August 02, 2009 18th Ordinary Sunday of the Year Ex. 16:2-4, 12-15; Eph. 4:17, 20-24; Jn. 6:24-35 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/080209.shtml   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________     Many people think that by keeping all kinds of laws, performing certain rituals, fasting and praying, attending church often, going to mass every week, etc., is doing the Word, Will, and Work of God. But much more, He invites us to eat of Him and in so doing receive the righteousness He received from perfect obedience to His Father’s Commandments. As we eat of His body, we receive of His power unto obedience to the Spirit and not the flesh.    Jesus makes a bold claim today: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger.” Jesus is identifying Himself as the only spiritual food of man's soul. He is revealing Himself as the Saviour of sinners and saying that He is the only One who is able to fill man's soul with saving grace and, thus, with perfect satisfaction. Christ alone is able to nourish man with forgiveness and friendship with God and eternal life. In that sense, Jesus is bread. Not just any bread, not just another bread, but the bread of life.   Jesus is necessary food for sinners' souls. Jesus is the absolute staple of spiritual life. He is the soul's basic and only need. There are, of course, all kinds of spiritual foods that are offered to man today. But Christ is the only necessary food. He is the living Bread, able to impart spiritual life as well as to sustain it, able to give it as well as to keep it, able to bestow it as well as to nourish it and make it grow. Our souls must have Christ or we perish. There is no life, no health, apart from this bread of life. But with Him as our spiritual food, we live, truly live, with God eternally.   The bread that Jesus is, is also a daily food. He is daily food for men's souls. You do not just eat Jesus once and then be done with Him. We must have Jesus daily, or we grow weak and wither spiritually. We must have the daily supply of grace that is in Him, or we perish. He is our constant, on-going need.   Jesus is the bread of life. He alone satisfies our souls spiritually. Jesus is the living bread. You must eat it. You must appropriate Christ and assimilate Him in your heart and soul. You must take Him in and digest Him as the very food for your soul. Without that the bread of life will do you no good. You will die in your sin.     <<   Previous: 17th Sunday of the year  |   Next: 19th Sunday of the year >>     Go Back to SERMONS (Year B)