Work For The Food That Does Not Perish
Introduction
St. Athanasius (295-273), patriarch of Alexandria, was a bishop living in a time of great crisis for the Church just after the Roman persecutions. He defended the divinity of Christ against Arianism, which said that Christ was no more than a man. He suffered much for his faith. “The future of the Church will depend entirely on those who live with deep convictions the pure fullness of their faith. The future does not come from those who accommodate themselves to the circumstances of the moment. It does not come from those who criticize others but promote themselves as the infallible norm. The future of the Church will be determined also this time by the saints. By people who can see more than others can because there is a greater dimension to their lives… To the extent a person lives and has suffered, to that extent he also can see.” (Ratzinger, The Future of Faith)
Opening Prayer
God of truth and wisdom,
you entrusted St. Athanasius with the task
of defending the divinity of Christ.
Help us to see in Jesus, one of us,
more than a man, as your own Son.
And give your Church leaders
of great faith, insight and wisdom
who will never deny Christ
even in the face of persistent persecution
and who help their people to remain faithful to him.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading: ACTS 6:8-15
Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they instigated some men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Responsorial Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30
R. (1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or: Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors. R.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. R.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me. R.
Alleluia MATTHEW 4:4B
Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: JOHN 6:22-29
After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea. The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”
Commentary
Faith as Work
In the early Church arose some tensions about the primacy of work or faith. We have James writing plainly that without works, faith is as good as dead (cf. Jas. 2:17). John is providing us with a different perspective, combining both. Jesus invites the people to work for the imperishable food. The crowd wants to know what they must do, to which Jesus answers that the work God wants them to do is to believe in Christ. Faith is Work. Ask those who have walked the dark path of faith. Faith is work that makes one’s soul sweat blood. It is work that demands one’s entire life space. Faith is a verb that demands constant doing. Those who are engaged in that work know well that they cannot realize it on their own, and they must beg, “I have faith; but help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24).
Intercessions
We now pray for all the things that matter, and say, Lord, hear our prayer.
– For the Church, that its leaders and ministers may nourish the People of God with the solid food of the Gospel, we pray:
– For divided Christians, that soon we may break together the one bread of the one Lord, we pray:
– For all Christian communities, that we may learn to appreciate the tremendous value of the Eucharist and draw from it the strength to commit ourselves to the needs of our neighbors far and near, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our living and loving God,
that you let us sit at the table of your Son
is for us an act of faith
that though he is one of us,
he is much more than we all.
Give us a deep faith in him
that he is our Savior and Lord
who saved us by his death and resurrection.
In him we believe,
and through him we entrust ourselves to you,
our God for ever and ever. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
God,
what deeper profession of faith can we make
that we believe in your Son Jesus Christ,
both God and man,
than celebrating his Eucharist with him?
Let him steep us
in the new and everlasting covenant
and unite us more deeply with him,
with you and with your Spirit.
Do all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
“Do not work for food that perishes but for the kind of food that gives life,” says Jesus. In life then, let us seek the Lord and the things of lasting value. May the Lord bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!