Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said: «Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God». But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, «Lord Jesus, receive my spirit». Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, «Lord, do not hold this sin against them»; and when he said this, he fell asleep. Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, o Lord, o faithful God. My trust is in the Lord; I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.
Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your kindness. You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the plottings of men.
"My Father gives you the true bread from heaven"
Fr. Joaquim MESEGUER García (Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)Today, in the words of Jesus, we can see the contrast and complementarity between the Old and New Testaments: the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the New, and in the New Testament, the promises God made to the patriarchs in the Old Testament reach their fulfillment. Thus, the manna the Israelites ate in the desert was not the true bread from heaven, but a foreshadowing of the true bread that God, our Father, has given us in the person of Jesus Christ, whom he sent as Savior of the world. Moses asked God for material food for the Israelites; Jesus Christ, on the other hand, gives himself as the divine food that gives life.
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” (John 6:30), the unbelieving and impertinent Jews demand. Did the sign of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes performed by Jesus the day before seem insignificant to them? Why did they want to proclaim Jesus king yesterday, and why do they no longer believe him today? How fickle the human heart often is! Saint Bernard of Clairvaux says: “It is so that these impious ones wander in a circle, longing after something to gratify their yearnings, yet madly rejecting that which alone can bring them to their desired end.” This was the case with the Jews: immersed in a materialistic worldview, they expected someone to feed them and solve their problems, but they didn't want to believe; that was all that interested them about Jesus. Isn't this the perspective of someone who desires a comfortable, tailor-made religion without commitment?
“Sir, give us this bread always” (Jn 6:34): may these words, spoken by the Jews from their materialistic perspective, be spoken by me with the sincerity that faith provides; may they truly express a desire to be nourished by Jesus Christ and to live united to Him forever.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“In the New Testament there is Bread of heaven, and a Cup of salvation, sanctifying soul and body; for as the Bread corresponds to our body, so is the Word appropriate to our soul.” (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)
“But man hungers for more than the Manna in the desert. As the audience still does not understand, Jesus repeats himself even more unambiguously: ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst’ (Jn 6:35).” (Benedict XVI)
“The flood and Noah's ark prefigured salvation by Baptism, as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, ‘the true bread from heaven’ (Jn 6:32).” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 1094)
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