31 July 2022: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time C

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ec 1:2; 2:21-23	Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17	Col 3:1-5, 9-11	Lk 12:13-21
RCL: Ec 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23		RCL: Col 3:1-11

Discipleship: life rather than possessions

During Ordinary time the Lectionary presents stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings focus on the relationships between life and possessions; gifts and false security.

First reading (Ec 1:2; 2:21-23)

The first reading is from the book of Ecclesiastes (from its Greek name) or Qoheleth (from its Hebrew name), written by an unknown author between 300 and 250 BC. The author adopts the persona of a philosopher who opposes traditional Wisdom writings. Qoheleth believes that while human wisdom can help one live a good life, such practical wisdom alone cannot give meaning to human life. In today’s pericope, the author sets out his view of human life (“All things are vanity/futile/insubstantial”). To show his point, the author describes someone who crafts a life carefully (“labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill”), but his acquired possessions pass to another “another who has not labored.” Later in Ecclesiastes (Ec 12:13-14) the author provides an antidote to human wisdom: look to God and God’s word for true wisdom and meaning. The Lectionary editors chose this reading to echo the gospel parable about the conflict between insubstantial human planning and God’s boundless gifts.

Second reading (Col 3:1-5, 9-11)

The second reading is the fourth and final semi-continuous reading from the letter to the Colossae ekklesia. An unknown author writing in Paul’s name sent this letter between 70 and 80 AD to refute and to correct “false teachers,” who emphasized aesthetic practices and visionary experiences. In today’s pericope, the author urges the Colossians to live up to their calling. In baptism they were “were raised with Christ” and therefore should seek and think of “what is above.” Continuing the baptismal imagery, he tells them to “put to death” earthly desires that damage the believing community. In baptism’s ritual, they have literally “taken off” their old clothing to wash in baptism’s waters, and then “put on” the new, white baptismal clothes, which represent the “new self.” Baptism changes them physically and spiritually; the believing community is no longer divided into in-groups and out-groups, but united in Christ, who “is all and in all.” The Lectionary editors chose this reading to conclude Ordinary time’s semi-continuous reading from Colossians.

Gospel (Lk 12:13-21)

Luke’s gospel recounts another story as Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. In today’s pericope, a man asks Jesus to intervene in a family dispute about inheritance, which leads Jesus to warn disciples about seeking more possessions. Jesus then tells a parable about life, possessions, and false security.

• A warning about confusing God’s gifts and temporary possessions. To humans in the ancient world (and today) life seems fragile. Humans compensate for life’s fragility by acquiring more money or things, which seem to provide security and more options. Jesus draws a clear distinction between life, which is a gift from God, and possessions, which can make life easier but cannot extend human life. To emphasize the difference between life and possessions, Jesus tells a parable that invites his hearers to think about gifts, ownership, and stewardship.
• A parable about control and false security. The man in the parable is rich because he had a bountiful harvest. The harvest is not a result the man’s actions; bounty is God’s gift. The man in the parable is a fool because he thinks the harvest secures his life for “many years to come.” The harvest has nothing to do with his life. When God calls in the loan (or gift) of the man’s life, the man’s harvest provides no security; his life ends and his possessions are scattered to others. Life is God’s gift, and is outside human control.

Summary and reflection

This week’s readings ask us to think about the life that makes us rich and the things we are storing up. The Ecclesiastes author critiques human wisdom and finds it futile without the meaning that God provides. The Colossians author marks baptism as the turning point at which a disciple chooses and becomes a new and different person, in and through Christ. Jesus challenges his hearers to recognize the difference between God’s gifts, which are beyond human control, and possessions, which are temporary tools without consequence.

Sometimes we treat life as a private possession and our possessions as a measure of life. What do we labor over and spend our lives doing? Are we seeking what is from above, or are we busy collecting what is earthly? Do we accept our lives as God’s gifts, and give away our bounty to become rich in what matters to God?

—Terence Sherlock

1 August 2021: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time B

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 16:2-4, 12-15	Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54	Eph 4:17, 20-24	Jn 6:24-35
RCL: Ex 16:2-4, 9-15		RCL: Eph 4:1-16

Bread of life: coming down from heaven

During Ordinary time the Lectionary presents stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings focus on the bread coming down from heaven.

First reading (Ex 16:2-4, 12-15)

The first reading is from Exodus, the second book of Torah. Today’s pericope is the story how God feeds the complaining Israelites in the wilderness. Bread and meat are the Hebrew staples; God provides both (“manna” and “quail”). The idea that the Israelites might starve (“die of famine”) is understandable. In Egypt, their masters provided meals for the Hebrew slaves; in the wilderness, the liberated slaves must fend for themselves. God rains down “bread from heaven” to feed the people, a sign of God’s care and concern. The Hebrew phrase man hu (מָן הוּא), or manna, means “what is it?” Later Jewish thought connected God giving food in the wilderness with God giving Torah in the wilderness; Torah becomes God’s life-giving spiritual food and God’s very presence. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because this “bread coming down from heaven” is the context of today’s gospel.

Second reading (Eph 4:17, 20-24)

The second reading is from the semi-continuous reading from the letter to the Ephesus ekklesia. In today’s pericope, the author sets out his two goals: to reject the non-believers’ way of life (“no longer live as gentiles do”) and to encourage unity among believers through common ethical virtues (“put on the new self”). Here the author uses “gentiles” to identify all those outside the believing community. The “futility of their minds” suggests people who are completely turned away from and turned against God (see Rm 1:21). The author contrasts this outside group with believers who have experienced metanoia, a change of mind/heart, and who have turned toward God. “Taking off” and “putting on” are baptismal images: the baptismal elect removed their old clothes, were submerged in the baptismal waters, and then put on new, white garments to complete their initiation. The author uses this liturgical image to show how a physical change (clothing) also indicates a spiritual change (“renewed,” “new self”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading as part of Ordinary time’s semi-continuous reading from Ephesians.

Gospel (Jn 6:24-35)

John’s gospel continues the story of Jesus feeding five thousand (Jn 6:1-71). Today’s pericope, from Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse, explains and interprets Jesus’ sign. Jesus uses the crowd’s misunderstanding to reveal his identity and mission.

• What sign can you do? Jesus’ feeding sign when “Passover was near” recalls Israel’s wilderness experience. The wilderness wanderings connect Moses, God’s gift of manna (“the bread from heaven”), and God’s giving of Torah, God’s never-failing nourishment and presence. Because Jesus claims to be greater than Moses (“on [the Son of Man] God has set his seal”), the crowd wants Jesus to “do a sign” greater than both manna from heaven and God’s life-giving presence in Torah. Jesus answers that he is the-one-coming-down from heaven; he is God’s very presence come down; he gives life not just to Israel (as Torah did), but to the whole world.
• Give us the physical bread over and over. The crowd continues to misunderstand Jesus’ teaching about his feeding sign. They ask that Jesus give them the same physical bread from heaven” again and again.” The Greek adverb πάντοτε/pántote means an “ongoing giving,” a continual repetition of the same action.
• I am the bread of life. Correcting the crowd’s confusion, Jesus states plainly that he is the bread of life. Jesus gives himself as a food (manna) and is God’s presence (Torah) that produces eternal life for all who believe. To feed on God’s wisdom or Torah means to take it in, to learn from it, and to allow it to transform (metanoia) one’s life.

Summary and reflection

This week’s readings ask us to think about the meaning of food from heaven. In Exodus, Moses asks God to give the Israelites food in the wilderness, and interprets its meaning. The Ephesians author contrasts believers who have experienced the metanoia of turning toward God with those who have rejected the good news and who have turned away from God. John shows how Jesus’ feeding sign reveals Jesus as the one coming down from heaven to reveal God, to be God’s presence to all, and to give eternal life to all who believe. How do we experience and live the sign of God’s care, presence, and life? Do we murmur about the things we give up (time, money, behaviors) to be counted as a church-going Christian? Have we fully experienced the metanoia that turns us toward God and away from relationships and things that don’t serve God? Do we keep asking God for the same sign over and over, failing to recognize the greater truth of God’s life and presence hidden in plain sight?

—Terence Sherlock

18 July 2021: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary time B

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Jer 23:1-6	Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6	Eph 2:13-18	Mk 6:30-34
		RCL: Eph 2:11-22	RCL: Mk 6:30-34, 53-56

Discipleship: action, reflection, compassion

During Ordinary time the Lectionary presents stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings focus on good practices for shepherds and disciples.

First reading (Jer 23:1-6)

The first reading is from the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied in Judah (the southern kingdom) as Babylon was coming to power. In today’s pericope, Jeremiah criticizes the Jewish leaders (specifically king Zedekiah) for their poor care of the Jewish people (“woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock”). The leaders’ behavior (“evil deeds”), such as worshiping foreign gods and provoking the Babylonian empire, will result in the Babylonian exile. God, the true shepherd, promises to return the people from exile (“I myself will gather the remnant”) and “appoint” good shepherds from David’s line (“a righteous shoot to David”). This future shepherd’s name (“the Lord our justice”) is an ironic wordplay on king Zedekiah, whose name means “the Lord is justice.” Unlike Zedekiah, the future king will be true to his name. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the image as God as true and caring shepherd is echoed in the words and actions of Jesus in today’s gospel.

Second reading (Eph 2:13-18)

The second reading is from the semi-continuous reading from the letter to the Ephesus ekklesia. In this pericope, the Ephesians author contrasts the division that existed before Christ’s saving act with the unity that now prevails in the believing community. Gentiles (“you who were once far off”) have been incorporated into God’s people (“have become near”) through Christ’s saving death (“blood”). Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians now have equal standing before God (“made both one”). The Law’s rules about Temple worship and meal-sharing separated Jews from gentiles. Through his transformative death and resurrection, Christ “broke down the dividing wall” of the Law; his saving action (“through the cross”) reconciles Jews and gentiles (“both”) with God. Both gentile Christians and Jewish Christians have equal “access to the Father” through the “one Spirit.” Access is a liturgical term that describes “approaching God in worship.” The Lectionary editors chose this reading as part of Ordinary time’s semi-continuous reading from Ephesians.

Gospel (Mk 6:30-34)

In Mark’s gospel, the apostles (“the sent ones”) return and report to Jesus “all they had done and taught.” The crowd interrupts the disciples’ ongoing formation and elicits Jesus’ compassion, which becomes another teaching moment for the disciples.

• Discipleship training, interrupted. Last week, Jesus sent the Twelve to preach and to heal. Today they return and report their results. Jesus invites his disciples to refresh themselves with him in the wilderness. In this scene, Mark offers discipleship’s essence: doing what Jesus does (mighty works and teaching) and being with Jesus. But the crowds interrupt the disciples’ quiet time; they don’t even have time to eat (later in this story they end up serving the hungry crowd). Disciples must balance service (doing and teaching) with reflection (resting). When disciples lose this balance, their service can become self-serving and their reflection can become self-pity.
• Jesus’ compassion for the lost. Jesus has a deep physical and emotional reaction to the crowd and their needs. The Greek verb σπλαγχνίζομαι/splanchnízomai, translated here as a “heart moved to pity,” actually means “to have an emotional and physical reaction in one’s ‘inner parts.'” In Hebrew scripture, the same emotional/physical response lies behind God’s “merciful love” (raḥûm or raḥămîn): “with everlasting love I will have compassion on you” (Is 54:7-8). Jesus feels compassion for a leaderless people and acts to address their spiritual hunger (and later in the story their physical hunger as well). Mark’s story teaches the believing community that disciples must also be concerned for and act on people’s physical and spiritual hunger.

Summary and reflection

This week’s readings ask us to think about teachers and disciples, shepherds and sheep. Jeremiah warns the Jewish leaders that they are bad shepherds of God’s people, but promises God will continue to care for the flock. The Ephesians author reminds his hearers that Christ’s transformative death unites and reconciles both gentiles and Jews to their common Father. Jesus calls his disciples to reflection after their mission, but encounters a lost people in need of care and leadership. Disciples live in tension between serving others and being with Jesus. As good shepherds, are we true to God’s messages, rather than our own? As disciples-in-formation, do interruptions of “doing and teaching” take away from being alone with Jesus in prayer and silence? As believing community members, do we find in God’s merciful love a model of concern and care for others?

—Terence Sherlock

2 August 2020: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Is 55:1-3 RCL: Is 55:1-5	Ps 145: 8-9, 15-16, 17-18	Rom 8:35, 37-39 RCL: Rom 9:1-5	Mt 14: 13-21

God’s abundance versus humans’ scarcity

 During Ordinary time the Lectionary presents stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings focus on God’s superabundant banquets.

The first reading is from the prophet Isaiah, specifically Second Isaiah. a prophet to the Hebrews in exile in Babylon who lived in the sixth century BC. This pericope follows Isaiah’s announcement that God’s people will return to their homeland; Isaiah then invites the returning exiles to an eschatological banquet. The water, food, milk, and wine are metaphorical, suggesting that God’s graciousness is unstinting (“you shall eat well”) and freely given (“without cost”). Isaiah invokes God’s commitment to David and his descendants (“the benefits assured to David”) as a model for how God remains committed to the exiled people. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Isaiah’s invitation to the eschatological banquet is fulfilled in the gospel’s miraculous feeding story.

The second reading from Paul’s letter to the Rome ekklesia is part of a continuous reading in Ordinary time. In Chapter 5 Paul opened his argument for hope by asserting that disciples “boast even in our sufferings” (Rom 5:3). In Chapter 8 he closes his argument, returning to his theme of the prevailing power of God’s love. In today’s pericope Paul lists all the agents (“angels, principalities, present things, future things, powers, height, depth”) and factors (“anguish, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, the sword”) that might seem capable of thwarting God’s plan for the elect, and dismisses any threat they might pose (nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God”). Paul does not believe that disciples are immune to these forces and agents; rather, despite these powers’ attacks, disciples will “conquer overwhelmingly.” The victory of God’s love (“him who loved us”) absorbs all believers’ sufferings. The Lectionary editors chose this reading as part of Ordinary time’s continuous reading from Romans.

Matthew’s gospel tells the story of Jesus feeding over five thousand people in the wilderness using only five loaves and two fish. Only this miracle of Jesus is recounted in all four gospels. In its retellings the story has acquired multiple layers of meaning.

• Matthew’s context. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ miraculous feeding follows and is connected to the Baptizer’s execution, which takes place during Herod’s banquet. Matthew juxtaposes Herod’s banquet with Jesus’ banquet. Herod’s banquet at a royal court is about pride, arrogance, scheming, and murder. Jesus’ banquet in the wilderness is about healing, trust, and sharing.

• Looking back. Jesus’ feeding many in the wilderness echoes God’s feeding Israel with manna in the wilderness (Ex 16). In Jesus’ time, many Jews believed that, as a sign of the messianic age, God would again provide bread from heaven. The story also recalls other miraculous feedings: Elisha provides for the widow of Zarephath during the drought (1 Kgs 17:12-16) and Elisha feeds a hundred men with a few loaves (2 Kgs 4:42-44).

• Looking forward. Jesus’ miraculous feeding anticipates both the Last Supper (Mt 15:36-37) and the final banquet in the kingdom. Jesus’ taking, saying the blessing, breaking, and giving the bread to the disciples exactly match his actions at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26). Hebrew scripture’s prophets use images of feasting and banquets to imagine life in God’s kingdom, such as Isaiah in the first reading. Jesus’ banquet not only satisfies the crowd’s immediate physical hunger, but also shows that God’s kingdom is now present and can fill their spiritual hunger as well. Following Matthew’s “day of parables,” Jesus’ feeding miracle becomes a parable-in-action of the kingdom.

This week’s readings ask us to think about abundance and scarcity. Isaiah promises that God will provide abundantly for exiles returning to a ruined country. Paul describes God’s love as empowering believers to overwhelm human and demonic powers. With a few loaves and fish, Jesus feeds a multitude and has abundant leftovers. How do we approach God’s gifts? Do we see a world and a life of limited resources that we must hoard for our own needs? Is every human and divine encounter a calculation of what we must give and what we can get? Or can we imagine a life open to abundance from God and others? Can we put aside some of our scarcity fears to experience the kingdom?

—Terence Sherlock

4 August 2019: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ec 1:2; 2:21-23 RCL: Ec 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23	Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17	Col 3:1-5, 9-11 RCL: Col 3:1-11	Lk 12:13-21

Discipleship, gifts, and possessions

 During Ordinary time the Lectionary presents stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings highlight the need for a disciple’s careful attention to gifts and possessions.

The first reading is from Ecclesiastes (the Greek name) or Qoholet (the Hebrew name), a Hebrew scripture wisdom book. Ecclesiastes/Qoholet is actually a title, meaning “assembler” (of students or hearers) or “collector” (of wisdom sayings). The book is an extended essay that uses autobiographical narrative, proverbs, parables, and allegories. Today’s reading is a meditation on the meaning of human life, God’s role in human life, and the mystery of God’s working in human life. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the idea of “one labors, but another inherits” also appears in today’s gospel parable.

The second reading concludes our readings from the letter to the Colossae ekklesia. The author tells the Colossians that Christ embraces the entire cosmos. Through baptism, they have become one with the risen, heavenly Christ. Salvation is not a dangerous trip the soul has to make. Christians should seek the “things above.” The way to the “things above” is by living an ethical life that “puts to death” desires and passions that separate us from God, and by “putting on” the virtues of the ones belonging to the body of Christ. Baptism unites all believers in Christ and in his ekklesia, the believing community.

Luke’s gospel captures an encounter on the road to Jerusalem. A man tries to draw Jesus into a family argument, but Jesus recognizes the question is really about entitlement. He tells a parable about a rich man who tries to control what’s not his:

• Tell my brother. In first-century Judea, families often appealed to a rabbi (“teacher”) to settle disputes. The demand “tell my brother” shows that the man has already decided what he thinks is just. He wants Jesus to support his position. Jesus, more concerned about community life than things, poses a parable about gifts.

• A parable about gifts. In the ancient Mediterranean world, people believed that all resources (health, wealth honor) were in limited supply. Someone who received a windfall was expected to share his gift, becoming a patron to others. Jesus’ hearers would be surprised that the rich man thinks neither of others nor of God, and consults only himself. The rich man fails to understand his surplus harvest is a gift from God, not something he produced by himself. Keeping the surplus for himself alone, he plans a secure future and a comfortable life. But, like the harvest, he discovers too late that his life is a gift from God, his patron, not something he owns or controls. Someone else will give away the rich man’s surplus to others and become the community’s patron.

This week’s readings challenge every disciple to examine possessions, both what we own and what owns us. Like the rich man, western culture focuses on material concerns. The readings’ warnings are directed to Christianity’s own materialistic tendencies: I earned what I have; let others earn their own security. Do I recognize the gifts I’ve received? Do I treat possessions as entitlements or gifts? Do I control people and things to secure my own future? Where does God fit in my life?

—Terence Sherlock

5 August 2018: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 16:2-4, 12-15	Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54	Eph 4:17, 20-24	Jn 6:24-35

Bread coming down from heaven: the living Word of God

 During Ordinary time the Lectionary readings present stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week’s readings ask RCIA participants and the believing community to think about manna in the wilderness and the bread of life that feeds the whole world.

The first reading, from Exodus, tells of God giving the grumbling Israelites bread and meat in the wilderness. Through this gift of bread, God demonstrates care for the people. In later Jewish thought the “bread from heaven” or “bread of angels” becomes a symbol of God’s word (Torah) and God’s wisdom (Ps 119:103; Pv 9:5; Sir 15:1-3), and a type of the promised messianic feast. In today’s gospel, Jesus reveals himself as the bread of life: he is both food (God’s gift in the wilderness) and wisdom (God’s self-revelation in the Torah).

The second reading continues the letter to the Ephesus ekklesia. The letter’s major theme is the unity of all Christians in one believing community. Today’s reading continues the ethical exhortation (or paraenesis). Last week the author explained how God united Jew and gentile into a single, new person. This week the author describes the necessary attitudes and behaviors of the new person. Christians must “take off” the old or worn-out self and “put on” the new or fresh self. The language of “taking off” and “putting on” comes from the ritual practice of stripping off a catechumen’s old clothing before he or she enters the baptismal water, then clothing the newly-baptized with a new, white garment after baptism.

John’s gospel presents the introduction to Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse. Last week Jesus multiplied bread to feed the crowd in the wilderness. This week the crowd catches up with Jesus, who has returned to Capernaum. A series of questions and answers shapes John’s introduction to the discourse:

• When did you get here? The crowd asks an irrelevant question showing that, although they experienced Jesus’ sign of feeding in the wilderness the day before, they still don’t understand who he is. Jesus instructs the crowd to work for bread that remains or abides. The Son of Man will give this bread that produces eternal life. Because God sent the Son of Man, God approves (“sets a seal on”) him.

• What work can we do? The crowd misunderstands the meaning of “to work for bread that remains.” They think they can do some physical action to gain more of Jesus’ physical bread. Jesus corrects their misunderstanding. God freely gives this spiritual bread to the one who believes in Jesus. The “work” or spiritual action to gain this spiritual bread requires a total submission of self to the Word of God in Christ.

• What sign do you give? Following on the earlier mention of Moses, and Jesus’ claim to be sealed by the Father, the crowd asks for a sign that is greater than Moses’ Passover sign: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” Jesus uses their scripture citation as the starting point for his discourse. Jesus again corrects the crowd’s misunderstanding: God provided manna, not Moses. God’s gift of manna, physical bread given to the Israelites in the past, is superseded by God’s gift now: Jesus, the true bread from heaven, who gives life to the whole world.

• Give us this bread always! Again correcting the crowd’s confusion, Jesus reveals he is the true bread from heaven, who both reveals the Father and gives eternal life.

Today’s readings ask RCIA participants and the believing community to consider how God feeds the believing community. In the past, God fed the Israelites starving in the wilderness with physical manna that disappeared. In today’s gospel, Jesus promises that God will feed the whole world with bread from heaven that will abide with us forever. Do we know what and who this bread is? Are we doing the spiritual work to gain this bread? Are we seeking this bread always?

—Terence Sherlock

31 July 2016: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23	Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17	Col 3:1-5, 9-11	Lk 12:13-21

 

Discipleship: God’s gifts vs our possessions

 During Ordinary time the Lectionary invites RCIA participants and the believing community to hear and to reflect on Jesus’ stories and teachings from his everyday ministry. This week’s readings examine a disciple’s relationships with God, the neighbor, and possessions.

In the first reading from Ecclesiastes (or Qoheleth), the author sees human life without God’s presence as empty or ineffective (“vanity”). Qoheleth’s message corresponds to today’s gospel story about proper relationships with God, people, and things.

The second reading is a continuation from the letter to the Colossians. The author warns the Colossians that baptism requires them to “seek what is from above.” He singles out πλεονεξία (pleh-oh-nex-EE-ah), here translated as “greed,” but better understood as “desiring to have more than is due.” The same word appears in today’s gospel: “Take care to guard against πλεονεξία.”

In Luke’s gospel Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem and his teachings on discipleship. Today Jesus encounters a family conflict and answers with a parable about seeing and valuing what’s important.

• The conflict: A man in the crowd calls out: “Tell my brother to share the inheritance!” Families often asked a rabbi (“teacher”) to help settle such disputes. However, Jesus recognizes in the request–“tell my brother”–that the man has already decided what is “just,” and wants Jesus to authorize his position.

• Jesus’ answer: Jesus disapproves. He addresses the man as ἄνθρωπε (ANTH-roh-peh), a derogatory title similar to “Hey, pal.” Jesus continues, “Who appointed me your μεριστής (meh-ris-TAYS)?” The word μεριστής means literally “a divider,” someone who judges between two parties and divides possessions. Jesus comes to unite–he refuses to divide further this already-divided family. Jesus recognizes the dispute is not about property. He offers a wisdom saying: “Life does not consist of possessions.” To emphasize the contrast between life and possessions, Jesus tells a parable that places relationships, gifts, and possessions in their correct order.

• The parable: A first-century farmer depended on many things he didn’t control–rain, sun, soil condition, seed quality. Farmers knew that the harvest was God’s gift, not a result of a farmer’s skill. Jews understood they were stewards of all God’s gifts–food, family, life, health–not masters or owners. When an already-rich man gets an unexpected “bountiful harvest,” Jesus’ hearers expect the man to ask his family and neighbors what he should do with his gift. Instead, the rich man decides alone what to do, without considering God’s word (Torah) or his community. The rich man has no relationships; he worries only about possessions. He doesn’t recognize God’s gift; he treats the bountiful harvest as his own possession. Believing he is now set for life, the rich man celebrates his wise choice. “Fool,” says God, the true owner and master of all gifts, and calls in the rich man’s loan–his life. Jesus concludes by warning about valuing things that are of no value to God.

Today’s readings force RCIA participants and all of us to examine our attitudes about possessions. Do we recognize God as the source of our gifts? Do we act as stewards or owners of these gifts? Do we value our relationships with God and neighbor above possessions? How do we use our gifts?

–Terence Sherlock

2 August 2015: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary time

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 16: 2-4, 12-15	Ps 78: 3-4, 23-24, 25, 54	Eph 4: 17, 20-24	Jn 6: 24-35

The bread of life: the sign explained

In Ordinary time, the Lectionary presents RCIA participants and all believing community members with stories and teachings from Jesus’ everyday ministry. This week we continue our five-week meditation on the Eucharist and discipleship.

The first reading from Exodus recounts God’s mighty act of feeding the Hebrews in the wilderness. We find the chosen people in the desert about a month after leaving Egypt. They grumble to Moses that they have nothing to eat. God promises to give the people “bread from heaven”–manna. God feeds the chosen people with manna daily for forty years, until they reach the promised land.

The gospel continues John’s “Bread of Life” chapter (Jn 6). Last week we heard Jesus’ sign of the multiplied barley loaves; today we hear Jesus’ teaching (or discourse) on the sign’s meaning. Last week’s gospel ended in the wilderness; today’s reading picks up the next day in Capernaum. The gospel includes the following elements:

• Perishable vs eternal food: The crowd follows Jesus because he gave them bread yesterday. Jesus tells them “stop looking for food that perishes” and rather “work for food that eternally endures.” The crowd would recognize Jesus’ reference to “eternal food” as God’s word and wisdom found in the Torah.
• This is the work of God: Because he says they must “work for eternal food,” the crowd asks Jesus how to “accomplish the work of God.” The crowd expects Jesus to outline pious works described in the Torah. Instead, Jesus says they must “believe in the one whom God has sent.” That is, God’s work is the act that God accomplishes in a believer’s heart: faith in Jesus.
• A sign like the wilderness manna: The crowd asks for a sign: “If you are the one who is sent, what do you do?” The crowd suspects that Jesus thinks himself greater than Moses, so they bring up the story of Moses giving the people manna in the wilderness: “He gave them bread from heaven to eat” (Ex 16:4, today’s first reading).
• The Bread of Life discourse begins: Jesus corrects the crowd–God, not Moses, gave your ancestors manna. Manna was a manifestation of God’s care for the chosen people’s physical needs in the past. Jesus brings the crowd into the present by telling them that my Father now gives you the true bread from heaven–that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. In God’s ongoing care for the people, the “true bread” feeds more than their physical needs. The true bread is not simply manna, but the Son. The crowd demands “this bread always,” still thinking it is physical food. Jesus’ answer raises the discussion to a higher level: “I AM the bread of life.” Jesus is the continuing revelation of God–the new Torah. Jesus is also nourishment; through the Eucharist his presence continues in the ekklesia, the believing community.

The readings ask each RCIA participant and every believing community member to examine his or her discipleship. The Hebrew people experienced God’s ongoing care through daily manna. Although the manna stopped, God’s care continued through the Torah’s words. We of the believing community–who believe in Jesus, the one whom God sent–also experience God’s ongoing care through daily bread. Is our discipleship based on the past-perishable bread now stale and tasteless? Or do we choose our discipleship daily-eternal bread based on faith that finds Jesus revealed daily in word and sacrament?

—Terence Sherlock