Fr. Denny's Reflections

Moses praises the wisdom of God’s statutes and decrees. In comparison to the codes of law of other countries in the ancient Near East, Jewish Law was unique, providing for humane treatment for both Jews and foreigners, free people and slaves. It was a wise and just code which, if observed, would help them live in good order with God and one another. 

In the second reading, James emphasizes that all good giving and every perfect gift is from God, responding to the faulty belief that everything that happens, including temptation and suffering, is predetermined by God. All that comes from God is good. God has given us free will to follow or reject the order of his laws. He allows evil but does not cause evil to happen and has built in a remedy for evil in his divine plan. 

Societal norms and practices ritualize or give external expression to what we hold in our minds and hearts in relationship with God and one another. The Pharisees so focused on the external rituals of their faith to the point that, rather than reflecting the love and respect at the core or spirit of God’s law, their actions became a prideful show of religiosity while their hearts were filled with judgment toward others. “All their works are performed to be seen,” Jesus commented (Matthew 23:5). We must take care lest our expressions of faith (what we do and say at Mass, for example) and of fellowship with others (a handshake or wishes for a good day) become mere words and actions devoid of meaning as happened with the Pharisees.

Jesus had stated to the crowd that he is the bread of life come down from the father and that, if people want to live forever, they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. When the crowd contesting Jesus’ statements left, he then turned to his apostles, many of whom were equally perplexed, even repulsed, as was the crowd by his words and left his company at this time. There must have been a significant number of disciples since, from their group, Jesus would select his twelve apostles and, later, a further 72 whom he sent out on a training mission (Luke 10:1). While many people were drawn to the charisma of Jesus and his ministry, it was natural that, as in any large group, there would be a wide range of commitment to the cause and acceptance of his teachings. Such was the case of the early Church to whom John addressed his gospel. Such is the case of the Church in our day and age. We would be mistaken to assume that those who stayed understood and accepted everything Jesus had taught. The apostles did not fully comprehend his teaching until after his Resurrection when they received the grace of the Holy Spirit. Their remaining with Jesus was based on faith, a gut feeling and sense in their heart that Jesus whose message they did not fully understand was “the Holy One of God.” Faith, the confidence that Jesus has the “words of eternal life,” sustains us as we seek to understand his message today and put his words into practice.

Belief in the assumption of Mary into heaven comes from the early tradition of the Church rather than the scriptures. The gospel selected, therefore, is of another event in the life of Mary, her visit to Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah, believed to be the village of Ein-Karim just 3 miles southwest of Jerusalem.  Word of Elizabeth’s pregnancy had reached relatives in Nazareth some 80 miles to the north in Galilee.  Luke doesn’t mention the problematic situation of Mary’s pregnancy as does Matthew (Mt. 1:18-25), but we can imagine the gossip in the “fishbowl” of Nazareth, a small Jewish town of perhaps 250 people, where everyone presumed to know her situation of being pregnant prior to the wedding. It would have been a welcome opportunity for Mary to get out of town and spend some peaceful months with Elizabeth.   Word was undoubtedly communicated to Elizabeth of Mary’s upcoming visit, thus her awareness of Mary’s situation as she arrives. Mary remained with Elizabeth for three months, the first trimester of her own pregnancy and the final third for Elizabeth. One can imagine these two women of great faith sharing conversation and prayer in those months. The “Magnificat,” Mary’s response to Elizabeth’s greeting, is a beautiful combination of personal humility while being aware of her important role in God’s plan.

Unlike the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the gospel of John does not include Jesus’ words of consecration instituting the Eucharist at the Last Supper. It was written several years after the other three accounts, by which time those to whom it was addressed were quite familiar with the words of consecration repeated at Mass each week. John’s Last Supper account focuses instead on connecting the Eucharist with how we are to live out the sacrament in service of others, symbolized with the washing of his disciples’ feet, and an extended prayer for the unity and strength of the church. In this weekend’s text from John’s 6^th chapter, Jesus speaks of himself as the “Bread of Life” with the promise that whoever eats this bread will live forever, a clear reference to the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Coupled with the words from the Lord’s Prayer “give us this day our daily bread”, we understand that the Eucharist is not just a moment of unity with Jesus at Mass but also the nourishment we need to live our faith throughout the week.

It is not unusual that people must pass through times of trial, sacrifice and deprivation to get to where they want to go on their life journey.  People escaping from persecution and violence must often leave homes and possessions behind, suffer privation and walk great distances to get to a refugee camp or other place of safety.  Such was the case for the Israelites escaping from Egypt. Despite their grumbling, however, they were not exactly in danger of dying from hunger.  They still had sheep and cattle but, livestock being their most valuable possession and source of income, they did not want to slaughter their animals for food.  This indicates their reluctance to put their trust and their future completely in God’s hands. 

In today’s gospel, the feeding of the 5,000 is called a “sign”. Think about the purpose of signs such as our new church sign for example.  It is not intended to be the ultimate focus of attention but, rather, stands for or points to something else, being the message posted.  Jesus intended his healings and works such as the multiplication of loaves and fishes to be signs leading people to listen to his message and entrust their lives to God.  The people, however, had more hunger for and were more focused on acquiring bread to fill their stomachs then food for eternal life.