August 11, 2024: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: John 6: 41-51

The Temple authorities started to grumble in protest because Jesus claimed, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They kept saying, “Is this not Jesus, begot of Mary and Joseph? Do we not know his mother and father? How can he claim to have come down from heaven?” “Stop your grumbling,” Jesus told them. “No one can come to me unless drawn by Abba God, who sent me — and those I will raise up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard God’s word and learned from it comes to me. Not that anyone has seen Abba God — only the one who is from God has seen Abba God. The truth of the matter is, those who believe have eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, and if you eat it you will never die. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If any eat this bread, they will live forever; the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation

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Reflection

Our Gospel today moves us from reflecting on a crowd’s reaction to Jesus’ statements about his identity and mission to that of the Temple authorities. They are grumbling in protest. This Bible translation’s use of the word grumbling set the course for my reflection. 

My guideposts along the way included these definitions and examples of grumbling: complain about something in a bad-tempered way, make a low rumbling sound, complain about something clearly but quietly, in a low mutter. 

I learned that the verb grumble is an example of onomatopoeia, a word that sounds just like what it means and its implication is that we blame or judge others instead of seeing what is in our own hearts. These grumbling authorities, then, approached Jesus with a complaining spirit, a discontented spirit.

Without an openness to listen and to learn from Jesus, they limited their understanding of him. They closed their minds to a deeper understanding of his words about his identity as the Bread of Life and his relationship with Abba God.

This challenges me to reflect on what is in my own heart. What misplaced certitudes do I hold on to that blind me to accept what Jesus’ true mission is and what my part in fulfilling his mission is? About what do I grumble, especially in a quiet, low manner, so as to not draw attention to my behavior?

Do I dare give the Holy Spirit access to my heart so that I can respond to God’s call to me to enter into a deeper relationship with God’s Self and with Jesus? Do I truly believe in and act on a belief that Jesus is the Bread of (my) Life?

Action

This week perhaps prior to eating, we can first reflect on Jesus as the Bread of Life. Before breaking bread, we can invite Jesus, as the Bread of Life, to bless what we have done and what we could have done in situations we encountered throughout our day. We might be moved to ask Jesus to be at the table with us and feed us with his love and life.