DAILY MEDITATION: "No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father"

Liturgical day: Sunday 19th (B) in Ordinary Time

Gospel text (Jn 6,41-51): The Jews murmured because Jesus had said, "I am the bread which comes from heaven". And they said, "This man is the son of Joseph, isn't he? We know his father and mother. How can he say that he has come from heaven?". Jesus answered them, «Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: ‘They shall all be taught by God’. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me. For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; He has seen the Father.

"Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world".

"No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father"

Fr. Lluc TORCAL Monk of Santa Maria de Poblet
(Santa Maria de Poblet, Tarragona, Spain)

Today, the Gospel shows how puzzled Jesus' compatriots were when in his presence: "This man is the son of Joseph, isn't he? We know his father and mother. How can he say that he has come from heaven?" (Jn 6, 42). The life of Jesus amongst his own people had been so normal that, when He began with the proclamation of the Kingdom, those who knew him were shocked at what He was saying.

What Father was Jesus referring to, whom nobody had ever seen before? Which could be that living bread coming from heaven that those who eat of it would live forever? He denied it was the manna in the desert because those who ate it also died. "The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world" (Jn 6, 51). Could his flesh be an aliment for us? The baffling doubts Jesus was spreading amongst the Jews could also embarrass us should we not be able to answer a question basic for our Christian life: Who is Jesus?

Many men and women before us have asked themselves the same question, have personally answered it, have gone to Jesus, have followed him and now they enjoy an endless life full of love. And those who now may come to Jesus, He will raise them up on the last day. (cf. Jn 6, 44). John Cassian exhorted his monks by telling them: "‘Come close to God, and He will come close to you’, because ‘nobody can come to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father who sent Him’ (...). In the Gospel we listen to the Lord inviting us to join Him: ‘You who are burdened and overwhelmed, come to me and I will make you rest’". Let us welcome the Word of the Gospel that every day brings us nearer to Jesus; let us welcome the invitation of the very Gospel to enter into communion with Him by eating his flesh, because "This is the true food, Christ's flesh, which being Word has become flesh, as it is said ‘And the Word became flesh’" (Origen).

Source: evangeli.net