He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  

 

The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

 

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is  this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from?"  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  

 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer,  and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

Yesterday we read that, following Christ's teachings on His Body and Blood (the theme of chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel), and the rejection He encountered, Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."   However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  

 

  Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  My study Bible suggests that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  It says that spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize God's authority.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases Christ as follows:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness: the anger, the envy, and the hatred, which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."  

 

 The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus is referring to events that were recorded in chapter 5 of St. John's Gospel, in which He healed a man suffering from paralysis during the Feast of Weeks, understood to be the Old Testament Pentecost, which celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai (see this reading).  The day of that healing was a Sabbath, and He was accused by the religious leaders of violating the Sabbath Law.  Here, as in Matthew 12:3-5, Jesus provides a "blameless" violation of the Sabbath, circumcision, to show that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God.  This is righteous judgment.  

 

 Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is  this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from?"  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."   These crowds think they know where Jesus is from, but they're mistaken on two counts.  In an earthly sense, they believe Jesus to be from Nazareth in Galilee, but as we know, He was born in Bethlehem of Judea (Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, in the divine sense, they can't understand that He has come from the Father in heaven.  He is, as the Creed states, eternally begotten before all ages (see John 1:1).  So therefore His eternal "origin" is also unknown to them.

 

 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer,  and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Here Jesus is referring to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. 

 

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Greek-speakers (the lingua franca or international language of the time); in other words, to go among the Gentiles.   This is an unwitting prophecy, my study Bible says, which points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

 

Once again, Jesus' defense before His accusers in Jerusalem focuses completely on His relationship with God the Father.   He tells them, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  Let us note that first of all here is His loyalty.  He is completely devoted to the Father, so much so, that even the doctrine He teaches is not His, but is rather that of the One who sent Him.  But this connection to the Father runs deeply within all people who sincerely seek it, similarly to the relationship to the Father among those who would come to Christ, as He stated in Tuesday's reading ("Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father").  Here He states boldly that if anyone wills to do God's will, he would be able to discern whether Christ's word was from God or from His own authority.  As He has stated before, this desire to serve God is directly linked to the notion of glory.  Glory is linked to honor, to reputation.  Do we seek the honor of God, or of ourselves?  It may seem, from a secular or materialist perspective, that this is a very idealistic way of thinking—that, of course, all people will seek their own glory.  But one may find in fact that life is anything but glorious with a completely self-centered approach.  The honor that comes from the only God has a way of elevating and uplifting in mysterious ways, and includes a tremendous gratitude at simply being able to serve, which goes far beyond social or worldly exaltation.  It is a way of lifting up the soul to serve God in this sense, something that must be experienced from the inside looking out.  This honor comes with a sense of blessing, and no doubt inspired so many across the centuries to sacrifice for love of God, even to martyrdom.  So let us yet again consider honor.  Where does it come from?  What is glory and how does it work?  Perhaps the glory of God is simply so great that even its reflection in our lives casts us in a light that illumines and uplifts.  How else do we understand Christ's love but in this light as well?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  

 

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."   However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  

 

- John 7:1–13 

 

In chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel, Jesus spoke to the people regarding Himself as the bread of heaven.  Much of His teaching concerned the eating of His Body and Blood, and the discourse that ensued is a teaching on the Eucharist and shapes our understanding of it.  Yesterday we read that many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 

  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  The Jews who sought to kill Jesus are the religious leaders (based in Jerusalem which is in Judea), and not the people in general.  

 

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival which commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai and the people lived in tents (or tabernacles).  Together with Passover and Pentecost, this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  This festival included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  My study Bible explains that in later times, the final day of this feast also included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  Additionally, it included the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple.  Today's reading begins a section of the Gospel (John 7:1 - 10:21) which covers Jesus' visit to Jerusalem at this Feast.  The entire section covers eight days.  This is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  My study Bible comments that at this festival, He taught in the temple and attracted a great deal of public attention.  Some thought He was mad; others believed Him to be the Messiah; and still others considered Him to be a threat.  

 

 His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.   Jesus' brothers are either step-brothers (children of St. Joseph through a marriage prior to that of himself and the Virgin Mary), or they are cousins.  Even to this day, the word "brothers" is used for varied relationships in the Middle and Near East.  My study Bible cites this tradition throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother"; Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother"; and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (Genesis 14:14; Ruth 4:3; 1 Samuel 20:9).  Christ had no blood brothers.  In this Gospel, we will read that Jesus commits His mother to the care of St. John, the writer of our Gospel, at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which would have been unthinkable if she had other children to care for her.  

 

Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  Jesus' words reflect themes told to us elsewhere in the Gospel, particularly John 3:19-20, Jesus' teaching to Nicodemus on those practicing evil, and hatred of the light.

 

 But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."   However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.   Not openly, according to my study Bible, means not with a grand, public entrance as He will do on Palm Sunday (John 12:12-16).

 

Jesus says to His brothers, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  Once again, as with all things concerning Christ, we have to understand His words in the light of His relationship to the Father, and the mission with which He's entrusted as incarnate Son and Savior.  Jesus has God the Father to please, and from whom He receives all honor.  In an earlier dispute with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus asked, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44).  St. Augustine contrasts this sense of glory with worldly glory in his commentary on this passage.  We read Christ's words with the memory of His words to Nicodemus as cited above.  Christ's glory comes not from what others say about Him, but from pleasing God, and finding honor in that.  St. Augustine writes, "But our Lord was laying down another road to that very exaltation, that is, humility.… 'My time,' He says, that is, the time of My glory when I shall come to judge on high is not yet come; but your time, that is, the glory of the world, is always ready . . .'" (Tractates on the Gospel of John 28.5-7).  This concept of glory is related to renown, reputation, whereas humility seeks first the glory that comes from God.  As Jesus says here, the world hates Him because He testifies that its works are evil, for in humility He seeks to please the Father, and not the world.  His mission given from the Father is to testify to the truth of God; indeed, it is to be the truth in the world:  "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  Thus, the hatred of His witness and testimony, for those who prefer darkness do not like the light to shine on their works.  But let us note that Jesus will go to the Festival, only it will happen in His own way, and not the ways of worldly glory, for this is the path that truth must take until the proper time, His proper "hour" at Jerusalem.  Let us consider all of the obstacles to our Lord's mission when we find ourselves stymied by things in our own lives that delay, distract, and block our progress and how we think things should go.  For Jesus Himself finds all kinds of obstacles, including even His brethren who do not understand Him nor know Him as the Christ.  But truth, like the "living water" Jesus will teach about in this chapter, must find its own proper way in a world of obstacles and setbacks where truth is often not welcome.  Even Christ finds a different way in a world that does not share His values of glory or honor.  Let us seek our way in prayer, as He does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God

 

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 

- John 6:60–71 

 

 In the beginning of chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel, we read of the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness. Following that, the people who were fed wished to take Jesus by force and make Him king.  Later the same people had followed Him to Capernaum, where He has been teaching about the true bread of life.  Yesterday we read that the religious leaders and their allies therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.  

 

  Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.   We've been reading throughout the chapter of Christ's discourse regarding the true bread from heaven which grants eternal life.  He has been disputing with those who oppose Him in the synagogue at Capernaum.   Here the Gospel records that even Christ's disciples took His teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying, and many walked with Him no more.  My study Bible comments that to this day, there are still those who reject Christ's own words concerning the sacramental eating of His Body and drinking of His Blood, and thus do not walk in His teaching.  It notes that because of the difficulty of grasping the depth of this Mystery, many attempt either to define its nature rationally or to explain away Christ's words altogether, giving them a purely metaphorical meaning.  My study Bible concludes that either extreme is dubious.  It tells us that to reject this sacramental teaching is to reject the witness of the Scriptures, as well as the unanimous teaching of the Church throughout History.  

 

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  Here is the appearance of St. Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, as it is given to us in St. John's Gospel.  As in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus has taught in the discourse preceding St. Peter's confession, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (in Saturday's reading).  This teaching is in alignment with Christ's response to St. Peter's confession in the Synoptic Gospels, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).  St. Peter's answer here, in fact, emphasizes Christ's entire discourse referring to Himself as the bread from heaven, and that which gives everlasting life.  For His response is the answer that defines Christianity itself.  My study Bible states that St. Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  Such a position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Also, St. Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, my study Bible says, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," from the Greek, and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."

 

Jesus' uniqueness, as my study Bible notes, is of paramount importance in terms of St. Peter's confession, but also concerning the entire trajectory of Christ's teachings about His Body and Blood in chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel.   In yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus taught, "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."  This statement simply begs us to ask the question, who else but the unique Son of God could make such a claim?  Had Jesus been a human being like the rest of us, and not the incarnate Son of God, how could it be possible to be granted eternal life?  For it is the Incarnation itself that makes this possible, that human flesh touched by divinity becomes that which heals and offers this everlasting life -- life abundantly -- to us.  As He makes clear about the Eucharist throughout this chapter, it is through our participation in Christ's life that this is made possible for us.  Thus we may abide in Him and He in us ("He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him" - John 6:56).  All of this fits cohesively with Christ's teaching, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6), for His identity is uniquely suited for this possibility.  There could be no Eucharist without Christ, and without Him there would be no comparable Crucifixion as an act of giving one's flesh for the life of the world ("I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" - John 6:51).  The entire sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel has given us reason and rhyme and meaning and explicit statements regarding the intention of the Eucharist, how it will come about, and what it is for.  For all the dimensions of healing, restoration, and substantive growth, and all the ways in which we may benefit from it through faith tell the whole history of the Church, whose fullness continues to unfold.  Let us hold tightly this understanding in our hearts, and ponder this gift from the Giver, savoring the promise only His very uniqueness can give.  For only He is the Son of God, made incarnate in our world, for the life of the world.  

 

 

 

He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him

 

 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.  

 

- John 6:52-59 

 

On Saturday we read that the rulers in the synagogue and their allies complained about Jesus, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

 

  The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.  As Jesus begins the theme of the living bread (in Saturday's reading; see above), so He develops here the understanding of the Eucharist; my study Bible calls it the revelation of the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  It adds that St. John's Gospel does not report the details of the Last Supper (such as the "words of institution" found in Luke 22:19-20).  Instead, here is revealed the significance and truth of these events (which were already known to the first hearers of this Gospel) by reporting Christ's own words.  Moreover, Jesus now clearly ties in the Crucifixion to the Eucharist.  My study Bible notes that Christ was crucified in the flesh and His blood was shed on the Cross, and on the third day He was raised in a glorified state. It says that we receive the grace of Christ's sacrificial offering by coming to Him in faith, and by receiving Holy Communion in faith.  For the Orthodox and others, in Communion we eat His flesh and drink His blood, as Christ says here, and this grants the faithful eternal life, with Christ abiding in us and us in Him (verse 56).  St. Hilary of Poitiers is quoted:  "There is no room left for any doubt about the reality of His flesh and blood, because we have both the witness of His words and our own faith.  Thus when we eat and drink these elements, we are in Christ and Christ is in us."

 

 Jesus says, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."  Here He speaks about a depth of communion that cannot be minimized.  It is closer than two people can be, except when Jesus speaks of the communion between His Bride, the Church, and the Bridegroom, Himself.  For that wedding metaphor, we have Jesus' very words regarding marriage, referencing Genesis 2:24:  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" (see Matthew 19:5; Genesis 2:24).  St. Paul affirms this explicitly in his Epistle to the Ephesians:  "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:30-32).  There is really no mistaking this language; that "the two shall become one flesh" is also a description of the communion between Christ and His Bride, the Church.  So it is affirmed here by Jesus in speaking of partaking of His flesh and blood, in saying that "he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."  We should not forget this primary and basic understanding of what the Church is and what it is for, and what the Eucharist is for:  the gift is to ally us fully and mystically within Christ, and He within us.  In this way, we are given eternal life.  In Jesus' words, "He who eats this bread will live forever."  It is with this communion Christ describes, this union, akin to a marriage, that this happens.  In this description of Holy Communion, Jesus makes it clear that therein lies salvation, and this -- as explicitly stated here -- was how the early Church understood it and passed it on to us.  This notion of union with Christ is something that begins with Baptism, and we are meant to grow through our lives into all the ways that may build and extend itself in us and into community.  Christ states it very succinctly, we are meant to abide in Him and He in us.  In St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells the Pharisees that "the kingdom of God is within you" (which may also be understood as "among you," in our imdst).  This is indeed the model for salvation, the way we are meant to be with Him.  For the Orthodox, this is understood as participation in Christ's grace, in what are called the "energies" of God.  Let us remember that the key to what Jesus describes is participation; this cooperation with grace is described as a process of synergy, in which He shares Himself in us, and we are meant to abide in Him.   This is a mystical reality, a gift given to us and made possible only through Christ.  

 

 

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world

 

 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

 

- John 6:41–51 

 

In chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel, we first began with the miraculous feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness, the fourth of seven signs given in this Gospel.  Following that, the people wished to take Him and make Him king by force, but Jesus evaded them, sending His disciples across the sea.  In the fifth miraculous sign of the Gospel, Jesus walked on the water to His disciples.  When they came to shore, those who had been fed found Him again.  He taught them, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

 

  The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."  Here Jesus emphasizes once again His connection to the Father, but expresses also the Father's role in bringing the faithful to Christ.  Jesus references Isaiah 54:13 in speaking of the people taught by God.   In these verses we are given the earthly or worldly perspective of those who know the members of His family, contrasted by Jesus' assertion of His identity as Christ, Son of Man and Son of God.  Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum in Galilee; the reference to the Jews is intended to mean the religious rulers affiliated with Jerusalem and those who will reject Jesus (it might be more literally translated "Judeans"), as it does throughout St. John's Gospel.  All the people in this story are Jews by birth, including Jesus and the author of the Gospel.

 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."   This begins a longer passage (to continue in the next lectionary reading) in which Jesus speaks even more explicitly of Himself as the living bread.  As He continues, the eucharistic significance of the passage becomes even more clear; my study Bible calls this indisputable.  It says that Christ's declaration that He is Himself the living bread that gives life is a revelation of the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  Moreover, in speaking of the gift of His flesh Jesus anchors this teaching as tied to the Crucifixion.  

 

Once again, as we've commented throughout the recent readings from this chapter, we come to a grappling with the significance of the Giver and the gift, and we are forced to recognize that these two things are inseparable from one another.  We recall that this chapter began with the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness, and their subsequent desire to take Jesus by force and make Him king.  This materialist perspective is brought about through their desire to continue to be fed by Him; in a sense this is a paradigmatic perspective on human nature geared toward the self.  He has given them something they want and need, a commodity which they want to continue to receive.  But Jesus is Himself Son of Man and Son of God; He has been sent into the world by the Father, and He is in the world not simply to do the bidding of humankind from our perspective.  He honors the Father who sent Him, and gave Him the "works," "signs" and miracles He does for a purpose.  Here in today's passage He significantly ties the work of the Father to those who are drawn to Jesus.  So the Father from whom He has been sent out of love for the world is also at work in us, and Jesus reveals an even greater depth to the ties of Giver and the gift.  Jesus is prepared (and sent by the Father) to offer us the gift of eternal life, but we must recognize that reality in order to properly receive it and cooperate with the grace offered to us.  For in today's reading, we are not simply taught about the bread from heaven who is Christ Himself, but He also brings into His teachings the Crucifixion; that He will give His flesh for the life of the world.  That He will lay down His life for His friends is the ultimate gift of love (John 15:13), and so, again, the gift and the Giver are bound even more deeply than we can imagine, through this great love.  Let us endeavor to love and appreciate our gifts and the grace we're given even more, for it is the key to understanding who we are in the sight of God, and how much we are loved.

 

 

 

 

 

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world

 

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  

 

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

 

"But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

 

- John 6:27–40 

 

Yesterday we read that, when evening came (following Christ's feeding of five thousand in the wilderness), His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

 

  "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  It's important that we consider the implications of Christ's words here.  To "work the works of God" implies both doing something, a deliberate act (work), and also those things which God gives us to do (works).  But to understand this properly we need to consider the word "believe" because in the Greek the root here means to "trust" in Christ.  If we trust in Him, we follow His teachings, we do the things He teaches us to do.  It describes a way of life, not simply a purely intellectual assent to His identity.  That He is sent by God implies something far more profound, that God has given us this work, to trust in Christ, to follow Him.

 

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."  The people demand a sign, a work, and they refer to Moses and the manna given in the desert.  Here Jesus clarifies that He is the gift of God the Father.  He is the bread of God, the true bread from heaven which gives life to the world.  

 

"But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."  My study Bible comments on Christ's purpose stated here:  "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."   It notes that, as Christ has two natures, He has two wills, one divine and one human -- although He is one Person, fully human and fully divine.  At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople (AD 680-681), it was proclaimed that the two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."  

 

When Jesus tells us, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me," He is in fact stating a profound kind of attitude regarding grace and the gifts of God.  He has not been sent into the world to abuse human beings with selfish behavior, or even to do His own will, but in fact in order to grant eternal life, He must live His worldly life in accordance with the will of the One who sent Him.  We should keep in mind once again (as mentioned in yesterday's commentary) the words of St. James' Epistle, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  For Jesus Himself is part of that tremendous concept named by St. James as "every good gift and every perfect gift."  We must understand what a true gift is in order to appreciate it, to approach it properly, and with the respect and honor due to both the gift and the giver.  This Jesus shows Himself in His own graciousness and honor to God His Father who has sent Him into the world as incarnate human being.  In Christ, as He's just said here in these verses, we receive the ultimate gift of eternal life; this is an infinite, inexhaustible, unending gift to us from an infinite almighty God, and it is given of love (John 3:16).  This is a cosmic salvation, meant for all of creation, all that exists, and for all time.  Jesus treats this grace, even the gift of Himself to the world, with the proper reverence due to the ultimate Giver, the Father by honoring the Father's will in all He does, and fulfilling the purpose of the gift.  So how should we approach this gift?  Do we look at it as something merely to exploit, or to use for our own purposes, as did these people when they wished to forcefully make Christ king?  Now they demand a sign.  What is the purpose of that sign?  Must Christ who fed them in the wilderness also prove to them who He is before they will also honor His purpose and His mission, and His identity as the gift of God that gives life to the world?  In every way, Jesus' words invite us all to think about gifts and the giver (or in this case, the Giver).  For if we are to receive extraordinary blessings, does not our own honor and homage also belong to the Giver?  Perhaps to understand this concept more clearly, we need to understand the love with which a gift is given, and, in this case, the goodness that goes with it.  In the Old Testament, we find such relationship between God and God's people, beginning with Abraham.  In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abram (later Abraham) to leave his home and his kin and travel to another country to establish God's people.  God says to Abram, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."  In what is called the Prayer Behind the Ambon (Pulpit), said in every Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, we pray, following God's words to Abram, "O Lord, Who blesses those who bless You and sanctifies those who put their trust in You, save Your people and bless Your inheritance."  In this mutual respectful relationship of honor, we learn what it is to receive a gift and to live its promises for us, even to honor the Giver as we are cherished in turn by God.  Let us remember the bread of heaven who is sent to give life to the world.