On Prayer 27.2
Summary: Jesus taught in John 6 that the true bread from heaven is himself, the Word, which nourishes the inner man made in God's image.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:364
ἡμεῖς δὲ ἑπόμενοι αὐτῷ διδασκάλῳ, διδάσκοντι τὰ περὶ τοῦ ἄρτου, διὰ πλειόνων ταῦτα παραθησόμεθα. φησὶν ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ἰωάννην πρὸς ἐληλυθότας εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ ζητεῖν αὐτόν· „ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ζητεῖτέ (με) οὐχ ὅτι εἴδετε σημεῖα, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἐφάγετε ἐκ τῶν ἄρτων καὶ ἐχορτάσθητε.“ ὁ γὰρ φαγὼν „ἐκ τῶν“ ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ εὐλογηθέντων „ἄρτων“ καὶ πληρωθεὶς αὐτῶν μᾶλλον ζητεῖ καταλαβεῖν ἀκριβέστερον τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ σπεύδει πρὸς αὐτόν. διόπερ καλῶς προστάττει λέγων· „ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην ἀλλὰ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ἣν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὑμῖν δώσει.“ πρὸς ταῦτα δὲ πυθομένων τῶν ἀκουσάντων καὶ λεγόντων· „τί ποιῶμεν, ἵνα ἐργαζώμεθα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ; ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα πιστεύητε εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος.“ „ἀπέστειλε“ δὲ ὁ θεὸς „τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτοὺς, “ ὡς ἐν ψαλμοῖς γέγραπται, δηλονότι τοὺς νενοσηκότας· ᾧ λόγῳ οἱ πιστεύοντες ἐργάζονται „τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ, “ ὄντα „βρῶσιν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.“ καὶ „ὁ πατὴρ“ δέ μου, φησὶ, „δίδωσιν ὑμῖν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν ἀληθινόν· ὁ γὰρ ἄρτος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ζωὴν διδοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ.“ „ἄρτος“ δὲ ἀληθινός ἐστιν ὁ „τὸν“ „ἀληθινὸν“ τρέφων „ἄνθρωπον, “ τὸν „κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ“ πεποιημένον, ᾧ ὁ τραφεὶς καὶ „καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν“ „τοῦ κτίσαντος“ γίνεται. τί δὲ λόγου τῇ ψυχῇ τροφιμώτερον, ἢ τί τῆς σοφίας τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ νῷ τοῦ χωροῦντος αὐτὴν τιμιώτερον; τί δὲ ἀληθείας τῇ λογικῇ φύσει καταλληλότερον;
English · Claude translation
But we, following him as teacher, who teaches about the bread, shall set these things out at greater length. In the Gospel according to John he says to those who had come to Capernaum seeking him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” For the one who has eaten “of the loaves” blessed by Jesus and been filled with them seeks more to understand the Son of God more exactly, and hastens to him. Therefore he rightly commands, saying: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” And when those who heard asked about this, saying, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” And God “sent his word and healed them,” as is written in the Psalms, clearly those who were sick; by this Word those who believe do “the works of God,” which are “food that endures to eternal life.” “And my Father,” he says, “gives you the true bread from heaven; for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” And the true “bread” is that which nourishes the “true” “man,” the one made “in the image of God,” by which the one nourished comes to be also “in the likeness” “of the Creator.” And what is more nourishing to the soul than the Word, or what more precious to the mind that receives it than the wisdom of God? And what is more suited to rational nature than truth?
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are John 6:26–29, Ps 107:20 (106:20 LXX), John 6:32–33, Gen 1:26, and Col 3:10.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread word in the digital text (John 6:27 reads ἣν)): ἵν ὁ υἱὸς → ἣν ὁ υἱὸς.
Cite this passage
Origen, Or. 27.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/27/2/).
Plain text
Origen, Or. 27.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/27/2/).
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