Jesus was stunned when a group of Pharisees from Jerusalem approached him, questioning why his disciples were not following the purification rituals before eating. Jesus clarified that the problem was not the disciples’ dirty hands but the Pharisees’ ill-oriented hearts. Jesus, instead of being discouraged, becomes an echo of the ancient cry of the prophets:…

John sets the stage for an account of a dramatic crisis. After the lengthy discussion in the synagogue at Capernaum about his flesh as food, some followers abruptly realized they would no longer walk with Jesus. Their instinct is clear: this word is problematic. Who can tolerate it? Some of the Savior’s invitations are challenging…

In this concise Gospel of only eight verses, Jesus repeats his message eight times: He who eats my flesh will live forever. This repetition creates a responsory cadence, a divine back-and-forth wave, in the style of John advancing in concentric ascending circles. It’s like throwing a pebble into the water and watching the circles grow…

“I am the bread that descended out of heaven.” In a single sentence, Jesus gathers and interweaves three images: bread, heaven, and reaching humanity. A journey of nourishment from heaven, but what kind of bread is baked in heaven? I am bread, Jesus points out, not in the way that a handful of flour and…

Jesus has just performed the ‘sign’ of sharing bread out of his caring heart. As remarkable as it is, this act holds a profound spiritual significance that is often misunderstood. This causes the people, in fact, to seek him and hold him; they would like to monopolize his presence as a guarantee against all future…

Sunday of bread overflowing from hands, from baskets, seemingly never-ending. As Jesus started distributing, it did not fail, and when he reached for more, each hand rejoiced with more bread. Here, a boy steps forward with five barley loaves and two fish, the first grain to ripen. He offers all he has, understanding the need…

Jesus invited the disciples to come and rest a while after their joyful return from the two-by-two mission of crucial conversion. The Twelve met so many people; they did it with the art learned from Jesus: the blessing of providing close support while healing the struggles of life. There is so much to do in…

The disciples sent on a mission left two by two, never alone. For when alone, the disciple doubts everything, even himself. The first mission was to support each other; Jesus commanded them to take only a staff, like Moses, so they would open new ways. They invited people to convert, anointed many sick with oil,…

Our Sunday gospel notes Jesus’ neighbors’ reaction after they heard him preach: “But isn’t he the carpenter, the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?” A few pages earlier, the group of relatives mentioned by the neighbors went down to Capernaum to bring home “the eccentric cousin” because they said he’d gone mad. And now…