Scripture Readings: Book of Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; Gospel According to Saint John 6:51-58
This Sunday we hear in the Gospel the concluding section of the Bread of Life discourse. Christ’s proclamation that the new bread from heaven is his own flesh results in a dispute among his hearers. “They quarreled among themselves,” the Gospel says. The Greek verb that is used in this case, implying to battle, to fight, reminds us of the dispute and fight of the people in the desert against Moses and the Lord (see the Book of Exodus 17:2 and the Book of Numbers 20:3-13).
The question, “How can he gives us his flesh to eat?” shows that the people have only understood Christ’s words in their face-value meaning, and not in the deeper and mystical sense. As a result, Jesus’ words occasion a misunderstanding. We might ask, how can that be if Jesus is speaking? The reply could be in part that God’s word is freely given and is capable of being accepted or rejected by the nature of human free will.
Since some of his original hearers understood Jesus as meaning a physical eating of his flesh, they would have found the statement and idea of Jesus as simply absurd, while others sought to find in it some spiritual or deeper meaning for their lives.
Jesus does not answer the questions about his words directly, but goes on to say, with even more emphasis than before, the earlier statement that was offensive to some of his hearers. He adds to this the place of drinking his blood as well, as a condition for entering into eternal life. “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you,” Jesus says.
There are various layers of meaning here. To eat and drink can be understood as participating in the sacrificial suffering and death of the Lord. It can also mean partaking of the food of the Eucharist, Holy Communion, with Christ instituted as a sacrament at the Last Supper. This is food which gives life, but spiritual life, not merely physical life.
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” Jesus goes on to say, repeating what the said earlier in a positive way, but with the same meaning. Furthermore, Jesus says, “The one who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” Here we find a sense of the permanence of the bond between God and people. It is a covenant that cannot be broken by God, only by humans choosing for that which is not God. The desire of God, of course, is for a lasting and intimate communion with every person and forever.
This is a mutual union which only enhances the human person and gives glory to God. No one is diminished or annihilated, but rather, brought to fullness by partaking of divine life. For this we were created and this is our glory! As Christ is united fully and for eternality with the Father, so we are to be partakers in some way in this great mystery and wonder. It begins on earth and completed in heaven after this life.
Christ longs to abide, to dwell, to remain, within us. Christ is the source of divine life being poured out freely as true life. ever increasing the possibility of fullness, vitality and perfection, what we traditionally call in our Catholic Tradition, Christian holiness.
Blessed Columba Marion, the Benedictine abbot, expressed the idea in the name of one of his books, “Christ, the life of the soul.” That should be our heart’s desire and the life to which we aspire as well.
“This is the bread which came down from heaven,” Jesus goes on to say. Another way of saying, don’t think that the manna in the desert for the children of the Hebrews was the final word from God. Rather, it is another sign of God’s unfailing help, and even in the midst of sorrow and tragedy, God’s powerful hand goes to work to bring about good from what appears to be bad.
The only bread which really matters is Jesus himself. This is the real “wonder bread,” not that which comes from the bakery or the monastery kitchen. Pleasant as such bread may be, it is unable to satisfy like the bread of the Eucharist and the life of Christ which has come down from heaven and which draws us up to heaven! Jesus is the source of real and everlasting life and its perfect fulfilment.
Jesus tells his hearers to seek after the food which remains, which the Son of Man will give. This is the bread of God because it comes from heaven and gives life to the world, to every human being. This bread of life is Christ himself, because he has given life to those who come to him through faith, and through the sacramental eating of his Body and Blood.
This consuming of the bread of life is a true eating, not a metaphor or a symbol, and in fact the means of really living the true life, “in Christ,” in communion with the One sent by God and in communion with one another on the same path to life on high.
Saint Paul today speaks in the second lesson this Sunday about our Christian life. He says, “Keep careful watch over your conduct.” The phrase, originally in Greek, could more accurately be translated as, “watch how you walk.” Christians must “walk” lives worthy of their high calling and not behave like fools or the ignorant, unaware of God and the salvation being offered in Jesus Christ. What does this mean? Most especially it means living in love, forgiving one another from the heart, just as God has forgiven us and as Christ has sacrificed himself on our behalf. In a word, we are to walk each day as children of the light.
Having received the light of Christ in baptism, followers of Christ must make a constant effort to live in the light of the faith and of Christ. We are to be careful, then, though not fearful, but conscious of what we do and say, so as to abide in Christ and he is us. “Be filled with the Holy Spirit,” says Saint Paul.
I would like to conclude with a quote from former Abbot John Kurichianil, OSB, of Saint Thomas Abbey, Kappadu, Kerala, India. His books on Scripture, prayer and the Rule of Saint Benedict, are excellent, though not readily available in the USA. In any case, here is what now-retired Abbot John says in one of his books about walking with Christ:
“Walking means steady movement taking one step after another; it means moving forward step by step with a destination in view. That destination is Jesus, and one keeps walking towards Jesus. That destination is also the Father, and one keeps walking towards the Father with Jesus. Walking in the ordinary sense demands physical effort, and walking understood as the walk of faith demands spiritual effort. Just as walking with God in the Old Testament meant keeping God’s commandments, walking with Jesus means following the way of the commandments that he has given, especially the commandment of love. Ultimately to walk with Jesus means to walk in love” (“Studies on the Gospel of John: Pondering the Word – I,” Amala Press, 2014, page 115).
Abbot Christian Leisy, OSB,