HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER YEAR B (1)

HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: THE LIVING BREAD

BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon

HOMILY:

(Jn. 6:35-40) Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

In the day’s Gospel Jesus presents Himself as the bread of life. He was addressing the Jews who were seeking refuge to their situation of poverty, slavery to sin, enslavement to the Romans, and political turmoil. They were promised a Messiah and they were patiently and enthusiastically anticipating their Saviour.

Jesus comes as one who could satisfy this hunger. Bread, being staple among Jews, perfectly symbolises who He is, the source and meaning of life. Jesus is our enough. Jesus satisfies our physical and spiritual longing. We find peace in Jesus. He is the spice of life. He is the “bulalo” of our person. In our context, He is the “bigas” which we eat as “kanin” when cooked. Like bread to the Jews, rice is to us Filipinos. Without rice, we have not really eaten and will not have pour fill.

The Kidapawan massacre comes to mind. Farmers and their families were not able to plant and had no harvest. As a result, they could not afford to buy food and even if they do have money, there is no rice available. So, they sought help from government. Unfortunately, the rally transformed into a massacre. Some of them were shot and died while on the part of the law enforcers, there were also casualties. Food is a necessity. In their case, rice must be on the table for them to survive.

Jesus is our “rice” or bread of life. Saints realized and proclaimed this in and with their lives. St. Theresa of Calcutta proclaimed, “Give us Jesus, only Jesus, always Jesus.”