Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: John 6:35-40

Jesus said to the crowds,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Throughout the Gospels, Jesus makes several claims about himself starting with the words, “I AM,” including:

“I AM the Good Shepherd.”

“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

“I AM the gate, the door, the light of the world, the vine, the resurrection and the life.”

All of these statements have roots in the Old Testament, and each of them makes Jesus the hinge of salvation. 

He is the way to God.

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But the first “I AM” statement in John’s Gospel comes from the passage we heard today: “I am the bread of life.” 

This bold proclamation provides the foundation for understanding much of Johannine theology. Namely, Jesus is not only God, but is also God in the flesh – and God fully present in the Eucharist. 

As Saint Augustine once said, “We become what we consume.”

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How has receiving Christ in the Eucharist changed me?

In what ways am I becoming like Christ – bread broken and shared, nourishing, available to all?

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May we become what we consume.

The heart, the voice, the hands and feet of Christ in the world.

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Image credits: (1) Bibblia JFA Offline (2) Dad Speak, WordPress (3) Tim Staples, LifeTeen

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Gospel: John 6:30-35

The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

    He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”

So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.” 
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In the office, I’m becoming known as the “Amazon pastor.” Do we need something? Amazon it! Pens, paper, big items, small items, whatever it may be.

The truth is you can Amazon almost anything.

Imagine if we could Amazon happiness. Buy now with one click! How many people would add that to their cart?

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Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy. Human happiness cannot be purchased because human beings were made for more. 

We need friends; love; support; purpose… God.

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Unlike Amazon, which may satisfy transactional needs quickly, Christ promises to satisfy us forever.

That doesn’t mean that we pray once and are filled. The Lord gives us our “daily bread,” meaning he gives us enough grace to satisfy us for today… Then we must return to him tomorrow.

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Do I go to Jesus daily? Does he satisfy the deepest part of my heart?

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I may be the “Amazon pastor,” but one thing we all want, which Amazon can never sell, is a share of human happiness. For that, we must turn to the Lord.

As Saint Ignatius of Loyola once said, “Give me your love and your grace, O LORD. That is enough for me.”

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Image credits: (1) The FTC Takes on Amazon, The New Yorker (2) Adobe Stock (3) X

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Gospel: John 6: 22-29

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Saint Augustine famously wrote, “Our hearts are restless, O LORD, until they rest in you.” 

His words ring true throughout the centuries. Regardless of where a person is born or when, how much fame, fortune, or lack thereof they may have, there remains a restlessness inside the human heart which the world cannot satisfy.

Another author described that restlessness as, “a piece of night inside, which can never be filled – not with all the good food or sunshine in the world.”

Christians seek to fill that void with Christ.

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In today’s Gospel, thousands of people are looking for Jesus. The Lord just fed them from the five loaves of bread and two fish. Now they’re hungry for more.

Peering into their hearts, the Lord gently rebukes them, saying, “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.”

Otherwise, more will never be enough.

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Are we satisfied by indulging in the things of this world? Or does our heart long for more – something, Someone divine?

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We may have the best of marriages, the best of friendships, all the creaturely comforts we need. While these are blessings – and can help draw us closer to the Divine – they cannot bridge the gap entirely.

We need Jesus himself. 

As the Psalmist prays, “Hear my voce, LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me. ‘Come,’ says my heart, ‘seek his face’; your face, LORD, I seek.”

May Christ reveal himself to us in the still, silent moments of prayer … and, above all, in the Eucharist, “the bread of life,” food for the journey, which satisfies that piece of “night” within.

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) Project Patch (3) Trad West on X