Short Homily: “Drawn to the Son, Fed by the Father”

Readings:
📖 Acts 8:1b-8 – The Church scatters but the Word spreads.
📖 Psalm 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a – “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.”
📖 John 6:35-40 – “Whoever comes to me will never hunger.”

You know, a priest asked a young man in confirmation class, “What is the Bread of Life?” Without blinking, he said, “Brown bread with peanut butter, Father. Nothing keeps me full like that!” Well, he wasn’t too far off — except Jesus doesn’t come in a loaf from Shoprite. He is the Bread that fills not just our stomachs, but our souls.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says plainly: “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” He isn’t offering us a miracle diet — He’s giving us Himself. Not just to admire, not just to follow, but to feed on, deeply and daily.

In Acts, we hear about persecution scattering the early Christians — but wherever they go, they carry the Gospel with them. It’s a reminder that when life shakes us up, God can still use us to spread joy and healing.

The Eucharist – Our Source and Summit

The Eucharist is not just Sunday fuel — it’s daily bread. Just as the early Church found strength in scattering, we find hope and power in gathering around the altar. The broken Bread makes us whole and sends us out to be hope-givers in our families and communities.

Question for Reflection

Where am I trying to feed my soul with temporary things instead of the lasting Bread of Christ?

Daily Practical Application

Today, choose one moment to “feed” someone — not with food necessarily, but with encouragement, patience, or just your presence. Let your life be bread for someone else.

If you are struggling today — financially, emotionally, or spiritually — remember this: even when the disciples scattered under fear, God turned their trouble into testimony. You are never forgotten, and never without the Bread of Life. Hang in there. God’s plan includes your pain — but it ends in purpose.

In this Jubilee Year of Hope, take small pilgrimages in your own town — visit the sick, listen to the lonely, forgive someone. You don’t need a plane ticket to be a pilgrim. Just start walking with compassion.

Let us be “Pilgrims of Hope” not only in word, but in how we live and love. Even in Mzansi’s challenges — from load shedding to unemployment — we are called to be light-bearers and bread-sharers.

“When you have nothing left but Christ, you find that Christ is enough.”

Jesus doesn’t promise a hunger-free life — but a soul fed in Him will never starve. Come to Him, again and again, and let your life become a Eucharist: blessed, broken, and shared.

Bread of Life, Jesus our Lord,

today I come to you hungry for more than food.
Feed my soul. Heal my heart.
Give me strength to face my trials and the grace to be bread for others.
In this Jubilee Year, make me a pilgrim of hope — here and now.
Amen.