Year: 2024

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Gospel: Matthew 17: 22-27

As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,
Jesus said to them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”
And they were overwhelmed with grief.

When they came to Capernaum,
the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,
“Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?”
“Yes,” he said. 
When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,
Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon?
From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?
From their subjects or from foreigners?”
When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him,
“Then the subjects are exempt.
But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,
and take the first fish that comes up. 
Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.
Give that to them for me and for you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The disciples just heard the greatest news ever told: “The Son of Man… will be raised on the third day.”

Death will lose its sting!

Yet, “They were overwhelmed with grief.”

It seems the disciples stopped listening to Jesus after he said the word, “death.” They couldn’t see beyond it. The good news of the resurrection seemed too distant; uncertain; beyond their understanding. 

What they did understand was the “d” word, death. 

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Jesus wasn’t blind to their incredulity. He saw their saddened faces; he watched them mope around, kicking their sandals into the dirt, digesting the news.

But he continues towards Jerusalem – towards his cross – anyways. In spite of his death, he will not leave them “orphans.” After the resurrection, the Lord will appear to them for forty days and forty nights, convincing them he’s alive again.

Then he sends forth his Spirit to teach and guide them at Pentecost.

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Often, we react the same way the disciples did when bad news comes our way.

We lose our job; we’re rejected by our top college; a relationship ends; a loved one returns to the Lord.

It seems like the world is ending. We mope, question, become weighed down in sadness.

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But remember the resurrection. 

With God on our side, there is always life after “death” – life after heartache or tragedy.

This is what faith is all about – trusting that God will always bring light out of darkness. As Saint Paul says, “All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”

If you find yourself in a difficult place, call upon the Lord who will not abandon you; rather, he will fill you with every heavenly grace and blessing.

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Image credits: (1) Dave DeSelm Ministries (2) The Kingdom @ Glandore-Underdale (3) Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

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Gospel: John 6: 41-51

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I had dinner with a married couple from our parish this week. During the course of our conversation, I learned that both are avid readers. One prefers mystery or history books, while the other enjoys fictional tales that carry you to another place.

One of the best-selling fiction novels of all time is J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Maybe you’ve heard of it, or even read it, too.

The Lord of the Rings is a story about Frodo, an unlikely hero, who fights against the Satan-like figure, Sauron, who is seeking to rule Middle Earth. 

Along his journey, Frodo travels through the land of shadows – a place filled with demons, orcs, and giant spiders.

Key to Frodo’s survival is lembas, or elf-bread. Each loaf of bread is flat and slightly sweet, providing Frodo with enough nourishment for a day. Interestingly enough, while he depends upon it, evil is repulsed by it.

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Can you see a connection here to today’s Gospel?

Bread as food for the journey; bread that nourishes; bread that repulses evil.

Some might be surprised to know that Tolkien was a devout Catholic. But any reader with a working knowledge of our faith could easily conclude: lembas serves as the Eucharist of this mythological place called Middle Earth.

Just as Frodo depended upon lembas for his survival, so Tolkien depended upon the Eucharist to sustain his spiritual life. As he once wrote in a letter to his son, Michael:

“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honor, and fidelity… which every man’s heart desires.”

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Tolkien saw – and believed – what the Lord is attempting to teach the crowds in today’s Gospel: that Jesus is the Bread of Life.

“I am the bread that came down from heaven,” he says. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

This is the climax of Christ’s teaching in John’s Gospel – and, perhaps, the hardest truth for us to understand. Whoever receives the Eucharist receives Christ himself.

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How does the crowd respond to such a gift? 

They “murmur” amongst themselves. To “murmur,” literally means to, “disagree with; dislike.” Now that Christ has revealed his true identity and mission, the crowds find him offensive.

“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?” they question. “Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’ … How can he give us his flesh to eat?”

The crowds are not wrong to question such a bold claim; no one else has ever promised to do what Jesus is saying. However, they make one significant mistake. 

The crowds think that both of Jesus’ parents are human. But only one of them is human – his mother, Mary. His Father is divine, which leads to yet another difficult truth to grasp: Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Mary.

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This same verb, “murmur” is used to describe the reaction of the Israelites in the desert 1500 years prior, when God tells them he’ll satisfy their hunger by sending them manna, bread from heaven.

When the manna appears, the Israelites respond, “What is this? Would that we had died in Egypt!” Disgruntled, they preferred exotic Egyptian delicacies to this strange desert food.

Yet like lembas in Lord of the Rings, the manna was enough to sustain them on their forty-year journey.

In both cases, the crowds in today’s Gospel and their ancestors in the desert are given “bread from heaven,” but they “murmur.” 

They disagree with it; dislike it.

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What is our own reaction to Christ’s teaching in today’s Gospel? 

“I am the 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.”

Do we “murmur” at such a claim? Do we question it? Or do we respond faithfully in awe, saying, “amen?”

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Just as Tolkien saw and believed, may we accept Jesus for who he is: the “bread come down from heaven.”

Lembas.

Food for the journey.

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Image credits: (1) Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (2) Lord of the Rings, Raven Fox (3) WCU Catholic Campus Ministry

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Gospel: Matthew 16:24-28

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

These are some of the most famous – and difficult – words ever spoken by Jesus.

Some have interpreted his words to mean the heavier the cross, the harder your life is, the better. We’ve all heard those fire and brimstone preachers; religion is meant to make us miserable.

But they couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Jesus doesn’t want us looking for any extra burdens; in fact, he promises to help lift them. So, what kind of cross is he referring to?

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That clumsy, awkward, often hard to carry cross called life. 

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We might re-interpret Jesus’ words to say: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.”

So many of us carry the weight of children, marriage, difficult jobs, illness, and bills piling up. Spiritually, we must guard against temptation and try to grow in virtue.

We don’t have to add any extra weight to our shoulders. 

We simply can’t shrug it off. 

That’s the cross.

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What Jesus asks of us is to be faithful to the tasks we’ve been given in life.

If you’re a parent, provide generously for your children; shower them in love. If you have a job, then quietly do the tasks no one else wants to do. 

If you’re a recovering addict, continue on the road to sobriety. If you’re burdened with an illness, endure it in faith. 

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“Whoever wishes to come after me,” Jesus says, “must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.” Do it without complaint; own it, knowing the Lord is shouldering it with you.

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Image credits: (1) Desiring God (2) Truth for Life Blog (3) Pinterest