(31st Sunday - A)
John 6: 37 - 40
It's the Father's will
One of the major themes in the Gospel of John is that Jesus and his death to save us are gifts of love from God the Father. In John 3:16, this theme is introduced, "God so loves the world that he gave us his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal live." Here we see that the Father has sent the Son "to bring the possibility of eternal life and the salvation of the world."[1]
The Prologue refers first to this theme in 1: 12, “To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.”
That gift of being adopted by God begins for us here in this life. And it does not end with earthly death.
Now in chapter 6, to the people who have tasted the bread that Jesus gave them from the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus speaks to them of a greater gift, the gift of the bread of eternal life. Jesus also reaffirms what he has earlier said in chapter 3, it is the Father’s will that Jesus came to save those who believe in him. Twice Jesus says, “This is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.”
Yes, it is the Father's will that the Son came, so that by his death on the cross out of obedience to the Father, all those who believe in him may live as God’s children.
[1] Moloney, Francis J., The Gospel of John. Sacra Pagina Series. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, p. 96.
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