Gospel Reflection For The 17th day of April in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
John 6:35-40
35 And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, that you also have seen me, and you believe not. 37 All that the Father giveth to me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will not cast out. 38 Because I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the Father who sent me: that of all that he hath given me, I should lose nothing; but should raise it up again in the last day. 40 And this is the will of my Father that sent me: that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth in him, may have life everlasting, and I will raise him up in the last day.
As we know from reading the Bible, our Lord was adamant about the resurrection. In the time of His earthly ministry, there was disagreement among religious Jews about the resurrection of the body. Jesus instructed them that those who disbelieved were wrong and completely misunderstood the power of God. With God, all things are possible and His promises are not only eternal, but the only thing that is absolutely true. The opinions of men and all our wisdom, from the greatest genius to the combined knowledge of all mankind is nothing compared to the eternal Truth… not even a drop in the ocean of the incomprehensible vastness of God. The pagan peoples to which the early Church brought the Gospel could not even comprehend the idea of the resurrection. The Holy Apostles were met with ridicule when they taught this truth to the Greeks and others.
In our time, I at least hope that all Christians do believe in the resurrection as it is clearly and repeatedly explained in the Bible and Sacred Tradition. We believe that in some way we cannot understand, not only are our souls immortal, but that God will raise our bodies physically. When we really think about it, it is absolutely incredible! Somehow our bodies, that begin to decompose as soon as we breathe our last… rotting away and leaving only bones in the soil, will truly be as eternal and incorruptible as our souls. All the elements that comprise our flesh and blood with somehow be restored and filled with true, eternal life. These eyes we see in the mirror and these calloused hands that work for the food that sustains our earthly lives will live again, in glory… and more than that, in the perfect state that God intended and for all eternity. Just as Jesus rose, body and soul, in a perfect form, so will we… and we shall be like Him and with Him as His brothers and sisters, alike in all but in regard to His divinity and sharing even in that.
How foolish is it then, to disbelieve His words and even more adamant teaching regarding the Eucharist? Jesus Christ, God who cannot lie, says that the bread becomes His body and the wine becomes His blood. We do not know how. We cannot comprehend how. But, Jesus said it. If He can restore bare bones to living flesh and blood in ways that we cannot begin to conceive, why could He not transform physical bread and wine into the spiritual food He says that we must have for eternal life? Yet, many Catholics and no Protestants (in their doctrine at least) believe this. Too many, like the misguided Jews and the ignorant pagans of some 2,000 years ago do not, or cannot believe this. This is a great tragedy that is an insult to the very Resurrection of Christ! I have said it before, and I am sure I will write these same words many, many times – If God said it, believe it! In believing the words of Jesus, we have immeasurable blessings to gain. In disbelieving them, we gain nothing but may lose everything!
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.