John 6

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COME SPIRIT!!
19 B THEME: Why murmur?
The word for today is onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is

the name of those words that imitate the sound they are
referring to, like fizz, and crackle and hiss, and murmur. That’s
the particular word we hear today in the Gospel and which we
heard many times in the Old Testament account of the Exodus
of the Hebrews from Egypt. Those people were really great
murmurers, or horrible ones depending on your point of view.
God delivered them from the slavery of Egypt through the
miracles performed by Moses and the people murmured that
they would be caught by Phoroah’s troops and die in the desert.
After God saved them by parting the Red Sea, they murmured
that there would not be enough food for them to eat in the
desert. After God gave them manna, they murmured that the
food was boring and wanted better grub. Actually, literally
speaking, because manna might have been a byproduct of
desert insects. In today’s reading from the Sixth chapter of
the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the people that he is the Bread
that has come down from heaven. And what do they do? They
murmur. Who does he think he is? Is this not Jesus the son of
Joseph? Don’t we know his father and mother? They would
rather complain instead of listen to what he has to say.
Jesus is telling them that they have nothing to complain

about. He is the One the world has been waiting for. He is the
One whose gaze has been turned towards the Father for all
eternity. He is the only One who has seen the Father. He is
the only One who can give eternal life to those who believe.
Instead of complain, the people should realize that they are
living at the center of human history. All of God’s revelation led
up to Christ, the One who himself is God’s revelation. All of
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history, past, present and future, takes its meaning from Christ.
Life without
COME SPIRIT!!
Christ is meaningless. A life with the Lord is a life worth living.

Jesus is offering this life when He says “I am the bread of life,”
but the people, at least many of them, would rather grumble.
In some ways, perhaps in many ways, we act the same

like those ancient Israelites. We murmur. We grumble.
Perhaps we grumble over our jobs, our neighbors, or about far
more important aspects of our lives, your children, your
spouses, our relatives. If we grumble enough, we will see
negativity everywhere, including the Church or even, like the
ancient Israelites, in God.
It is easy to be negative. It is also an infectious disease.

This disease is particularly contagious down here in Florida
where hardening of the arteries is a state sport, and the two old
men on the muppets set the guidelines for holding discussion.
One negative thought leads to another. One negative person
easily infects another.
We forget that we have been gifted with the Eternal

Positive. The eternal Word has become one of us. He who
for all eternity is in intimate union with divinity, shares his life
with us. St. Paul could have had plenty of reason to grumble.
He was mocked, insulted, scourged, beaten, etc. But he writes
in Romans 8:18: “I consider that the sufferings of this present
time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for
us.”
We, the people of the promise, the people of God’s

choice, have to fight the contagion of negativity. St. Paul
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speaks about the necessity for a positive attitude to the
Christians at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 1:19: “For the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, was not "Yes
COME SPIRIT!!
and No"; but in him it is always "Yes." For in him every one of
God's promises is a "Yes."
“But Father,” people may say, “you must admit that life
has tremendous difficulties, especially at this time when so
many of us are unemployed.” Or, “Father, you obviously have
no idea what I have experienced. My family has put the fun in
dysfunctional. My friends think I’m weird. And my feet hurt.”
Yes, this is true. None of us could ever experience anything
the same as another person. But let me say this, I have seen
people, you people, endure the worst tragedies and still cling to
your Christian optimism. I have witnessed the worst, parents
losing their children, suffering in ways that cannot be imagined,
and yet still keep an optimistic attitude in life. I have seen you
folks at your very best when the circumstances of life could
have easily thrust you into negativity.
How do you do it? How do you hold on to your Christian

optimism through tragedy? How have your avoided the
contagion of negativity? You must have a special help, a
special gift, a special grace. You must have received the food
you have needed for the journey of life.
Enter Elijah in 1 Kings 19, our first reading. He has had

it. He was being hunted by Queen Jezebel’s men. He tried to
walk across the desert, but he was tired, parched, hungry. He
found a broom tree, a tree with big leaves, so he sat in its
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shade, and begged God to let him die. God had other plans. He
sent an angel who gave Elijah food and water. Fed by an
angel, Elijah traveled forty days and nights to the Mountain of
God Horeb.
COME SPIRIT!!
We have been given a greater food than Elijah had. Fed

by Jesus Christ, with the food that is Jesus Christ, we have
walked through a valley of tears that is one aspect of the human
condition. We have kept our eyes focused on our goal, the
eternal joy of the Lord. The communion we receive, the life of
Christ that nourishes us, gives us the ability to look beyond the
present and see all in the context of the Gift Who is Jesus
Christ.
For no one in the history of the world before Christ ever

received the gift we routinely take every Sunday when we come
to communion. In the Gospel Jesus says, “Your ancestors ate
manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes
down from heaven, for a man to eat and never die. I myself am
the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this
bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for
the life of the world."
We come to Church, we receive Communion, not

because of a Church rule but because our journey through life is
difficult but the goal of the journey is wonderful, eternal union
with God. We receive communion because we need food for
this journey. The Lord gives us this food. He is our food. He is
the bread of life.
Sure, life has challenges, huge challenges. All of us will

be confronted with pain, fear and suffering if we are not
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confronted with those reminders of our humanity right now. But
we have no reason to murmur, no reason to grumble, no reason
to complain, no reason to be negative. There is a simple
reason for our optimism. We belong to Jesus Christ. And He is
ours. 

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 1

19 B THEME: Why murmur?

The word for today is onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is

Jesus is telling them that they have nothing to complain

Christ is meaningless. A life with the Lord is a life worth living.

In some ways, perhaps in many ways, we act the same

It is easy to be negative. It is also an infectious disease.

We forget that we have been gifted with the Eternal

We, the people of the promise, the people of God’s

How do you do it? How do you hold on to your Christian

Enter Elijah in 1 Kings 19, our first reading. He has had

We have been given a greater food than Elijah had. Fed

For no one in the history of the world before Christ ever

We come to Church, we receive Communion, not

Sure, life has challenges, huge challenges. All of us will

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