The Word of God this Sunday tells us that, according to Jesus, the people are seeking Him not because of His miraculous signs but because they were physically satisfied with the bread He provided (John 6:24-35). Jesus urges them to seek the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man offers, a food that God Himself endorses.
When He was asked how the people can do God’s work, Jesus emphasizes the need to believe in the one God has sent. When someone is sent by another, they usually bring something to deliver to the recipient, but Jesus did not bring anything except Himself. In Jesus, God is present in His fullness. Jesus has become and identified Himself as one of us – the Son of Man, but He is also One with God – the Son of God. Here, Jesus is no longer a figure to be interpreted; He is the reality that God had spoken through the prophets in previous ages.
In response to their request for a sign, Jesus clarifies that the true bread from heaven is given by His Father, not by Moses, and that this bread gives life to the world. Jesus declares that He Himself is the bread of life, promising that those who come to Him will never be hungry or thirsty, thus highlighting the spiritual sustenance and eternal life that belief in Him provides.
Fast forward to our time, today the faithful disciples of Jesus still believe that He is the bread of life and that He guarantees us food that endures to eternal life. Over the past two months, the Catholics in the Diocese of Christchurch, together with the good shepherd Bishop Michael, have walked a unique journey of faith and prayed for a new name for the new cathedral. The final decision has been – the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament – Te Hāhi Matua o te Hākarameta Tapu Rawa. This name and the reality it signifies namely that the new cathedral belongs to the Blessed Sacrament and not vice versa illustrate the essence and centrality of the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life. In the Eucharist, we recognize Jesus as the bread of life that sustains and nourishes our faith pilgrimage until we arrive home in eternity. We exist for the Eucharist and vice versa. May the Holy Spirit sanctify our endeavors!
Fr. Tien Cao
