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July 2010 - "I'm Not Being Fed" by Jeff Cavins
Summary
Jeff Cavins talks about “the number one eating disorder in the Catholic Church.” Jeff was a cradle Catholic who left the Church in anger in his late teenage years and became a Protestant pastor. He had a great desire to use media and radio to preach the message of Christ. He came back to the Catholic Church based on Scripture, its teaching, but – most of all – the Eucharist is the element that brought him back to the Church. One complaint among Catholics is that people say they are “not being fed” by the Catholic Church. People who say this do not know what the Eucharist is.
Who, ultimately, has the responsibility to feed us? We have a spiritual hunger in our hearts. The answer to this question is Jesus Christ; He has ultimately taken the responsibility to feed us (see Psalm 23). The shepherd is the one who is responsible for feeding his sheep and Psalm 23 tells us that the Lord is our shepherd. The Lord guides us in the paths of righteousness. But, for the shepherd to guide his sheep, the sheep have to listen to what he says.
There are many options now for churches, many paths. So where do we go to get fed? Jesus Christ is our shepherd and He established one Church and that Church was one until the year 1050 when it split into East and West, two options. Then in the 1500s the Church split into hundreds and thousands of churches. When Tradition was cut away and Scripture alone was left the source of feeding, we went from 2 denominations to tens of thousands.
In John 10, Jesus says of Himself, “I am the good shepherd.” He has willingly taken the ultimate responsibility for feeding our souls and we rely on Him for this. What is He going to feed us and how? He promises in John 14 that He will send the Holy Spirit to guide us. He says “I will come to you.” We search around various churches looking to be fed but Jesus says that He Himself will not leave, He will come to us. Jesus left us a deposit of faith and left His authority to certain people to pass it on. He left an authority in the Church, the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). In Matthew 16, Jesus established His Church with His authority. Jesus asks His apostles, “Who do men say that I am?” There was disagreement among people who Jesus was – John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, etc. All of these people were wrong… so what are the odds of someone now, 2,000 years later, picking up a Bible and being right? We need more than our own reflection; we need Jesus Himself, our shepherd. When Jesus asks His apostles who they say He is Peter says “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then says Peter is the rock and on this rock He will build his Church. In John 21 Jesus instructs Peter to feed and tend His sheep. So how does Jesus the Good Shepherd feed His sheep? He feeds His sheep through Peter and the Apostles with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Where do the sheep eat? John 6 is perhaps the most powerful chapter in the New Testament regarding what the sheep are to eat. In John 6, we see a model of the Mass. The Liturgy of the Word is the first part of our meal and the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the real meal. Jesus instructs His apostles to give them something to eat. Jesus, our shepherd, who has taken the responsibility to feed us, feeds us through His apostles, the priests.
In John 6:32 and following, Jesus tells them what this is all about. He says “I am the bread of life.” Jesus says, “My flesh is true food.” Jeff left the Church because he felt he wasn’t being fed. But the Eucharist, Jesus’ own flesh, is the food we receive in the Eucharist at Mass. Look back to Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice on the mountain. Isaac wonders what will be sacrificed and Abraham says, “God will provide.” Later John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Lamb of God.
The apostles, in John 6, say that the Eucharist is a difficult teaching, and it still is today. Jesus, the Good Shepherd gives us His flesh and blood to eat and drink. In verse 66, because of the whole issue of the Eucharist many of Jesus’ disciples leave Him and never came back. Jesus looks at His disciples and asks, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Peter responds, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Scripture Readings
- Psalm 23
- Isaiah 40:11
- John 10:11
- John 14:18
- 1 Tim 3:15
- Matthew 16:13ff
- John 21:15
- John 6
- Rev 3:20
Discussion/Study Questions
- How does Jesus shepherd us, His sheep, through the Church?
- What is the significance of Jesus telling Peter to feed and tend His sheep in John 21?
- Discuss/Reflect on the correlation between the feeding of the 5,000 and the Eucharist.
Memorization
- Psalm 23:1
- John 10:11
- 1 Tim 3:15 (2 months in a row – very important verse!)
- John 21:15
- John 6:54
- Rev 3:20
Last Month’s Memorization
- Matthew 16:17
- Matthew 28:19
- Exodus 25:18
- 1 Tim 3:15
Living Your Faith
- How did you put into practice what you learned from last month’s CD?
- What did this CD present that you can apply to your life this month?
- With whom can you share this CD or to whom will you give this CD that will benefit from hearing it?
