick and sandals? Why no food, no sack, no money?

Because like Jesus they have to move from place to place to proclaim the good news. They will have to travel light. They will rely on the hospitality of the people.

The worker deserves his pay. Christian community must support their pastors.

"Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.” 

If people will not accept the Good News, don't waste your time on them. Go to other towns who did not yet have the Good News preached to them.

When Jews from the diaspora returns to the Promised Land for a pilgrimaget to Jerusalem, They would shake the dust off their sandals. It was a sign of the separation of the unclean from the holy. So if a town refuses to have faith, then they are cut off from salvation.

They anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

This is not only for those who are about to die. This is for those who have serious illness or who will undergo a delicate surgery. How do you know that the illness is serious or that the surgery is delicate?
Ask the doctor. 

Before surgery for aneurism, a friend of ours requested and was given the anointing.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two to preach repentance.

What does it mean to repent? The lyrics of the song "Anak" describes beautifully what repentance is.

At ang una mong nilapitan
Ang iyong inang lumuluha
At ang tanong,"anak, ba't ka nagkaganyan"
At ang iyong mga mata'y biglang lumuha ng di mo napapansin
Nagsisisi at sa isip mo'y
Nalaman mong ika'y nagkamali.

It is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) that God celebrates the coming home and the welcoming of the repentant sinner.