I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

In the Vatican today, Pope Francis is convening the Synod on the Family to explore the current He experience of marriage and the family.  The Church seeks to value the blessedness and holiness of your experience of family life.  While none of us live in an ideal world of family bliss, God is present in the family of each and every one of us.  Our family is immersed in the mystery of God’s love.  There is nothing we can do to stop God from being present in your experience of family life.  Thanks be to God.

As we know, Pope Francis was in Philadelphia last weekend for the World Meeting of Families.  I was deeply moved by Pope Francis -- this simple, humble man of faith who so beautifully witnessed to us the merciful love of Jesus.  He is the Vicar of Christ on earth; he is our North Star to a Gospel way of living.

He called us to a spirituality of dialogue, a spirituality of mercy, and a  spirituality of mercy.  He made us aware of our higher calling to serve and care and love for one another.

As the Church convenes the Synod on the Family, maybe it is prophetic that today’s scriptures call us to consider our grace-filled family challenges.  As we see in today’s Scriptures, there are basic values to marriage and family life.  In the first Scripture reading from the Book of Genesis, there is the need for companionship.  The Lord God said:  “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a suitable partner for him.”  The need for companionship is basic and God-given in each of us.  We become our best selves in loving and sharing and giving with another.  This is expressed most beautifully in the marriage vows.  “I, John, take you Mary to be my wife.  I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health.  I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”  These sacred words of the marriage vows express very powerfully the blessings of the Sacrament of Marriage.

In the Gospel,  Jesus said:  “God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together,  let no one separate.”  The Marriage covenant is a relationship characterized by permanence and fidelity.

 

The fullness of the sacrament of Marriage celebrates the marriage covenant for all the days of your life.  The Synod on the Family and the whole Church prays that the grace of the marriage commitment be lived out by all the families in our parish community.

Still, faithfulness has not always endured in marriage. That is the point in today’s Gospel at which the Pharisees attempt to test Jesus.  “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”  Clearly the ideal is how Jesus responds:  “What God has joined together, no one must divide.”

Pope Francis has acknowledged there are times couples must separate for the sake of the spouse and/or young children from wounds caused by serious sinfulness in the human condition.   The Church in the Synod wants to be of service to families who struggle and to families that are blessed in their love for another.

The ideals of a lifelong marriage are very much the ideal and the beautiful commitment of the marriage vows.  We pray for all who celebrate the sacrament of marriage that will be so blessed.  But we humans struggle to reach those ideals.  We are limited and frail.  We rely on God’s understanding and mercy.  We also need to offer each other support.  We are all in this together.

I count myself very blessed in my family life.  My mom and dad were faithful to their marriage vows all the days of their lives.  I have five brothers and sisters -- two of them are deceased.  But they all are very much of my wonderful experience of family.  Without any doubt, my first experience of God’s love for me was experienced in the context of my family.

As we are grateful for the love that we have experienced, may we always be mindful of the call of God that we are to share what we have with those are in need.  If you permit, I would like to add a word on the diocesan Catholic Ministry Appeal.  The CMA is our way as a family and as a parish family sharing what we have with families who are in need.  As the video beautifully witnessed, the CMA is our vehicle for sharing beyond our parish boundaries with those in need through our 12 county diocese.   As we have been given much, we need to share generously with those who need our help.

Today’s Gospel concludes with the words of Jesus:  “Let the little children come to me, for the kingdom  of God belongs to such as these.”  Families that are blessed with children indeed are very much blessed.

May you in your family life and in our parish family life always prize the presence of children as icons of the mystery of God’s presence among us.  As a child simply trusts in his or her mom and dad to know what is best for him, so may we trust in God’s loving plan for each and every one of us.

This past week, Pope Francis has witnessed to us the merciful love of Jesus.

From the Gospel, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

Jesus gets right to the point with his apostles who don’t want outsiders grabbing the glory that belongs to them as Jesus’ hand-picked assistants.  Tell those outliers not to work miracles in Jesus’ name.  They aren’t part of the franchise.

But Jesus chides them for their smallness and reminds that the Spirit is always bigger than our group or our plans.  God is free to pour out grace and power on anyone who will use it for good.

Additionally, we find in the Gospel that God wants us to care for the weak, to sustain the little ones who believe in me.  God asks us to live our faith, to nurture the vulnerable, not just talk about the faith or interpret it.

This week with the presence of Pope Francis, we have beautifully witnessed to our better angels as a Church, to listen to our calling to be disciples of Jesus.  Pope Francis has led the way.  He witnesses to us the merciful love of Jesus.  In his address to the Congress, he referenced four great Americans:  Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, and Thomas Merton.  Pope Francis’s heroes are Abraham Lincoln who was the guardian of our nation’s liberty and who worked tirelessly that our nation under God might have a new birth of freedom;  Martin Luther who calls to move beyond our prejudice and small-mindedness and to a spirit of solidarity with one another; Dorothy Day a political activist who called us to a sense of social justice in sheltering the homeless and feeding the hungry in the Catholic  Worker Movement; and Thomas Merton, a man of deep prayer, who called us to dialogue with people of other faith traditions.

The person I would reference for our inspiration is Pope Francis.  I have been so moved and so inspired by this simple, humble man of God.  He as touched our hearts by his words and his life that so reflect the message of Jesus.  He is the Vicar of Christ, and he is our North Star to a Gospel way of living.

The very best motivation I can give you to be generous to the CMA is the witness and the commitment of Pope Francis.  This man, Pope Francis, calls us in our discipleship of the Lord Jesus, to give ourselves in the service of the poor and the needy.  The purpose of our CMA giving is to do what Pope Francis has asked to do --   share what we have in the service of others.  Love is the first requirement of the disciples of Jesus.  Our love is to be shown with our generosity.

Pope Francis’s address to Congress was so Gospel-like in its simplicity and strength.  On the question of immigration, the important question was not whether people are legal or illegal; the important question is that immigrants, like all of us, are God’s beloved – make in the image and likeness of God.  We are all brothers and sisters who need to dialogue, welcome, and embrace one another.  The same goes for his defense of the unborn and his push for the abolition of the death penalty.  All life is sacred, and we need to uphold the dignity of one and all.

God calls all people to be part of the kingdom without making distinctions among groups, races, or nationalities.

Pope Francis called us to a politics of mercy, a politics of dialogue, a politics of peace.  Pope Francis is spiritual to his core.  His Christ-like spirituality touches us with his humanness and his compassionate spirit.   He called us to a spirituality of service, a spirituality of love.  He is the moral voice that is so needed in our country.  He wants us to engage and dialogue with one another. No one is to be excluded.  We are to be stewards of the common good.  Instead of fighting and being negative and judgmental, he wants us to engage and dialogue with one another.

Pope Francis called us to be mindful that we are a land of dreams.  This was the vision of our founding fathers and mothers.  May we continue to be a land of dreams for our youth.  May our souls be touched by the spirit of Jesus that is within us that calls to value the dignity of each and every person on the face of this planet.

Pope Francis is our icon as a prophet of reconciliation and of peace.  His message is the message of Jesus.

In the second reading from the Letter of James, James criticizes those who have become wealthy by taking advantages of others.  Pope Francis calls us who have been financially blessed to an accountability to share with those who are in need.  Our discipleship of Jesus demands our generosity.  “By this all shall know you are my disciples your love for one another.”

This love for one another isn’t just about words or feelings; it is about our actions, our commitment to serve one another.

One of the most touching events of Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to our soil was what he did after his powerful and inspiring message to Congress.  Instead of wining and dining with the rich and powerful of our Washington elite, he went to a homeless shelter to serve God’s poor.  Pope Francis was in his element serving and befriending the hungry and the homeless.

We, as the faith community of St Joseph’s, need to do likewise.  Our mission is to reach out beyond ourselves in the service of others -- in our CMA commitment and also in the ways we serve those who are in need among us.

At the interfaith prayer zero at Ground Zero, the youth choir sang so beautifully:  “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”  Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with the faith community of St Joseph’s.  Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with our faith and trust in God’s unending love for us.

Pope Francis declares a kairos of mercy -- a privileged moment in God's plan of salvation.

If the Lord never tires of forgiving, we the Church who carry on  the mission of Jesus need never tire of proclaiming the mercy and forgiveness of God.  Pope Francis is our North Star in witnessing  to God's unending mercy for us.  As a minister of the Gospel, Pope Francis understands that he must pronounce both God's judgment and mercy on a fallen world.

Pope Francis thinks that the judgment of the church is clear; it's time to experience the mercy of God through a merciful and forgiving Church.  Immersing ourselves in the joy of the Gospel, may we be a Church of Mercy to all who stand in need.

As Pope Francis comes to Washington, New York City, and Philadelphia this week, may we be challenged by the Pope's message on capitalism, immigration, climate change, and family life.  Yes, the Pope will comfort the afflicted.  He will also afflict the comfortable.

May we pray with and for Pope Francis that he will be filled with the wisdom and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus asks us: "Who do you say that I am?"

From today's Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples two questions:

               Who do people say that I am?

               Who do you say that I am?

This Wednesday Evening, we have the televised presidential debates in which some 15 republican presidential candidates will be answering these questions in so many words as they hope to persuade us that they are the right candidate to become the next president of the United States.

We will be challenged to vote for the candidate who has the values and the policies that we are looking for in the next president.

Next week, Pope Francis will be coming to Cuba and the United States visiting Washington, New York City, and Philadelphia.  As he addresses the Congress, the President, the United Nations, the American Bishops, and the World Meeting of Families of Philadelphia, we will come to know even more deeply who Pope Francis is and how he teaches the meaning of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus.  Pope Francis in declaring next year an extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy places mercy towards others as the beginning and the center of the rule of life for the disciples of Jesus.  Churches that do not open their doors to one and all are museums.  Also, Pope Francis is emphasizing the importance of family life.  Are families are holy,  and all families are God’s beloved families.

I invite you to compare and contrast the message of Pope Francis and the message of our presidential candidates as they communicate who they are and what they stand for.

When Jesus asked his disciples “Who do you say that I am?”  Peter responded:  “You are the Christ.”  Peter was right, but not right enough.  Peter has the right answer, but not the right meaning.  Peter had hoped that the long-awaited Messiah was to be regal, powerful, and a strong leader.   Peter did not understand the words of Jesus that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected and be killed and rise after three days.

Unaware, as yet, of the true nature of Jesus’ identity, Peter tried to set aside the unthinkable notion of a suffering Christ.  Jesus was explaining to his disciples his upcoming suffering, passion, death and resurrection.   For Jesus this is what the meaning of Messiah is, and this is the straight truth.

There is a crossroads in the journey of faith for many of us in our discipleship of the Lord Jesus.  We encounter that crossroads when we personally have to deal with suffering and struggle.  Sometimes that suffering is of our own doing -- dealing with the weaknesses and the demons within each of us – or sometimes the suffering comes from having to deal with realities we cannot control or manage -- as in illnesses or death of someone close to us.

In the face of dealing with life’s struggles, what happens to the piety and the prayerfulness of days gone by?  In speaking to the first disciples, Jesus is saying you indeed will experience rejection, the cross, and ultimately death.  This is the meaning of discipleship.  What is our understanding of our discipleship of the Lord Jesus?

As a parent, how do you handle suffering in the life of your son or daughter?  Perhaps the suffering that comes from their dealing with their own demons, or the suffering that is beyond our control such as a health issue or the suffering that comes from how they are treated or mistreated by others?  How do you come to terms with the unfairness of life?  There is a side of every parent that does not want to see their child suffer.  It hurts – for your son or daughter and it certainly hurts for you as well.  But unless you know something that I don’t know, none of us can put a shield around another that protects them from all suffering.

The deal for you as parents and for all of us as the disciples of Jesus is twofold:  yes, we will have to wrestle with the deepest meaning of life when we struggle and are in pain; and yes, the Lord Jesus and the Church that carries on the mission of the Lord Jesus will be with us every step of the way showering us with the compassion, the healing, and the love of Jesus.

In God’s eyes, no one is ever lost – not through death, not through illness, not though sinfulness.  Everyone is worthy of being immersed in the mystery of God’s love.

The Scriptures today are teaching us about the meaning of discipleship.  In what situations of life are you willing to embrace suffering as a means of embracing the cross in your journey of discipleship?   In the big picture, denying yourself and taking the cross is far more than giving up candy during Lent.  It is a complete reordering of our principles and priorities in order to “restart “baptismal commitment.  Turning away from self-centeredness, we embrace other-centeredness and God-centeredness.

            --There is no one we will not forgive.

            --We are committed to share what we have in the service of others.

            --We are simply going to be kind to each person we share life with today.

            --Prayer, our relationship with the Lord, is going to b e a daily part of our DNA.

May we restart our baptismal commitment by seeking to serve, rather than being served, and by our willingness to deny our self so that we can more fully embrace our discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today’s Liturgy of the Word presents a compassionate God who unmistakably says that all lives matter.  God makes no distinctions between classes of people.  The Scriptures reveal a God who makes the poor rich in faith.

In the first Scripture reading from the prophet Isaiah,  “Thus says the Lord:  Say to those whose hearts are frightened:  Be strong, fear not!  Here is your God, He comes to save you.”

Isaiah serves as God’s mouthpiece, encouraging the people to be stronger than their fears because God is coming to save.  This is such an important truth that is to mark our discipleship of the Lord Jesus.  We are to be stronger than our fears.

The fear the Israelites were told to avoid was the paralysis that comes from relying on self rather than on God; this is the type of fear that strangles faith and prevents growth.  Fear not, urged the ancient prophet.  Look instead at God, who comes to save.

How does it go with the fears of our lives?  Do you have a fear that you don’t have the finances that you need?  Do you have a fear about a brokenness in a significant relationship?  Do you have a health fear for yourself or someone you love?  Do you have a fear that your addiction is getting the best of you?

May these fears be transformed into a trust that through God’s grace we are stronger than our fears.

In the Letter of James, the apostle is clear:  Show no partiality as you adhere to the faith.  It is our blessing to serve the needs of one and all regardless of how they are dressed or regardless of their social status.  God chooses the poor to enjoy the gift of faith and become heirs of the kingdom.

In the Gospel, the people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged Jesus to lay his hand on him. 

There is a simple challenge for all of us in this one sentence.  Have we brought anyone to Jesus lately, physically and in prayer?  Is there anyone we should invite and pray for?  Do you have anyone you would recommend to participate in the parish RCIA?

All of us are missioned to bring people to Jesus.  As a parent, you are missioned to bring your children to Jesus.  As a community of faith, we are missioned to help bring each other to the Lord.

A second sentence in the Gospel worth noting:  “Then Jesus took the man with the speech impediment off by himself away from the crowd.“

Do you ever think that Jesus is eager to lead you off by yourself and away from the crowd.  If only we allow him.  There, in quiet intimacy, he invites us to show him our deepest wound, our greatest need, our most shameful sin.  When we dare to do so, we are met with no reproach, no condescension , no impatience.  On the contrary, we are welcomed with love, tended with prayer and patience and either healed or made stronger for the burden that is ours to bear.

In your prayer, allow yourself to be alone with Jesus.  Speak to him from your heart and allow God’s unconditional love to be showered upon you.

In the sacrament of his Baptism, the newly baptized is blessed on his ear so that he will always be able to hear the Word of God throughout his life.  What an awesome God.  As the community of the baptized, we have all received this blessing on our ears to hear God’s Word throughout our lives.

But like the deaf person in the Gospel account, we sometimes have a hearing failure.  And I don’t mean that it is a defect in our mike system – that occasionally happens.  What I mean is that we can too easily have a spiritual hearing impediment that keeps from hearing the Word of God in our lives.

Hearing isn’t just a physical act.  We hear a lot of things and don’t really listen to the one who is speaking.  All of us received that blessing of our ears on the day of our baptism.  The journey of faith for all of us is to actualize more and more the grace given to us at our Baptism.  We are God’s beloved sons and daughters.  The love of God lies deep within our hearts.  The blessing on our ears to hear and respond to the Word of God is a lifelong process.

Genuine listening is one of the greatest acts of generous love.  We indeed know we are loved when we are listened to.  May we listen to the Word of God that comes in the Scriptures.   May we listen with great love to our God and to one another.

 Our smart phones are the way many of us communicate by text and email with one another, is it not.  Our phones are very, very smart.  How many of us email and text one another several times during the day.  Would that we have a spiritual smart phone in which we text and email Jesus several times during the day.  And yet, this is the meaning of prayer.  Our spiritual smart phone is located deep within us  --  in our hearts.

May we rely on our spiritual smart phone of our prayer life as often as text and email our best friends.

As is spoken in the children’s classic The Little Prince, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.  What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

The miracle of the cure of the deaf person serves as a call to all of us not to be deaf of the message of the Gospel.  In the Gospel man, the first word that was heard by the one who was healed was:  “Ephphatha --  that is, be opened.”  That word is spoken to us as well today:  Ephphatha --  Be Opened.  Be open to hearing and listening to the Word of God.  How is the Lord speaking to me today and how is the Lord speaking to you today and how is the Lord speaking to us together today as a community of faith?  The grace we ask for today is the grace of Ephphatha.

As the psalmist tells us:  If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

The Church is to be a field hospital for the wounded

There is nothing we can do to stop God from loving us.  God is love.  There is nothing hypocritical about God’s love for us.  It is unconditional and unending.  I invite you to hold onto to this truth:  “There is nothing we can to stop God from loving us.

Yes, there is sin in the world.  There is sin in our own lives.  Sin is our failure to respond to the love of God.  Sin is a failure to love.  We are accountable for the actions of our life --  yes, yes, yes.  But God never stops loving us.

In the Scriptures today, Jesus challenges us to walk our talk, to be doers of the Word of God, to have a faith that is real and genuine and Christ-like.  If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we need to make sure that our liturgical and personal prayer, indeed our whole lives as disciples, bear witness to God’s Word:  revealed in Israel, made flesh in Jesus, and alive in the community of Jesus’ Church throughout all generations.

All three Scripture readings teach us what that living faith is to look life.  It is not enough to speak the words of faith or to spout wisdom from theological texts or canonical laws or liturgical rubrics with all kinds of piety.  Rather Jesus is saying that living faith is expressed in practical charity marked by selflessness and reaching out in service to one all and all, especially the marginalized, those whose lives by accident or even personal choice have left them on the peripheries of society and Church.

In the first Scripture reading, Moses said to the people:  “ Now Israel hear the statues and decrees which I am teaching you to observe; observe them carefully for you to be a wise and intelligent people.”

The laws of God’s people serve like an invisible fence  --  the fence you put in your yard to keep your dog from wandering into the street or menacing the jogger out for a bit of exercise or wherever your dog would like to wander to.  This fence serves an excellent purpose so that the dog can play in the yard without getting hurt.  So too, the ten commandments are our invisible fence that helps us to live in right relationship with one another and with our God.  They make all the sense in the world. 

But strict observance of the law doesn’t determine whether God is going to love us or not.  As I said, no matter what, God cannot stop loving us.  But the commandments are meant to hold us accountable as to how we respond to God’s great love for us.

In the Gospel, we see the anger of Jesus in confronting the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  Jesus says:  “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Please note that Jesus is not venting against the Pharisees because of their fidelity to religious observance and the ritual tradition.  This is a good thing.  Jesus labels them hypocrites because the words they spoke from their lips did not come from hearts filled with compassion.  They worshiped ritually in solemn ways but this did not translate into deeds filled with love.   Their religion was high on human tradition but low on faithfulness to the law of God.

This Gospel is not just meant for the Pharisees, but its message is to each and every one of us.  Do we walk our talk in our prayer life and in our celebration of the sacraments.    Sometimes we too need spiritual open-heart surgery if see if we are touched by  the love of Jesus in the faith that we live.  Our prayer needs to touch our heart and thus motivate us to share the love of Jesus with others.

Jesus himself went to the synagogue in prayer and was very faithful to the Jewish tradition and obeyed the commandments.  This led Jesus to service and love toward society’s most vulnerable, the sick, the widows, and children.  Jesus lives the Torah.  For Jesus worship, charity and justice are inseparable.

The meaning of today’s Scriptures is that external observance of the law must be translated into inward commitment, but then the inward commitment must be translated back into outward charity.  Jesus cautions us that our external observance of the law declaring our love for the invisible God must become visible in the love that we have for one another.  Our words must be matched by our deeds; our rituals must lead us to develop compassionate hearts.

The Letter to James in the second Scripture is our litmus test for the validity of our liturgical piety.  James says:  “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this:  to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep yourself unstained by the world.

During the coming Holy Year, Pope Francis wants to create a church of mercy, a more pastoral church, a field hospital for the wounded rather than a tribunal that withholds the sacraments until people conform to the ideal.  Jesus’ approach is not to deny the reality of sin, but to question the possibility of one person judging another.  Only God sees the heart.

May we witness to the Joy of the Gospel and  be a Church of Mercy, a Church of Compassion, and be a Church of Healing that reveals the unconditional love of our God.

The bread of life discourse from the 6th chapter of John's Gospel is filled with startling claims and startling hopes.

A catechist is teaching a class of six year olds about the commandments.  She explained the fourth commandment:  Honor your father and your mother.  A 6 year old girl asked if there is a commandment on how to treat your brothers and sisters.  A six year old raised his hand and answered:  “Yes, there is:  Thou shalt not kill.”

In the Gospel, Jesus proclaims:  I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Bread of Life Discourse from the 6^th chapter of John’s Gospel reaches a crescendo with startling hopes and startling claims.  The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.  …He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

You will recall the 6^th chapter of John’s Gospel began with Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish.  After the miracle of the 5,000, everyone wanted to follow Jesus.  “Free Food,” they declared, anticipating that Jesus was another Moses who was going to shower down manna and quail on his followers.  Everyone was touched with the offer of free food – a graciously abundant gift and a welcome relief to their hunger. 

Even now, the best way to get a good crowd at a parish event is to offer food – “Free Food.”

But today’s Gospel is not about Jesus as a worldly cafeteria manager; Jesus is drawing a radical line in the sand.  We are followers of Jesus not because we attend potluck and social gatherings that we call Christ-centered.  Rather, we are the followers of Jesus when we share in the body and the blood of the Lord.  “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Our discipleship of the Lord Jesus is not just about getting free food; it is about us as a Eucharistic community witnessing to the love of Jesus.

To share in the Body and Blood of the Lord expresses our willingness to be the followers of the crucified Christ as well as the Risen Christ.  We need to ask ourselves the questions:  Are we willing to die with Jesus?  Are we willing to share in the same suffering that the Lord Himself experiences?  This is what it takes to be a follower of Jesus.

The question we are to pray about today is do we want eternal bread or do we want everyday bread?  They desire to grab a free meal can disable us from hearing Jesus’ invitation to the eternal.  In this Eucharistic discourse, Jesus is drawing lines, dividing his followers between those who are looking for a handout and those who will go the distance.  Quite literally, Jesus is telling us:  “If you are not willing to share in my death and drink from my suffering, then you should turn back now.”

When you consume Christ, he becomes part and parcel of who you are.  He energizes you to do His work of ministry.  The bread of our Lord is empowering.  It not only can fill the heart, but it can also lead the recipient to overflow into actions of love.  As was said of Francis of Assisi, “It is in giving that we receive.”

In sharing the Eucharistic Bread, the promise of Christ to us is much more that making a living.  Jesus invites to the fullness of life.  Therein is the difference between the bread of this world and the living bread of Christ.

The development of the Bread of Life discourse in John’s sixth chapter leads us to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist.  Eucharist is both the gift of Jesus given to us, and it is an invitation to our self-giving.  We ask ourselves how do we allow Jesus to be Bread for our lives?  How do we convert to Jesus?  Jesus says “I am the Bread of Life.  Whoever comes to me will never hunger or thirst again.”  How do we come to Jesus?  How do we surrender to a new experience of God’s Eucharistic presence in our lives?  Would that we come to a new experience of God’s presence, grace, power and love?  What would it take?

The Church at Eucharist is a community aware of its sinfulness and repentant of its sins.  It is a community convinced of the power of God’s grace, a community ready to serve others, i.e., to carry out “the breaking of the bread” beyond the church, and a community, here and now, open to the presence of the Lord and the Spirit.  This is the community we become when we share Jesus’ real food and real drink together; constituted as such by the Eucharist, it becomes both the privilege and responsibility of all who eat the Bread of Life together to become bread for the life and salvation of the world.

As the disciples of Jesus, our loneliness is rarely the result of not being loved; it is the result of not loving.  Sorrow is less the result of circumstances than the result of choosing isolation.  The fastest way to feel loved or experience joy is to give it to those without either.

At Eucharist, we are interconnected with Jesus, and we are interconnected with God’s people.  In Eucharist, we are committing ourselves to being connected with the Church.  The Eucharist is a Sacrament of the Church.

We grow in our experience of Jesus as Bread for Life when we fully are present at and participate in the Eucharist.  Some people celebrate the Eucharist daily.  Thanks be to God.  We are all called to celebrate Eucharistic weekly on the Lord’s Day -- Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.  It is important for us to be, not just physically present, but emotionally present, to the Lord and to each other.  It is important to not have an “audience” mindset, i.e., that we are watching something someone else is doing, but rather that we must have a mindset that Eucharist is something we do together, and, in doing it together, we are being transformed into the living Body of Christ.  Again, it becomes both the privilege and the responsibility of all who eat the Bread of Life together to become bread for the life of the world.