Who will be the residents of Hell/Gehenna? by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

WONDERING GURU

26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 29 September 2024

(Num 11: 25-29; Ps 19: 8-14; James 5: 1-6; Mk 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48)

Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

Introduction: It is neither popular nor palatable to preach about hell.  In modern times one hardly hears any sermon about going to hell.  Many don’t even believe in the existence of hell.  No matter what we choose to believe the reality of hell is real as it is stated by Jesus in today’s gospel. The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.  Hell is the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed….” (CCC 1033) Furthermore, the Catechism states, “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire’” (CCC 1035). Let’s reflect on today’s gospel reading a bit deeper.

How do we cause one of these “little ones” to sin?

The “little ones” Jesus speaks about in the Gospel can refer to those new in faith, new converts or to little children who are growing in faith and love of Christ.  In both cases the good example of the adult Christian is very important.  Many times our unconscious behaviour can lead others away from God.  A few examples of unconscious unchristian behaviour.

·      When we do not pray in crucial moments of our life, we teach the little ones, that God doesn’t answer prayer anymore. A child asked his father. “Dad, is God dead?” “Why of course not. Why would you ask such a question, my child?” said the father. The child responded, “Because you don’t talk to him like before.”

·      When we don’t read God’s Word, we teach the little ones, that His word is no longer relevant.

·      When we don’t tell others about Jesus’ love, we teach the little ones that witnessing is out of fashion.

·      When we sin and don’t repent/no confession, we teach the “little ones” that God’s standards are “optional.”

 How many Christians believe in hell?

Someone said, it’s better for us to literally be without part of our body and have a fire in our spirit than to have all of our body and be dead in our spirit.

In a survey, it was determined that 35% of Baptists; 54% of Presbyterians, 58% of Methodists, and 60% of Episcopalians DO NOT Believe in a literal place called HELL! 71% of the 8 leading seminaries in the United States Do Not Believe in either Heaven or Hell. Dr. A. C. Dixon stated, "If we had more preaching on Hell, then we would have Less of it in our communities!"

Today, Hell is thought of as a Joke! The English word for "Hell" appears in the Bible 54 times. In the New Testament alone, the "eternality of Hell" occurs 126 times; while Jesus spoke of Heaven only once, He spoke of Hell eleven (11) times!

 What is the understanding of Hell?

§  Eternal Association with the Wicked (2 Pet. 2:4; 9; Rev. 21:8). Hell was not created for mankind, but rather for the devil and his angels; as well as the Beast & False Prophet (Rev. 20).

§  Eternal Darkness (2 Pet. 2:4; 17; Jude 13; Mt. 8:12). In Egypt, (Ex. 10:21-23), the Bible says that Darkness was felt by people during the plagues upon the land.

§  Eternal Death (Rev. 20:13-14). It is quite obvious that at that time, There Will Be NO Second Chances! No More Hope of Being Saved! This death does not mean annihilation or extinction; It means Separation from LIGHT!

§  Unspeakable Sorrow-Mk. 9; Matt. 13; Lk. 13; and many other passages speak of the awful sorrows that will be in Hell! Bitter, Biting, Burning Remorse & Memory (Lk. 16)  Dan. 12:2 speaks about shame and everlasting contempt."

§  Unsatisfied desires (Lk. 16) Like the rich man in Hell thirsting for just a drop of water to cool his parched tongue, YOU too will have cravings that will never be satisfied.

§  Despair & Hopelessness (Mt. 25:41; 46; Rev. 14:10-11) One thing that is clearly taught in the Scriptures - Hell is Forever and Ever and Ever!

§  Unquenchable Flame of Fire (Matt. 13:41-42; 49-50).

§  Sounds produced by those in Hell (Mk. 9; Matt. 13). The flesh worms eating at one’s flesh! The Weeping and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth!

 If Hell is real, and it is, then who will be there?

Jesus tells us very plainly why Hell was created. It was designed as a place of eternal punishment for Satan and his demonic followers (Mt. 25:41). And, we know that at the end of the Tribulation Period, Satan, along with the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast into Hell (Rev. 20:10). But, there are others in Hell! Jude speaks of certain angels “which kept not their first estate” as being in Hell (Jude 6). Is Hell then just a place for spiritual beings who have rebelled against God? No! In Matthew 25:41, Jesus sends a group of people away into Hell! In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells us the story of a rich man who died and went to Hell. The Bible is clear about who will be in Hell. Psalm 9:17 tells us that the “wicked will be turned into Hell”. The bottom line is this: everyone who rejects God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ will go to Hell (Jn 8:24; 2 Thes. 1:9-10).

What Is the Saddest Thing about Going to Hell?

The Saddest Thing About Going to Hell Is - realizing that you don’t have to go there!

How to avoid the road going to Hell?

1. Recognize the fact that you are a sinner - Rom. 3:10; 23; Rom. 5:12.

2. Understand the penalty that God has placed on sin - Rom. 6:23.

3. Know what God did to save you from your sins - Rom. 5:6-9.

4. Turn from your sins, make confession and place your faith in Jesus alone for your salvation - Rom. 10:9-13.

5. God’s plan of salvation is as simple as pure faith in Jesus: Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 16:31; Jn 3:16; Jn 6:47; Jn 5:25.

To be First be Servant of all by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 22 September 2024

(Wis 2: 12, 17-20; Ps 54: 3-8; James 3: 16 – 4: 3; Mk 9: 30-37)

Why the apostles remained silent?  “They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, ’What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.” Mark tells us that they didn’t answer Him. They didn’t answer because they were ashamed. As long as they thought that Jesus didn’t know, it seemed reasonable. But when they realized Jesus knew about their intention and discussion, they felt ashamed.  If they had been discussing how to serve God better, they would have been eager to tell Jesus about that.

What could be the reason of their discussion? Peter, James & John after transfiguration episode might have been having very excited discussion among themselves.  Now when the rest of the apostles heard them talking like that, you can imagine their curiosity: “What are you talking about? What did you see?” Then Peter might have replied, “Well, we really can’t say. Maybe someday we can tell you what we saw on top of the mountain, but right now Jesus only wants the 3 of us to know, & we’ve been instructed not to tell anybody else.”

Did Jesus reprimand His apostles? “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve & said, ’If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, & the servant of all.’”  Now notice that Jesus did not condemn them or rebuke them for desiring greatness. He did not say that it is wrong to want to be great. I believe that God has given all of us an inborn trait that makes us want to be great in whatever it is that we do. Jesus doesn’t say that’s wrong. But He defines what “greatness” is. What is “greatness?” “True greatness is to be found in service, in a concern about others, willing even to be last, instead of always putting ourselves first.” This is contrary to everything the world teaches. The world says that greatness is measured by how many people serve us. Greatness, according to the world, is measured by the number of lives that we control.

Why did Jesus use a child as an object lesson? Someone said, “Jesus used a child because a child really can’t do anything for us.” A child can’t enhance our position in society. A child can’t add to our success. On the contrary, a child demands things. Every mother & father knows that when they become parents they begin to learn what “serving” is all about. They quickly learn about sacrificing themselves, their time, their energy and money to meet the needs of their children. The moment they become parents they start giving & giving & giving.  And when children get married parents are still giving. So, Jesus took the child & said, “This is what I’m talking about. A child can’t do anything for you. A child can’t make you more important in the eyes of the world. But a child can teach you what ministry is all about.”

Stories: Dr. Viktor Frankl was an Austrian physician who was imprisoned in one of Hitler’s death camps. He and his fellow Jewish people suffered unbelievable atrocities. Everything about their living and working conditions were deplorable, including their medical care. Dr. Frankl offered what little medical help he could to the sick and dying. Over time, he discovered a unique phenomenon he recorded in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’. He said those people who kept their strength and sanity the longest were those who tried to help other prisoners and share what little they had. Their physical and mental condition seemed strengthened by their friendliness, compassion, and focus on something other than themselves. Ministry energizes, contrary to the great fear that resources will be depleted if we help others.

A certain family had two sons. The older said he must make a name for his family, so turned his face towards Parliament and fame. The younger decided to give his life to the service of Christ and turned his face towards China and duty. He was Hudson Taylor, the missionary, who died beloved and known on every continent. “But,” someone wrote, “when I looked in the encyclopedia to see what the other son had done, I found these words, ’the brother of Hudson Taylor.’ “

“Unless our belief in God causes us to help our fellow man, our faith stands condemned.”–Billy Graham

Taking the Road Less Travelled by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

                                                                    WONDERING GURU

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 15 Sept 2024

(Isaiah 50: 5-9a; Ps 116: 1-9; James 2: 14-18; Mark 8: 27-35)

Introduction: What did Jesus mean when He said to take up the cross? What does it mean to “take up” or “bear a cross”? What does the Bible teach about “cross bearing?” When Jesus says take up your cross and follow me, first of all, we see the startling honesty of Jesus. Jesus never tries to bribe us by the offer of an easy life. During the WW2, when Winston Churchill took over the leadership of England, all that he offered his people was “blood, sweat & tears.” Same was offered by Garibaldi to the people of South Italy.  And that is very much like what Jesus is offering to His followers, too. We must remember that Jesus never calls upon us to do anything that He was not prepared to do Himself. What He asks us to face, He has already faced. And when He calls upon us to take up a cross, He, Himself, has already borne one for us.  So, let’s see a few things about cross bearing.

Cross Bearing Was Confusing: Paul wrote: “Jews demand miraculous signs & Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews & foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews & Greeks, Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:22 24). We can understand the Jews stumbling over the idea of their Messiah hanging on a cross. They were an oppressed people. They had been oppressed by Assyrians & Babylonians & Greeks, & now by the Romans.  But one thing kept them going through it all, God’s promise of the Messiah.  Fathers would tell their children, “One day the Messiah will come & set us free. He will be a magnificent king with legions of soldiers behind him. They will defeat our enemies & make them bow down before us.”  Then the Messiah came, but not as they had expected. He came as a carpenter, a preacher from Nazareth. Some called Him a madman. His army was made up of twelve men. And instead of great military victories, there was a crucifixion.  So, the cross was a stumbling block to the Jews. It wasn’t what they expected. It wasn’t what they wanted to hear. And neither do we.

JESUS CLARIFIES THE CONCEPT OF CROSS BEARING

1. Cross Bearing is Always Voluntary-Jesus calls us, & challenges us, but it is our decision. Taking up a cross & following Jesus is voluntary.
2. Cross Bearing is an Act of Love– Cross bearing is not an accident that happens to us, or something unavoidable that we must face. Cross bearing is an act of love that we choose to do. It is a task that we undertake, a price that we pay, out of love for Him. For Jesus it meant going to a cross to die because He loved us so much, He could do nothing else.  “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13).  It means reaching out to people who are unlovable & unlovely & who may never return the love. And yet we are to keep on loving because that’s what Jesus did. 1 Cor 13:4 reads (exchange the word “love” with “cross bearer”): “A cross bearer is patient. A cross bearer is kind. A cross bearer does not envy. A cross bearer does not boast. A cross bearer is not arrogant or rude. A cross bearer is not self-seeking.  A cross bearer is not easily angered, nor keeps records of wrongs. He does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. A cross bearer always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” That is what cross bearing means. It means taking the love of God to the very ends of the world. To touch the lives of people who are unlovable. It means denying & sacrificing. It means paying the price regardless of the hardships we must endure.
3. Cross Bearing is Hard– Off course it is hard. Whenever the message of the cross has been preached, people have always objected to it. Jesus talked about His impending death on a cross & His apostles recoiled at that. They tried to keep Him from going to Jerusalem. They said, “We don’t want you to die.” When He did die on the cross, they hid behind locked doors, fearful of what might happen next.

Conclusion: If you really love Jesus, take up the Cross and follow Him.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference”- Robert Frost

Why the Gradual Healing of the Deaf & the Dumb? by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time    8 September 2024

(Isaiah 35: 4-7a; Ps 146: 7-10; James 2: 1-5; Mark 7: 31-37)

Introduction: Hearing and speaking are a very important part of our lives and the reason we have two ears and one mouth. It has been said that we should see and hear more and speak less and that is why we have only one mouth. Deafness and dumbness often go together since you cannot learn to speak what you cannot hear. A person who cannot hear or speak finds it very difficult to communicate with others. Unable to express their thoughts and feelings they become isolated, cut off and shut off from society. Far worse than being cut off from society is being cut off from God and this happens when we are deaf to the voice of God. Hearing and speaking are essential to receiving the gospel and praising God and the ear serves as a direct link to our soul. What we hear with our ears goes deep down into our hearts and into our souls. Whether they are words of love, words of joy, laughter, music, or cries for help we are stirred up within.

Jesus takes him aside away from the crowd--Christ has compassion on the crowd but He imparts his touch on an individual basis (Mark 8:2–23). In the gospel reading of today we see Jesus healing a deaf and dumb man. Anyone who at any time senses the need of being touched by the Master needs to get alone with God.  The crowd has a way of keeping us distracted and preoccupied with various voices. God, on the other hand, has a way of leading us to a place of solitude where He can have our undivided attention. Many biblical characters spent lot of time in isolated settings: Moses, David, John the Baptist, Paul, Elijah, Jonah, Daniel, Joseph, etc. It is safe to say that we must shut out the world’s voice if we would be touched by the Master. The most difficult thing for Christ to do during His time on earth was not to heal people, but to get people to listen to Him!

Jesus Touches him--The Lord who does all things right has healed and restored us. His actions are proof that He is the Messiah because according to the prophesy of Isaiah 35:4-6, the Messiah “will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer. And the tongue of the dumb sing.” Not only does Christ restore, He becomes involved in restored lives. It is not good enough to minister from a distance. Praying to meet the need of a person is important but equally important is being involved in meeting that need and being involved in the life of that person. Very often our involvement is only through the laying on of hands. Jesus was always involved with the people He ministered to. We cannot simply pray for someone who is cold and hungry to be warm and filled. We have to do something about his or her condition and this is what involvement is about. We are involved because we are Christ’s ambassadors. In a very real way we are His hands, His mouth and His feet, ministering for Him with the same loving concern He had for the world.

Jesus uses Saliva to heal- Jesus spit and touched the man’s tongue with His own saliva. This is a bit unorthodox but Christ never did anything without a reason. Jesus was communicating with His touch. The man’s speech was unclear because of his hearing impairment. He not only needed to hear right, he needed to talk right. Jesus was teaching us that in order to talk right, our speech must be touched by the Master. Sometimes our speech is too starchy filled with harsh words, gossip, vulgarity, pessimistic speech, or unkind words.

Jesus Looks Up--Everything that Christ does serve a purpose and each of His actions are significant. As Christ began to minister to the deaf and dumb man, He looked up to Heaven. This is symbolic of the relationship or communion He had with God. It was as if he was saying to the deaf and dumb man that the source of His power came from God. Communion refers to an intimate relationship and Jesus maintained this communion with God through prayer.

What about us? We're 2000 years removed from this event. What do we find here that is relevant for us? If this is only about the compassion of Jesus in the face of physical necessity, how many proofs do we need?  After all, how many sick people need to be healed, how many dead people need to be raised back to life, how many deaf ears need to be opened before we get the point? If this is only about Jesus' healing physical problems what's special about this miracle?  You and I are also in this text. In some way we are the ‘man’ who are healed. We think of deafness as a physical thing, and it certainly is. But what about spiritual deafness? What about not hearing God; not understanding God? Well, that’s how man is before he is converted. Man is deaf to God. He cannot hear God. He can't understand God. And as a result he cannot speak of God; he cannot confess God. Apart from Jesus man is helplessly deaf and dumb. Apart from Jesus our ears remain closed. Apart from Jesus we have no knowledge of God from which our lips can speak. In our text it was the fingers of Jesus and His spit which became the instruments of a miracle. For us Jesus worked through the hands of a priest and the water of baptism to perform His miracle. Spit certainly seems inconsequential - so does the water which is poured over us at the baptismal font. The fingers of a man placed into the ears of a deaf-mute must have seemed like nothing. So, too, the human hands which cradled you and applied to you the water of life. But in each case the result was the same. Ears that had been closed were opened, able to hear the voice of God. A tongue which had been bound was unloosed and able to confess. 

May we learn to listen to the voice of God that we may give him all the glory with our tongue. Amen!

**********

Spiritual Heart Attacks by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time-Year B-1 September 2024

(Deut 4: 1-2, 6-8; Ps 15: 2-5; James 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mk 7: 1-8, 14-15,21-23)

 

The Problem: There is a war being fought in the world today. It’s not a military war rather it’s a supernatural war. A war fought between God and Satan, between heaven and hell. That war is being fought for the hearts of men and women.  One side wants to protect our hearts-the other side wants to attack our hearts. Every heart is vulnerable to attack.

Why this war?

Proverbs 27:19 says “As the water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man”. Proverbs 16:9 says “In his heart a man plans his course”. The course our lives take will be determined by the condition of our hearts. It’s in our hearts that we determine who we will live for, who we will serve, who we will love. Will it be the God of heaven or the God of this world? That’s why the Bible mentions the heart 779 times!

Solution: We need to imitate the man who was close to God’s heart. In Psalm 86:11-12 King David prayed “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart…”. But many of us would struggle and therefore say what the psalmist said in Psalm 25:17 “The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish”. Psalm 40:12 “For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me”.

Why Is an Unhealthy Heart So Dangerous? Mark 7:20-23: ‘‘What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly…’” That’s why Solomon said …..Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  If we are not careful spiritual heart attacks has the power to make people grow spiritually weak and eventually spiritually sick. They become spiritual patients for the rest of their lives-they never become “healthy Christians”. This spiritual sickness is caused by countless little things that slowly eat away at a person’s heart over time. Things like bad attitudes, wrong relationships, poor choice of priorities, little compromises. Too often those things go unnoticed until it’s too late. Then people end up with; Guilty hearts, diseased hearts, hardened hearts, distracted hearts or numb hearts.  When such hearts surface in a Christian life you stop feeling the things you should feel such as love and gratitude for God; care and concern for others, compassion for hurting people; anger over injustice; conviction over your own sin; frustration over other people’s apathy.

What is the treatment?

It’s important to understand that there is no human cure. You can’t fix your own heart. Pure motives and good intentions are not enough. We need God. He does not repair hearts. He does not do heart surgery.  He does transplant and gives you a brand new heart “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; i will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19). But even after transplants, hearts are vulnerable. That’s why there needs to be a change in a person’s lifestyle after surgery. A daily dose of the holy spirit; a steady diet of the scriptures and a regular routine of spiritual activities.

The Psychology of the Crowd That Followed Jesus by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Do we also behave like the crowd?)

                    (Joshua 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Psalm 34; Eph 5: 21-32; John 6: 60-69).

Introduction-In John 6 a large number of people begin a journey with Jesus. They have experienced His goodness. They are among the 5000 men plus women and children who enjoyed being with Jesus and witnessing miracles.  But their feelings and beliefs oscillate like the pendulum of the clock in no time. At the beginning they are excited with Jesus but their excitement soon turns into grumbling and disappointment. So, they walk off.  Let’s find out more about the crowd psychology.  Do we also behave like the crowd?

I. The Excited Crowd-They are so excited they want to make Jesus their king. Surely, Jesus will free us from the tyranny of Rome, just like Moses freed Israel from the tyranny of Egypt they assumed (Deut 18:15). Unfortunately, their excitement was based upon some false assumptions about Jesus—the assumption that Jesus has come to be their political leader, the assumption that Jesus has come to make life easy for them, the assumption that Jesus has come to give them what they want. How does Jesus respond to their excitement? First, he sent His disciples away. Why? Because they are vulnerable to the influence of the crowd. Like the crowd they too wanted Jesus to be a political revolutionary. They too wanted the earthly power and influence after upsetting the mighty Romans. This mind looks evident when the mother of James and John makes her request that each of her boys sit on the right and on the left of Jesus.  Therefore, Jesus sends them across the lake away from all this excitement and false assumptions.  When Jesus accused them of seeking Him for all the wrong reasons, when Jesus began to address their false assumptions, they became the grumbling crowd.

II. The Grumbling Crowd-We want you to be our king. That is what the crowd told Jesus. They were believing in the Messiah they had conceived, not the One the Father has sent.  The Messiah they were expecting is actually standing before them revealing Himself as He truly is. If they will accept Him as He really is, if they will abandon their own agenda and allow Him to truly lead, everything else will fall into place.

The crowd was not convinced. They asked: “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? Moses gave our forefathers manna in the wilderness! Can you do something similar?” They have just experienced one of the greatest miracles ever recorded in human history but that was not enough. They want something more from Jesus. It was commonly assumed by the Jews at that time that when Messiah would come, he would give manna like Moses did.  So, Jesus corrects these people on a couple of crucial points: First, God was the one who gave the manna, not Moses. Second, God, has now sent the true bread from heaven. Instead of trying to understand they start grumbling.  They grumble because he said that He came down from heaven. So they said to each other: “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He say, “I came down from heaven?” Again, they are operating out of false assumptions about Jesus. They are beginning to draw back from Jesus. The grumbling crowd becomes the offended crowd.

III. The Offended Crowd-They begin to argue among themselves. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”  In verse 52, they are no longer calling him Rabbi, and they are certainly not calling him Lord. They call him: “this man”. This is not what these people wanted to hear. They are repulsed by the very thought. Their law forbids the drinking of blood. So, many left Jesus. Jesus turned to the disciples in verse 67 and asked a question, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” He anticipated their answer but the question had to be asked. When the going really get rough, Peter’s answer is a powerful truth to remember. When our faith has been most shaken, we need to hold to those words, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Close: We may not understand the circumstances we are experiencing. We may not understand why God is allowing us to go through what we’re going through. We may be tempted to toss in the towel and give up. But the truth is there is no place else to go. Jesus alone has the words of eternal life. If I turn to the world, I will come up empty. If I turn to material gain I will not be satisfied in my soul. If I turn to sensuality and pleasure, I may enjoy it for a season but it will only lead me into addictions. Where can I go but to the Lord. There is no place else to go.

"JESUS IS ALL THAT WE NEED"

To the LOST, He is the WAY

To the THIRSTY, He is the WATER OF LIFE

To the HUNGRY, He is the MANNA from Heaven

To the SINNER, He is the AUTHOR OF SALVATION

To the HEAVY LADEN, He is the REST

To the DISCOURAGED, He is HOPE

To the LONELY, He is COMPANY

To the IGNORANT, He is KNOWLEDGE

To those in DARKNESS, He is the LIGHT

To those CONFUSED, He is the COUNSELOR

To those who are SICK, He is the DOCTOR

To those who are WEAK, He is our STRENGTH

Jesus The Bread of Life Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 WONDERING GURU

20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

18^th August 2024

(Proverbs 9: 1-6; Psalm 34; Ephesians 5: 15-20; John 6: 51-58)

 

Story: In his book entitled God’s Psychiatry, Charles Allen tells this story: As World War II was drawing to a close, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans. They were placed in camps where they were well-fed. Despite excellent care, they slept poorly. They seemed nervous and afraid. Finally, a psychologist came up with the solution. Each child was given a piece of bread to hold after he was put to bed. This particular piece of bread was just to be held—not eaten. The piece of bread produced wonderful results. The children went to bed knowing instinctively they would have food to eat the next day. That guarantee gave the children a restful and contented sleep.

Today Jesus speaks of Bread.  His one among the famous 7 I AM sayings: I am the bread of life. 

In Germany there is a Christmas bread called S-T-O-L-L-E-N. It was first prepared in 1545 for the Council of Trent.  And since then, has been the standard traditional Christmas bread baked and consumed by German folks around the world.

In Poland, Eastern Europe, there is another Christmas bread called oplatki, launched in the tenth century.  And it’s still being prepared every Christmas.

In Italy there is a bread called Panettone.  Panettone comes from two words, the Italian word for bread is “panne” and “Tony” name of a person. Back in the 15th century, the 1400s, there was a baker by the name of Tony.  That’s where it came from.  And he wanted to impress the king because he wanted to marry his daughter, so he baked some bread.  Hence, Panettone bread.  I don’t really think that’s the best way to impress a king however Tony made a mark on history because if you go into any Italian market, you find a section with Panettone.

If you go to the Holy land “Bethlehem” in Hebrew means “house of bread”.  “Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, always give us this bread.’” “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 

This crowd is under the misapprehension that Moses and not God was ultimately responsible for the manna; and this crowd is following Jesus now not because they want to hear the words of eternal life, but because they think they’ve found in Him a never-ending supply of bread. So, we have three types of people in the crowd who heard him but went away.

·      Materialists- They only want goodies not God.  Missionaries in the third world would speak about ‘rice Christians’. Only if you give them goodies they come to the church otherwise no.

·      Legalists- Some people want only a set of rules to follow.  We call it the sin of legalism.  For them the rules are more important than relationships.  They want the Law but not the giver of the Law.

·      Sensationalists-What sign will you give us?  Jesus had fed 5000 people just the previous day.  Yesterday’s miracle was not enough for tomorrow.  Some people crave for spiritual excitement regularly.  They want only mountain top experiences without any valleys in between. 

Modern Crowd-Russian sociologists wrote that some of the contributing failures of Soviet communism were widespread despair and alcoholism among the Russian people. Replacing God with the state and illusory hopes of a utopian worker’s paradise cannot ever satisfy the human heart.

 St. Augustine spoke about God-shaped vacuum in every soul. We can attempt to fill that vacuum in our hearts with a host of irrelevant things to satiate our hunger for significance except Jesus. You are all familiar with the old saying:  Money can buy you a house, but not a home; money can buy you an education, but not wisdom; money can buy you a bed, but not restful sleep; money can buy you influence, but not respect; it can buy you medicine, but not health; a spouse, but not love; quiet, but not tranquility.  Despite the failure of money, power, pleasure, drink, drugs, or many other glittering distractions that promise peace and fulfillment but cannot deliver, we still scramble and claw to find our meaning in everything except our maker and His purpose for us.