Trust, Believe, Live

Some of you may have heard the story about the man who was being chased by a tiger and falls off a cliff. Luckily, he catches a branch and is hanging there from it, trying to figure out what to do. In desperation he cries out, “If there’s a God up there, I’ll do anything if you’ll save me!” Suddenly a voice booms down from the heavens, “This is God and I want to save you! All you must do is let go of the branch!” There’s a long pause as the man thinks that over, then he finally turns back up and says “Is there anyone ELSE up there?”

This is the spot in which the Israelites find themselves.  They have no food and no way, as far as they can see that they can get any food…and so they turn on Moses.

Their experience in Egypt was bad!  They were enslaved – but at least they had food.  Their corporal need for food was met. 

God comes to their rescue – because he loves them.  They didn’t trust in God, but he came to their aid anyway.  God does not punish them. He gave them quail for meat and “Mana” for carbs.  They were puzzled by the mana.  (Mana in Hebrew translates in English to “What is this?”)

God tested them by requiring that they gather only enough for their family for one day – their daily bread – their daily food.  He is testing their trust.  It is a natural instinct to gather as much as one can to store it away for another day when perhaps there will be a shortage – but God is teaching the Israelites to trust – “I will always be there for you…trust in me.”

Trust is the basis of any relationship. 

Sometimes we find it difficult to trust in God. 

It is still printed on our currency, “In God We Trust.”  Is it still true? Was it every really true?

We fill our lives with what we think will satisfy us – and it falls short.  We are corrupted by that which only satisfies the body and not the spirit. St. Paul tells us that we cannot live like those who do not believe in Jesus. 

If we are believers, we know that all truth, absolute truth is found in Jesus.

Paul challenges us to put our old self behind and to put on a new self – a spiritual self, built on righteousness, holiness and truth.

Righteousness – not self-righteousness – but God’s righteousness.  God is perfectly just, holy and fair - it is central to His character.

God is Holy –morally good and virtuous - free from sin and evil.

God is Truth – absolute truth

Today’s Gospel comes from the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel. This chapter is call the “Bread of Life Discourse”. In these passages – which we will continue to hear for the next four weeks, Jesus is trying to help his disciples understand who he is and to prepare them for what he will do for them – giving his life so that they might have eternal life. What he will tell them will take a great deal of trust on their part to believe.  Can they trust in his righteousness, his holiness and his truth?  Can we have trust that deep?

Think about what has happened in our gospel readings in the past several weeks:

• Jesus sends his disciples out two by two and tells them to preach and heal and take noting with tiem. Total trust in Jesus!
• His disciples returned from their missionary work overjoyed – and the crowds of followers increased
• Jesus fed the multitude with abundance – 12 baskets of food left over!

Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life.

What great advice for us! We do not live to work – we work so that we can live, and we try, in the best way we can, to make our work the work of God to fulfill his will.

He tells them and he tells us that the work we must do is the work of God.

His disciples and the crowds ask for a sign – like mana in the dessert would be fine!  Show us that you are at least as great as our ancestor, Moses!

Jesus does that and more. 

First he corrects them – It was not Moses who gave you Mana – It was God who gave them mana and now will give them the true bread from Heaven – Jesus, himself, who will give life not only to the body but to the life of the world.

Jesus ends the Gospel reading today with one of the great mysteries of our faith.  “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

This reading from St. John’s Gospel will continue next week – and today we are left with t cliffhanger:  Will the disciples believe? Do we believe? 

On July 21, a group of us returned from the National Eucharistic Congress.  On August 14, the eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you will have an opportunity to hear our stories.  This Congress was planned to help strengthen our belief as a Church in the United States in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  53,000 people from throughout the nation gathered for 5 days to learn and to pray and to praise our Lord and Savior.  All of this to strengthen us to confront an epidemic of disbelief in our Church.

In September of 2023, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) released the results of a national survey of Catholics:

• 49% correctly believe that the Church teaches: Jesus is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine.
• 51% incorrectly believe that the Church teaches: Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper meaning that Jesus is only symbolically present in the bread and wine.
• There is a significant amount of confusion on what the Church teaches.
• In terms of the personal beliefs of Catholics:
  • 38% believe in the Real Presence – that Jeus is really, truly present body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist.
  • 48% don’t know what the Church teaches and believes that the bread and wine are symbols, or they have some other belie

My sisters and brothers, we have our work cut out for us – in our own families and in our Church. 

As a Church, we have a solid belief, based on the Scripture which is very clear on the teachings of Jesus Christ:

• I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats thei bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.
• For my flesh is true food. And my blood is true drink.
• Some of his disciples will say: “This saying is hard; who can accept it?
• And them we will come to John 6:66 “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former ways and no longer accompanied him.”
• But Peter, the Rock, will state: Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!”

I encourage all of you to read John 6 in its entirety each week this month.

Let this month of Gospel readings be a deep dive into your own heart. 

What do you believe?

For all of us, do we believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist?

Do we trust Jesus enough to believe that what was written about him in Scripture is true?

Can we accept this teaching that many find “hard”?

And if we accept it – can we realize that when we receive Jesus in Communion we are called to go forth with him in our heart and bring his presence to the world around us?

Let your “Amen” today mean:

Yes, I trust.

Yes, I believe.

Yes, Lord, I will spread your love in the world today and every day.