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Click here for today's homily.
HOMILY NOTES A. We are hungry. God made us that way. We were made to be hungry for Him.
Psalm 63:2“O God, you are my God—it is you I seek! For you my body yearns”
B. Sheep will eat anything in front of them.
Psalm 23:1&3: “The LORD is my shepherd ... He guides me along right paths”
It’s the shepherd’s job to feed the flock
C. It’s the shepherd’s job to feed the flock.
Isaiah 40:11: “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs”
D. How did God feed them in the Old Testament?
Exodus 16:13-15: “In the morning there was a layer of dew all about the camp, and when the layer of dew evaporated, fine flakes were on the surface of the wilderness, fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, ‘What is this?’ for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, ‘It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.’”
Listen to Fr. Mark today, behind the Altar, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer ▸ The Priest, with hands extended, says: “You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness.” He joins his hands and, holding them extended over the offerings, says: “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall”
E. Is God still feeding?
John 10: 11: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
F. Jesus is the shepherd ... and it’s His job to feed us.
F.1 Emphatic no. 1 ▸ John 6:35: “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.’”
F.2 Emphatic no. 2 ▸ John 6:48: “I am the bread of life.”
F.3 Emphatic no. 3 ▸ John 6:51: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
F.4 Those listening do understand that Jesus is talking about literally eating His flesh ▸ John 6:60: “Many of his disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’”
F.5 Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist is the only teaching that causes people to stop following Him ▸ John 6:66: “As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
F.6 As a Rabbi Jesus has a moral responsibility to correct His teaching if they misunderstood Him ▸ John 6:67: “Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’”
G. Jesus feeds still, through the priesthood and through the Eucharist.
John 21:15: “Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’”
John 21:16: “He then said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’”
John 21:17: “He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter ... said to him, “Lord, you know know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’”