Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B August 12, 2018

First Reading
1 Kings 19:4-8
The Lord feeds Elijah, strengthening him for his journey to Horeb.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 34:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9
A prayer of praise to God for his goodness

Second Reading
Ephesians 4:30—5:2
The Ephesians are encouraged to be imitators of Christ.

Gospel Reading
John 6:41-51
Jesus responds to the murmurs of the crowd, who wonders what he means when
he says that he came down from heaven.

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
"I am the bread that came down from heaven, "
and they said,
"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Do we not know his father and mother?
Then how can he say,
'I have come down from heaven'?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.


Background on the Gospel Reading

On this Sunday, we continue to read from the "Bread of Life discourse"
found in the sixth chapter of John's Gospel. Recall that we have been
reading from this chapter for the past two weeks and will continue to read
from it for another two. Last week, the crowd asked for a sign that would
show that Jesus came from God. Jesus replied by saying that he is the sign
and the bread of life sent by God. At this point, our Lectionary omits six
verses in which Jesus predicts the unbelief of the crowd and further
develops his connection with God the Father. In these verses, Jesus says
that he was sent by God to do the Father's will. Jesus promises that those
who look upon the Son with faith will find eternal life. Some of these
themes are repeated in today's Gospel reading.

Today's Gospel begins with a report that the Jews complained about Jesus'
claims regarding his identity. They knew his family, and they knew he was
the son of Joseph. They could not comprehend what Jesus meant when he said
that he came down from heaven. Jesus responds to the complaints by saying
that only those who are chosen by God will recognize him as the one that
God sent. This is a recurring theme in John's Gospel, that God has chosen
those who will have faith in Jesus.

In the verses that follow, Jesus talks more about his unity with the
Father. He is the one who has seen the Father and, therefore, knows the
Father. Those who listen to God will recognize that Jesus is the one sent
from God. Those who believe will have eternal life. Jesus concludes with
the central element of our eucharistic theology. He promises that the
bread of life will bring eternal life to those who partake of it, and he
tells us that the bread of life will be his own flesh, given for the life
of the world.

In today's reading, we hear Jesus say again, as he did in last week's
Gospel, that he is the bread of life. We also hear Jesus add that he is
the living bread. Both of these statements help us understand better the
gift that Jesus gives us in the Eucharist. We celebrate this gift of Jesus
each time we gather for Mass. We believe that receiving Jesus in the
Eucharist will lead us to eternal life.


Family Connection
Today's Gospel focuses our attention on our faith in Jesus' presence in
the Eucharist. Jesus is the bread of life. He gives us his Body and Blood
as bread so that we may have eternal life. When we receive the Body and
Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, our lives begin to reflect the reality
that our communion with Jesus prepares in us. Our Eucharist leads us to
live as people of the promise, confident that we will one day share the
fullness of life with God.

As you gather as a family, talk about our hope that one day we will share
eternal life with God in heaven. This hope can transform the way we live
our daily lives, calling us to be people of hope and expectation. In
today's Gospel, Jesus promises us this gift of eternal life in the
Eucharist. Read together today's Gospel, John 6:41-51. Observe that Jesus
taught us that those who listen to God know that Jesus has been sent by
God for the life of the world. Jesus fulfills this promise to us through
his passion, death, and Resurrection. He gives us the gift of himself in
the Eucharist, which is his Body and Blood, given so that we may have
eternal life. Conclude in prayer together asking God to increase our faith
in Jesus' presence in the Eucharist. Pray together the Act of Faith.


Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings