Today's Gospel in Art - I am the bread of life

Manna from Heaven, Illustration in The Crusader Bible, France, Paris, 1240 © The Morgan Library & Museum, New York

Gospel of 28th April 2020 - John 6:30-35

The people said to Jesus, 'What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'

Jesus answered: 'I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread;

for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'

'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always.' Jesus answered: 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.'

Reflection on the Illuminated Miniature

The illustration I am sharing with you today is a detail from a manuscript made in France in the 1240s. It is considered to be one of the most magnificent medieval manuscripts, called the 'Crusader Bible'. The miniatures (the small paintings in the Bible) represent one of the greatest visualisations of the Old Testament events ever made. Some of the stories we are all very familiar with (and they jump out immediately when we see the scene depicted), such as is the case with today's scene of the manna falling from heaven. But other scenes we are far less familiar with. The illustrations are then a real means and tool to delve into the Old Testament and make it joyfully accessible. The incredibly violent battle scenes which are in this manuscript, together with the scenes from everyday life, are all set in 13th-century France and have a poignantly realistic character.

As you can see, the scene relevant to today's reading is in the top right panel of a set of four miniatures illustrated on that page. Jesus in today's Gospel reading tells us that the bread given by Moses was not yet the true bread from heaven. It came from heaven? Yes. But it was not the full bread of God, because it did not guarantee life to anyone. All of them died in the desert (see a few lines after our reading of today, John 6:49: Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died). The true bread of heaven, the true bread of God, is the one which conquers death and gives life. It is the one which descends from Heaven and gives life to everyone… It is Jesus Himself...

LINKS

Today's story - https://christianart.today/reading.php?id=404

Christian Art Today - https://christianart.today

and Holy Week through 100 paintings - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/39289