This
passage contains one of Jesus’ metaphorical ‘I am’ phrases: ‘I am the bread of
life’. Whilst an entire page could be devoted to unravelling the imagery and
discussing what message could be taken from it, I prefer to this time point out
two other aspects of the passage. The first is that we are not the first
generation to find some of Jesus’ teachings hard. The reading opens with the
listening Jews ‘grumbling’ among themselves and objecting to his statements.
Indeed, we are close to the time in the Gospel when many followers abandon
Jesus as they cannot accept some of his claims! This leads to the second point
which struck me: twice in only ten short verses do we hear that we are not able
to approach God by ourselves. We need God’s intervention and help! Jesus first says,
‘No-one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him’, and then
quotes the Prophets to say, ‘They will all be taught by God’. There may be some
comfort to be had from these statements. It is not surprising to find certain
teachings in the Bible difficult, or to struggle with one’s faith occasionally.
However, we can pray for God to help our understanding and to strengthen our
faith, as it is by God’s grace that we can draw closer to Him through Jesus.
Nous pouvons prier pour que Dieu nous aide dans notre
compréhension et qu’il renforce notre foi car c’est par la grâce de Dieu que
nous pouvons nous rapprocher de lui à travers Jésus.
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