Completely fulfilled

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to explore complete fulfillment that we desire as individuals and communally as the Body of Christ.

Wisdom and Bread of Life

The Acts of the Apostles describes the martyrdom of St. Stephen who connects with Jesus as he dies and forgives his murderers.

* [7:57] Covered their ears: Stephen’s declaration, like that of Jesus, is a scandal to the court, which regards it as blasphemy.

In the Gospel of John, the beginning of the Bread of Life Discourse resonates with the personification of Wisdom in the Hebrew Testament.

* [6:22–71] Discourse on the bread of life; replacement of the manna. Jn 6:22–34 serve as an introduction, Jn 6:35–59 constitute the discourse proper, Jn 6:60–71 portray the reaction of the disciples and Peter’s confession.

Mary Lee Brock is grateful for this powerful reminder in this Easter season that Jesus is the bread of everlasting life.

Then Jesus captures my attention by talking about bread.  I start listening attentively and quickly realize that Jesus is not talking about bread I will have with my dinner but a different kind of bread.  This leaves me intrigued and eager to hear more. Jesus says to us, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”  Jesus is explaining to us that God sent him from heaven to give life to the world. Although in my imagination I am still in a crowd scene I feel an immediate sense of calm and well-being.

Don Schwager prays his confession of the bread of life.

"Lord Jesus Christ, you are the bread of life. You alone can satisfy the hunger in my heart. May always find in you, the true bread from heaven, the source of life and nourishment I need to sustain me on my journey to the promised land of heaven."

Friar Jude Winkler explains how Stephen defends himself before a mob court. In the early verses of the Bread of Life discourse about Wisdom Incarnate, John indicates that whatever was written about Wisdom was written about Jesus.

Eric Chabot comments on some of the Wisdom texts.

One way of looking at Jesus’ deity draws on Israel’s Wisdom literature. Israel’s Wisdom literature includes books such as Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon. Protestants do not accept Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon as part of their canon. In examining the following texts, it can be observed there are amazing similarities. Hence, it would be hard to deny that the “high” Christology of the New Testament was not greatly influenced by Wisdom Christology. First century Jews were strongly monotheistic, so to them, the figure of Wisdom was not a second God. Wisdom is described not only as a personification of God, but as a separate person from God. Here are some of the Wisdom texts:

Today is the memorial in Canada (celebrated on July 14 in the United States) of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks. The reflection from Franciscan Media outlines her holiness.

We like to think that our proposed holiness is thwarted by our situation. If only we could have more solitude, less opposition, better health. Kateri Tekakwitha repeats the example of the saints: Holiness thrives on the cross, anywhere. Yet she did have what Christians—all people—need: the support of a community. She had a good mother, helpful priests, Christian friends. These were present in what we call primitive conditions, and blossomed in the age-old Christian triad of prayer, fasting and almsgiving: union with God in Jesus and the Spirit, self-discipline and often suffering, and charity for her brothers and sisters.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments on mystics as those who reconnect what has been separated and experience deep intimacy and union with God, self, and others.

How we relate to one thing is probably how we relate to everything. How we relate sexually to ourselves and others is a good teacher for how we relate to God (and how we relate to God is an indicator of how we will relate to everything else). Religion, as its root re-ligio (to “re-ligament”) indicates, is the task of putting our divided realities back together: human and divine, male and female, heaven and earth, sin and salvation, mistake and glory, matter and spirit. This is the task of every human life.

Our Christian community is called to be an example of the power of the Bread of Life to overcome separation.

References

(n.d.). Acts, chapter 7 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts7:71

(n.d.). John, chapter 6 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/6:30

(n.d.). Creighton's Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(2011, March 23). Jesus as Wisdom Incarnate – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from https://chab123.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/jesus-as-wisdom-incarnate/

(n.d.). Saint Kateri Tekakwitha – Franciscan Media. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-kateri-tekakwitha/

(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 17, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/