The One Who Feeds the Generations

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 3:00 pm Post subject: The One Who Feeds the Generations

The One Who Feeds the Generations

Scripture:

But Melchisedech, the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God, blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high God, who created heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection, the enemies are in your hands. And he gave him the tithes of all.
(Genesis 14:18-20)

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: Take and eat: This is my body, which shall be delivered for you. This do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood. This do, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Which when the people knew, they followed him: and he received them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and healed them who had need of healing. Now the day began to decline. And the twelve came and said to him: Send away the multitude, that, going into the towns and villages round about, they may lodge and get victuals; for we are here in a desert place. But he said to them: Give you them to eat. And they said: We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; unless perhaps, we should go and buy food for all this multitude. Now there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples: Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven and blessed them: and he broke and distributed to his disciples, to set before the multitude. And they did all eat and were filled. And there were taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets.
(John 9:11-17)

Reflection:

With only five loaves and two fish, Jesus broke the bread and blessed it so that it would feed the five thousand. With what remained of His blessing, the fragments gathered filled twelve baskets. A miracle it was to those who witnessed and those who received, but it was not a miracle for the moment; it simply foreshadowed the miracle by which He would nourish the generations.

We are physically nourished by the food of the earth, but our body was designed to last only a short time. We are concerned about it in this world, but we must also ask, what nourishment must we seek for our eternity? As He fed the five thousand, with compassion, He also feeds the generations so they may receive His eternal nourishment.

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.'? (John 6:35) They murmured among themselves, and so He told them, ?I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.? (John 6:48-51)

They did not understand. They did not comprehend. They asked, ?How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?? (John 6:52) And so He responded to their confusion, ?Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.? ( John 6:53-58 )

Many who witnessed turned away, saying, ?This saying is hard; who can accept it?? (John 6:60) Some say He was only speaking figuratively, but as those who could not comprehend began to turn away, He did not say, ?You do not understand the metaphor before you.? Instead, He turned to His apostles in confirmation of what He had spoken and asked the twelve, ?Do you also want to leave?? (John 6:67)

This question is not just for the twelve, but everyone who considers the eternal nourishment which He offers. At the last supper, Jesus said the blessing and broke the bread and giving it to His Apostles, He said, ?This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.? (Luke 22:19) He then took the cup and said, ?This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.? (Luke 22:20)

With the five thousand, He fed but a few and only for the moment of their physical hunger, but in the moment of the Last Supper, Jesus began to feed the generations, beginning with those He would send out to ?make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit.? (cf. Matthew 28:19) The food He provided was not simply nourishment for the moment, but eternal nourishment for the generations.

As with those who first witnessed, the question remains for us, will we accept the nourishment He offers or will we turn away? As Jesus told us, ?It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.? (John 6:63) Let us, then, follow Him. Let us say, ?Yes,? to Him and receive His sacred body and precious blood as He instructed. Let us receive and share the food of eternal life which comes from the One who embodies all grace, mercy, and love.

Questions for further reflection:

In what ways are we nourished by God?

In what ways do we give thanks for the meal prepared for us by the only begotten Son of God?

In what ways do we give thanks and praise for the miracles performed for the salvation of our soul?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier