Daily Catholic Lectio
Sun, 4 August 2024
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15. Ephesians 4:17, 20-24. John 6:24-35
Eliminating the lower
We must have played or seen the sport of high jump. A person who climbs a height by leaning on a long stick should release the stick he is carrying as soon as he reaches the height. Only when he lets go can he jump to the other side. The person who continues to hold on to the stick he has climbed will fall back on his side or not jump the target stick.
“When the fullness comes,” says Paul, “what is lacking will disappear.” Abundance fills us only when we get rid of what is lacking.
Today’s readings call us to let go of the lowly and cling to the high. The context of today’s gospel reading is the crowd that sought Jesus. In last week’s gospel reading, Jesus distributed five loaves and two fish among the five thousand. Jesus begins the discourse: “I am the bread of life!” Today’s gospel text is the opening part of this discourse. After eating near the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, the people head to Capernaum to look for Jesus. Jesus turns to the hearts of those who seek food for their bodies.
The event begins with the question, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Although ‘when’ refers to time, it can also be taken as a reference to incarnation time. The call ‘rabbi’ signifies that the people accepted Jesus as their teacher. Their further questions are: “What should we do?” And “What sign do you give?” Finally, Jesus reveals himself: “I am the bread of life.”
People should look for the food of eternity instead of food for the stomach. Manna was the food that satisfied hunger only on a desert trip. But Jesus is the food that satisfies hunger throughout life, or satiates hunger and gives life.
They must get rid of the low in three stages: (a) We should accept Jesus not as ‘Rabbi’ but as ‘YHWH’ (‘Lord’); (b) We should move up from the ‘food for the body’ to ‘life for the soul.’ And (c) Instead of seeking signs, they must surrender in faith.
In today’s first reading, the Lord God miraculously offers manna and quails to the Israelites. The Israelites, who were freed from the bondage of Egypt, forget their life of freedom and murmur against God, remembering the food they ate in slavery. Food? Freedom to live? They ask each other the question and decide that ‘food’ is the only need. Instead of surrendering to the Lord God, they try to return to Pharaoh.
Today they murmur for the second time in their continuing journey across the Red Sea. First, they grumbled for water (cf. Deuteronomy 15:22-27). The second murmur is worse than the former. The Israelites, who had seen the produce on the banks of the Nile River in Egypt and ate its fullness, were now unable to bear the depletion of the desert, emptiness, and insecurity. While their lament about the need for food is acceptable, their demand for Egyptian food – ‘sitting by the meat bowl and eating bread’ – is not acceptable.
Their fondness for the fullness of the flesh bowl, which was only in their imagination, and for the bread that was like a mirage, obscured the memories of their slavery in Egypt. They wanted to forget the freedom given by their Lord God for the food of Egypt and become slaves of Pharaoh again.
They will receive the manna, the gift of heaven, every day. God warned them not to store it. They can save up for the Sabbath only on the day before the Sabbath. In this way, he taught them that they should trust in the care of the Lord God. Such loyalty and obedience were fundamental qualities that God’s people should possess.
The second reading distinguishes two modes of life: the Christian way and the Gentile way. Paul proposes to the Ephesian church the choice between the two walks of life, and invites them to choose the Christian way – ‘to clothe themselves with Christ.’
At every stage of our lives, it is imperative that we make choices between the lower and the higher. The choice to procrastinate or work, the choice to be emotionally disturbed or to keep emotions in check, the choice for slavery or a life of freedom. We need to grasp one and let go of the other. How to?
(a) Discerning. The maturity to distinguish between the higher and the lower.
(b) Holding. Holding on to the higher without making any compromises.
(c) Perseverance. Holding on to the higher as a continuous process.
“The Lord has given them the bread of heaven!” sings the Psalmist (cf. Ps 78). Man lives not only by bread but by every word coming out of God’s mouth. Bread satisfies our bodies. But the word of God gives life to our souls. It is better to hold on to the higher than the lower.
(Every year on August 21, we celebrate the feast day of St. John Maria Vianney, the Patron Saint of the Priests, and may we be inspired to be rooted in God and to open ourselves up in pastoral ministry)
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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