20250508 JESUS THE LIVING BREAD
08 May 2025, Thursday, 3rd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 8:26-40 |
Philip baptizes a eunuch
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So he set off on his journey. Now it happened that an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia, and was in fact her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and meet that chariot.’ When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ ‘How can I’ he replied ‘unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side. Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this:
Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house,
like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers,
like these he never opens his mouth.
He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him.
Who will ever talk about his descendants,
since his life on earth has been cut short!
The eunuch turned to Philip and said, ‘Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?’ Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him.
Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptised?’ He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptised him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 65(66):8-9,16-17,20 |
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
O peoples, bless our God,
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Blessed be God
who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree,
has risen from the tomb.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn6:51 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven,
says the Lord.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:44-51 |
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven
Jesus said to the crowd:
‘No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God,
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it,
is to come to me.
Not that anybody has seen the Father,
except the one who comes from God:
he has seen the Father.
I tell you most solemnly,
everybody who believes has eternal life.
‘I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that a man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,
for the life of the world.’
JESUS THE LIVING BREAD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-9,16-17,20; Jn 6:44-51]
We are all seeking for life, but more than just a physical life. Fullness of life consists of different dimensions pertaining to our emotional, affective, social, psychological, aesthetic and spiritual needs. Many do not find life meaningful simply because we do not live our life in a holistic manner. Some are just focused on pleasure and fun. But such a life is not much different from the life of an animal. We are creatures with a heart and intellect. We need meaningful and loving relationships and we need to use our intellect to know and understand the truth and meaning of life. Most of all, we need to be in contact with God otherwise our hearts and minds will remain restless, as nothing on this earth can quench the thirst of our souls. This is why the Lord said, “Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die.”
Consequently, if we want to live fully, then we are called to believe in Jesus who said, “everybody who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” Jesus is the bread of life but in what sense?
Firstly, Jesus is the Word of God. St John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (Jn 1:1f) Jesus came to teach us the truth about ourselves and about God. Only He can show us the way to God because only He has seen the Father. “Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father.” Jesus shows us the face of the Father and shows us the way to Him. To Thomas the apostle, the Lord said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” For this reason, Christians confess their faith in Christ as the Son of the Living God and as the Word of God in person.
Secondly, Jesus is not just the Word of God but God in person as well. St John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14) In His entire person, in His words and deeds, and His very life, He shows us the face of God. In Vatican II, in the Apostolic Constitution, Dei Verbum, the Church teaches, “Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth.” (Dei Verbum, 4) The Lord replied to Philip, the apostle when he asked to see the Father, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (Jn 14:9f) This explains why the Lord said to the crowd, “They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me.”
Thirdly, Jesus is the Word of God made flesh in the Eucharist. He becomes sacramentally present to us when we receive Him in the Eucharist. After reiterating the importance of eating the Bread that comes down from Heaven, which is to accept and believe in His words and teaching, He said, “Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” In saying this, He was referring to His passion, death and resurrection. On the cross, He gave His flesh to the world by allowing Himself to be put to death. It was an act of self-sacrifice and self-oblation.
It is His passion, death and resurrection that make it possible for us to share in the life of God through baptism and the Eucharist. By dying to ourselves and our sins in baptism, we enter into His death. By receiving the Eucharist, we receive the sacramental grace of being united with Jesus in Holy Communion. Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist is efficacious for us only if we first hear His Word and then offer ourselves together with Him at the Eucharistic celebration and living out His life after receiving Him. In this way, Jesus becomes for us truly the living bread from heaven, both by hearing His Word, then inspired by Him, immerse ourselves more deeply into His death every day by giving our lives up for others; and finding strength and union with Him through the Eucharist we receive.
Unfortunately, many Catholics do not receive the Bread of Life in its entirety. In the first place, many do not make time to listen to the Word of God. If ever they read the Word of God, it is always done in a hurry. There is insufficient time to listen to the Word of God deeply, interiorizing it in our hearts, and seeking to understand the Word of God for ourselves by allowing the Spirit to speak to our hearts. But we are always in a rush. Many do not even read the Word of God every day except on Sundays when they hear the scriptures being read to them. And even if they do read, it is done in a perfunctory manner. This explains why our Catholics are not familiar with the Word of God and they do not understand the Word of God like the Ethiopian official who was returning home from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But at least, he was seeking to understand the Word of God. He made time to ponder over the Word of God which he read but did not understand.
To understand the word of God, we need to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus said, “‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day”, He was referring to the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent to draw us to Him. Only the Holy Spirit can enlighten us in the truth and help us to know Jesus. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (Jn 16:13-15)
Clearly, in the case of Philip the deacon in today’s first reading, he was attentive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He allowed the Spirit to direct his way and make use of him for the proclamation of the gospel. He relied on the direction of the Holy Spirit and was obedient to His instruction even though he did not know what he was supposed to do. “The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So, he set off on his journey.” In truth, God had intended the Eunuch to meet him. Then after instructing him and baptizing him, “Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.” Such was the docility of Philip to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
For us too, if we want to find direction in life, we must seek to make space for the Lord to speak to us in the Holy Spirit by reading the Word of God. Without first preparing ourselves to hear, receive and be enlightened by Him, we would not be receiving the entire bread of life. In fact, those of us who receive the Eucharist without a worthy preparation by listening to the Word of God can end up simply being superstitious. The Eucharist is not magic in the sense that if we receive it, Jesus will come to stay in us and then we are complete. Indeed, the Eucharist is truly the body of Christ, but unless we receive Him entirely, not just His flesh but His entire person, which means sharing His mind and heart, and therefore receiving His Holy Spirit at communion, it will not empower us and give us meaning in life. So, let us communicate with our Lord using our mind and heart, and most of all, receive Him, body, blood, soul and divinity.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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