Every Catholic Man - Sunday Gospel Bible Study

Episode 196 - Jesus rebukes sign-seekers and reveals He is the Bread of Life - Sunday August 4, 2024 - Jn 6:24-35

Every Catholic Man Season 2 Episode 196

Jesus rebukes sign-seekers and reveals He is the Bread of Life. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Religion so he can evangelize others by his reverence in the Mass and by pursuing the Virtue of Studiousness so he can study and teach his family and others Scripture.

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Jesus rebukes sign-seekers and reveals He is the Bread of Life. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Religion so he can evangelize others by his reverence in the Mass and by pursuing the Virtue of Studiousness so he can study and teach his family and others Scripture. 


Liturgy

18th Week in Ordinary time – Sunday – Cycle B – Jn 6:24-35


Commentary

After setting the stage by The Feeding of the 5000, walking across the Sea of Galilee, and engaging a crowd who sailed across the Sea to find Him, Jesus begins the Sermon on The Bread of Life (Jn 6:30-59), the truth that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus. 

The crowd is perplexed as to how Jesus crossed the Sea, not knowing He miraculously walked on water. Jesus knows the primary reason the people have followed Him is because they are physically hungry, and have failed to recognize His miraculous signs. Jesus exhorts them to pursue eternal life and the mysterious work (“labor”) of faith to obtain supernatural food (the Eucharist), and prepare for eternal life. Overwhelmed by the demands of the Jewish requirements to obtain salvation (613 Commandments in the First five books of the Old Testament), the people ask Jesus to narrow things down. Jesus mysteriously previews the New Covenant: to receive eternal life, men must believe He is the Son of God the Father. 

Despite participating in the miraculous sign of The Feeding of the 5000, they challenge Jesus to perform yet another “sign”,  like Moses who, “gave them bread from Heaven to eat.” Jesus patiently corrects the erroneous thinking of the true source of the manna. Jesus reveals that His Father, not Moses, is the provider of the true bread from Heaven, a bread that gives life to the world. The people do not yet grasp Jesus’ spectacular claim that He is the Son of God, and do not yet realize Jesus Himself, in His Body and Blood, is the bread that has come down from Heaven. Nevertheless, the people call Him “Lord”, a term of reverence, but not an acknowledgment of His Divinity, and ask for some of the mysterious bread. Jesus then drops a bombshell, revealing He is the bread of life, and men who believe in Him will never thirst or hunger again.  


Be awed by Jesus Christ

Marvel at the confusing and highly provocative revelations of Jesus: Jesus is the actual Son of God the Father; Jesus is from Heaven; Jesus, Divine King and greatest Provider, is Himself spiritual nourishment, the bread from Heaven, given directly by God to men, which has the exclusive Divine Power to provide eternal peace; men must believe in Jesus, who appears to be a man, but is God. 


Evangelize by being reverent during the Mass

Realize: Jesus rebukes men who fail to recognize His “signs”; a “sign” is a physical act or thing that mysteriously points the faithful to the greater spiritual reality of Jesus.

Believe: Reflect upon the holy Gestures made during The Mass (CCC 1146, 1189, 1387).

 Pray: Jesus, Divine Priest,  help me grow in the Virtue of Religion (a part of Justice) so my holy gestures during Mass (silent prayer, holding my hands in prayer, kneeling, my reverent gaze at the Tabernacle) are “signs” that help my family and others be awed by the Eucharist. 


Study Scripture and teach your family

Realize: From the Creation of the world, the Father’s great work to build His Kingdom through His Son and the Holy Spirit is revealed throughout the Old and New Testaments; the Bible is both a record of God’s work and a guide for today.

Believe: Reflect upon the Unity of the Old and New Testaments (CCC 128-130, 1094).

Pray: Almighty Father, help me build the Virtue of Studiousness (a part of Temperance) so I regularly read Scripture to help me grow in holiness and I fulfill my duty to read and teach my family about You through Scripture.