Manna from Heaven
04/30/09 04:14 Filed in: Faith
“Jesus said unto them. I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6: 35-40)
The Jewish leaders had challenged Jesus to produce a miracle like the manna from heaven that had sustained their ancestors in the desert. But Jesus knew that nothing He did or said would satisfy His critics because they lacked authentic faith. Three times in today’s Gospel, He said that they had to believe that He was the bread of life. They couldn’t bring themselves to do it.
Today’s Gospel illustrates the difference between knowing something and truly believing it.
The Jewish leaders had challenged Jesus to produce a miracle like the manna from heaven that had sustained their ancestors in the desert. But Jesus knew that nothing He did or said would satisfy His critics because they lacked authentic faith. Three times in today’s Gospel, He said that they had to believe that He was the bread of life. They couldn’t bring themselves to do it.
Today’s Gospel illustrates the difference between knowing something and truly believing it.
“Jesus said unto them. I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6: 35-40)
The Jewish leaders had challenged Jesus to produce a miracle like the manna from heaven that had sustained their ancestors in the desert. But Jesus knew that nothing He did or said would satisfy His critics because they lacked authentic faith. Three times in today’s Gospel, He said that they had to believe that He was the bread of life. They couldn’t bring themselves to do it.
Today’s Gospel illustrates the difference between knowing something and truly believing it.
The Pharisees knew their scripture. They knew that the Lord had provided manna from heaven when the Jews were wandering in the wasteland. But those miracles had happened more than 1,496 years before the Jewish leaders’ encountered Jesus. The Pharisees’ faith was still rooted in the past. They were not open to new ways of interpreting and applying their knowledge of scripture. They couldn’t apply it to their daily lives.
As believers, we are called to live out our faith here and now. Each day. We do so by applying scripture when interpreting and making sense of the events of our daily lives.
Believing is not something you do once. You don’t come to the faith once and for all time. Every day presents new challenges to the faith. Every day is another conversion experience, an opportunity to grow in faith.
The Pharisees failed to recognize that God did not provide manna once. He provided it on a daily basis. He does the same thing for us today by providing our daily bread - - the bread come down from heaven, the Holy Eucharist.
Falling on hard times can be a test of faith. But prayer can see us through our desert experience. As Saint Paul said, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
In our darkest hour, our faith in a loving, provident Father may falter. But through it all, each and every day, we have to keep reminding ourselves, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path.”(Psalm 119: 105)
Grieving over our losses can sap our spirits. But, for God to heal a broken heart, He has to have all the pieces. We have to trust him totally. Like King David, we must persist in prayer, confident that, “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
Sickness and infirmities may sorely test our faith, but they can also be an opportunity to grow spiritually. As it says in scripture, “Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6)
Sometimes believing takes a leap of faith. But, on most days, it takes a lot of small steps, one after another, the kind of smalls steps we take when we approach the altar to receive Holy Communion, the bread of eternal life.
The Jewish leaders had challenged Jesus to produce a miracle like the manna from heaven that had sustained their ancestors in the desert. But Jesus knew that nothing He did or said would satisfy His critics because they lacked authentic faith. Three times in today’s Gospel, He said that they had to believe that He was the bread of life. They couldn’t bring themselves to do it.
Today’s Gospel illustrates the difference between knowing something and truly believing it.
The Pharisees knew their scripture. They knew that the Lord had provided manna from heaven when the Jews were wandering in the wasteland. But those miracles had happened more than 1,496 years before the Jewish leaders’ encountered Jesus. The Pharisees’ faith was still rooted in the past. They were not open to new ways of interpreting and applying their knowledge of scripture. They couldn’t apply it to their daily lives.
As believers, we are called to live out our faith here and now. Each day. We do so by applying scripture when interpreting and making sense of the events of our daily lives.
Believing is not something you do once. You don’t come to the faith once and for all time. Every day presents new challenges to the faith. Every day is another conversion experience, an opportunity to grow in faith.
The Pharisees failed to recognize that God did not provide manna once. He provided it on a daily basis. He does the same thing for us today by providing our daily bread - - the bread come down from heaven, the Holy Eucharist.
Falling on hard times can be a test of faith. But prayer can see us through our desert experience. As Saint Paul said, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
In our darkest hour, our faith in a loving, provident Father may falter. But through it all, each and every day, we have to keep reminding ourselves, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path.”(Psalm 119: 105)
Grieving over our losses can sap our spirits. But, for God to heal a broken heart, He has to have all the pieces. We have to trust him totally. Like King David, we must persist in prayer, confident that, “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
Sickness and infirmities may sorely test our faith, but they can also be an opportunity to grow spiritually. As it says in scripture, “Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6)
Sometimes believing takes a leap of faith. But, on most days, it takes a lot of small steps, one after another, the kind of smalls steps we take when we approach the altar to receive Holy Communion, the bread of eternal life.
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