Catholic Identity

Creator God, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, as we walk together on your path of love, hope and faith.

Thank you for the gifts of our school, 

our environment, our families and friends.

May our school be a place of learning, care, welcome and celebration.

Mary our Mother, pray for us.

St Mary of the Cross, pray for us. 

Amen

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Yr B                                                                          4th August 2024

In John 6:24-35, Jesus addresses a crowd that seeks Him out after the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. He challenges them to look beyond the physical bread they received and to seek the "bread of life," which He offers. Jesus declares, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

This discourse echoes the story in Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, where the Israelites grumble in the wilderness for food, and God provides manna from heaven. The manna in the wilderness was a temporary provision to meet their physical needs. However, Jesus presents Himself as the ultimate provision, fulfilling a deeper spiritual hunger that transcends the physical.

In Exodus, the Israelites' grumbling and God's response highlight their dependency and God's faithfulness. Despite their complaints, God graciously provides. Similarly, the crowd in John seeks Jesus for more miracles, yet He directs them towards a greater truth. The manna was a foreshadowing of Jesus, the true bread from heaven, offering eternal life.

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 complements this understanding by calling believers to a transformation in Christ. Paul urges the Ephesians to abandon their old way of life and to be renewed in the spirit of their minds. This renewal involves putting on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Just as Jesus offers the bread of life to nourish our spiritual being, Paul emphasizes the need for inner transformation and growth in Christ.

Connecting these passages, we see a journey from physical provision to spiritual fulfillment and transformation. The manna in the wilderness provided for temporary physical needs, but Jesus, the bread of life, offers eternal satisfaction. As believers, embracing this truth calls for a renewal of our minds and lives, moving from a focus on temporal needs to a deeper relationship with Christ and living out His righteousness and holiness.

Some thoughts on this scripture

Reflection

Jesus is bluntly honest with the people he had fed the previous day. He knows they came looking for him because they had eaten their fill of bread. Why do I look for Jesus? Is it out of love or for what I can get?

The truth can be uncomfortable and make us defensive and even cynical. Or it can make us stop, look, reflect and change. 

Lord, give me the humility to follow the truth always, because it alone ‘will make me free’      (John 8:32).    

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Feast Day

                       8th August