Food and Faith!

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Acts 8:26-40; Jn 6:44-51

Today’s Gospel highlights some important themes. 

Faith as God’s Gift: Faith is God’s gift. St. Thomas Aquinas explained faith as a theological or infused virtue to illustrate that faith is God’s work in human hearts. God gives us the grace to believe, and we have the freedom to cooperate with this grace.

Bethlehem and Bread of Life: Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is highly symbolic. The Bread of Life (Jesus) was born in the House of Bread (Bethlehem). Likewise, we read, ‘When the Child Jesus was born, his mother Mary laid him in a manger’ (Lk 2:7). A manger is a feeding place for animals. Hence, Jesus placed on the manger symbolizes that the Bread of Life becomes the Food for the World. Thus, Jesus as the life-giving bread was foreshadowed in the symbol of the manger. 

Bread of Life and Immortality: It is not only that the name of Jesus is immortal but the food that he gives as well. People who ate the manna died. But those who eat the bread of life will live forever. Here, faith in Jesus will bestow on us the benefits of his sacrifice. As a result, for those who have faith in Jesus, this life and the next are rewards of immortality.

Faith enables us to partake of the food that will make us immortal. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar