18th Sunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle B, Year I)

Community Word:  Those who believe in Jesus, the Living Bread, will neither hunger, nor thirst.

Theme:    We will never hunger nor thirst when we put away our old selves and accomplish the works of God.

Promise: “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”(Jn 6:35)\

Reflection:
In the 1st Reading, the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses, a great leader and prophet of God, and Aaron, the older brother of Moses, because they were led by them into the desert and could die of famine.  They complained that they would be better off returning to Egypt with their fleshpots and fill of bread and die there! But despite their arrogance, the Lord said to Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.”

This is proof of the degraded state of the mind of this community of people. Human nature can never be reduced to a more abject state in this world than that in which the body is enthralled by political slavery and the soul debased by the influence of sin. These poor people were both slaves and sinners, and were therefore capable of the meanest and most disgraceful acts.

The Gospel acclaims, “One does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” This verse clearly admonishes us that filling our hunger and quenching our thirst with worldly things are not enough, for they are meant to feed our physical bodies only and therefore are short-lived and wanting of fully satisfying all our needs. What is more important is to fill the hunger and quench the thirst of our soul by invoking God’s presence in our lives, providing salvific nourishment and enabling us to remain in the path to eternal life.  The Gospel further narrates how Jesus reminded the crowd following Him:  “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.”
Indeed, the BLD Community is blessed to experience the passion for God’s presence through His Word that permeates the life of each and every BLD member.  When we are confused, upset or in physical pain; or when we find ourselves in the midst of misunderstanding; or when nothing seems to be going right in our community work; and when we are over-worked, tired and our patience is wearing thin, we immediately turn to Him and say,  ‘Lord help us. We hunger and thirst for your presence to calm our emotions; quicken our tired body and mind; put order in our work and our community because our help comes from You, the Maker and Solver of all things’.

Lamentably, some of us feel as if we heard nothing from Him.  And we still have the guts to ask him, ‘What can we do to accomplish the works of God?’  We asked God, not that we may learn and do these works for Him, but to induce Jesus again to supply us with food and to persuade Him to fill and satisfy us instantly with temporal satisfaction.  It’s asking God, what can you do for us, rather than asking, Lord, what can we do for you?

Yet the Lord is always there for each and every one of us and for our BLD community to fulfill His promise:  “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (Jn 6:35).  Jesus is the bread who has come from heaven, given as flesh, for the life of the world.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, as we are beset with many concerns and anxieties of this world, we pray that you teach us to completely trust in You and only You, and help us remain focused on Your word.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:
1. What are our God-given tasks and how can we accomplish them?
2. How do we remain focused on His Word and insulate ourselves from the lures of and anxieties caused by worldly distractions?
3. What must we do to make sure that His word permeates in us in addressing and resolving conflicts and problems of our districts and BLD community?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
August 2, 2015 (Sun)    Ex 16:2-4,123-15/Ps 78:3-4,23-24,25,54/Eph 4:17,20-24/Jn 6:24-35
August 3, 2015 (Mon)     Nm 11:4-15/Ps 81:12-13,14-15,16-17/Mt 14:13-21
August 4, 2015 (Tue)    Nm 12:1-13/Ps 51:3-4,5-6,6-7,12-13/Mt 14:22-36
August 5, 2015 (Wed)    Nm 13:1-2,25-14:1,26-29,34-35/Ps 106:6-7,13-14,21-22,23/Mt 15:21-28
August 6, 2015 (Thu)    Dn 7:9-10,13-14/Ps 97:1-2,5-6,9/2Pt 1:16-19/Mk 9:2-10
August 7, 2015 (Fri)      Dt 4:32-40/Ps 77:12-13,14-15,16-21/Mt 16:24-28
August 8, 2015 (Sat)    Dt 6:4-13/Ps 18:2-3,3-4,47,51/Mt 17:14-20

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

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