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SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – June 18, 2017

SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – June 18, 2017

Sunday gospel I am the living bread that came down from heaven“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”

John 6:51–58

Jesus is our food. Whatever emptiness may be felt in our lives, he alone can fill it. If a vacuum exists anywhere in need of justice, peace, charity, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, or simple respect, Jesus is the missing element. The living bread from heaven is what sustains hope on this planet. God is with us. God’s life is offered to us. The unity of humanity and divinity expressed in Jesus is the model of the oneness we seek as Church. It’s a high standard, but only high standards are worth pursuing.

When we speak of Jesus as food, we naturally tend to focus on the elements of our Eucharist. The unity of God-with-us begins there, but it can’t end at the Lord’s Table. If God-life is in us, then it must be knit to our blood and bone, to our actions and decisions, to our yearnings and relationships. Unity means unity. There can be no corner of our lives we reserve for selfish motives and bitter resentments. If we come to this Table, we’re asking for unqualified unity with the life of God. Is this really what we want?

 

How much of your life belongs to God, and how much do you reserve for other, perhaps conflicting or contradictory objectives?

 

(Reflection and questions by Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings)

Since the Sunday Gospel is the heart of the Gospel Weeklies, an important part of preparing to share the Gospel with children is to read and reflect on it in advance of your class session. The Gospel at Home and the Gospel for All Ages (see Gathering Rituals/Questions) are resources on our website that can help you do this. While these resources take a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.

 

Image credit: Antonio V. Oquias/Shutterstock

2 Responses to “SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – June 18, 2017”


  • Georgette A Gavioli, ssj / Reply

    Is there a video for this Sunday’s Gospel June 18th?

    The Pentecost ones are very good….thanks for this resource…great work!!!!!


    • David Dziena / Reply

      Thank you for your email. We had made an editorial decision to suspend video suggestions until the September when the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies lessons resume. I’m glad you like the video suggestions. They have been a big hit this year. God’s peace. David


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David Dziena
Publisher

David Dziena is the Publisher of Pflaum Publishing Group. He has also served as Executive Editor and […]

Joan McKamey
Project Editor

Joan McKamey, project editor, joined the Gospel Weeklies editorial team in September 2016. […]

Erika De Urquidi
Bilingual Editor

Erika De Urquidi, bilingual editor, joined Bayard, Inc. in July 2018. During her 15 years as a professional translator […]