Sunday Gospel Reflection
He who eats this bread will live forever

Introduction:

Parents lovingly putting another spoonful of baby food into the eager mouth of a growing infant is an expression both of love and provision. Yet early in their growth, toddlers endeavor to wrestle the spoon from their parents' hands in an often-humorous expression of their desire for independence. They are subtly stating, "I can do it myself!" as they smear more food around their head than they get into their mouths. This quest for independence is manifest early in our lives, however, later it often gets in the way of our truly relying on Christ for our spiritual sustenance and strength.

How we respond to Jesus as the Bread of Life often has to do with our willingness to depend solely on Him for our nourishment. For most adults it is humbling to recognize that we must depend upon another for our sustenance.  It is hard on our pride to be totally dependent, and hard on our patience to consistently wait and cooperate with God's means of grace. Yet the revealed truth is that our spiritual food and drink cannot be earned, or wrestled from the fist of God, we can only open our heart and freely receive it as it is freely given.

"A meal is a very intimate gift, and sadly, many of us have for-gotten the deep meaning behind it,   . . . when we receive food, we are given the wherewithal to live. The giver is, in fact, saying to us: 'I want you to live.' This intimate sign is deepened when we go to the trouble of preparing and cooking the food. When we sit down and share the meal, we are saying, 'I want to draw life from the same source as you.' Jesus goes  further than we can go, he becomes the food and drink. He is saying to us: 'Not only
do I want you to live, but I want you to live through Me,'" (Ian Petit in This Is My Body.)

We must recognize our dependence, and receive him not only into our mouth but also into our heart. We must remind ourselves each time we receive Eucharist that it is a commitment of willing dependence, a wel-coming of Jesus to abide in us providing true life, "so he who eats me will live because of me" (John 6:47).

We must also recognize, as the first reading points out, and Jesus reiterated, that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Vatican II clearly pointed out that Christ, the Living Word, is also present in the Gospels, the written Word. We should be as eager to feed on Christ in the Scriptures and to take him into our heart and mind through the written Word as we are to welcome the Eucharist into our heart and bodies. By availing ourselves of both of these means of grace we will find the sustenance and strength we need  to grow in knowledge of him, and to experience his goodness.

First Reading
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16

2  And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his command-ments, or not.
3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.
...
14  then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,
15  who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,
16  who fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.

Second Reading
1 Corenthians 10:16-17

16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one brea

Gospel Reading
John 6:51-58

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

Bible Study

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever;
     ------This is the third time (verses 35 & 48 are the other two) that He identifies Himself as the "Bread of Life." In Hebrew numerology the number three represents completeness. Jesus does not attempt to soften or alter His teaching. It is the literal meaning, not a figurative or metaphorical one, that He is trying to drive home.

51b and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
      ------The Eucharistic theme has been reached; the mystery has been revealed (see also Hebrews 10:5-10).

52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"
      ------Many of the hearers have understood perfectly well what Jesus is saying and that He means exactly what He says, but they can't believe that what He says could be true. How can He give them His flesh to eat? Is He going to start carving up His arm? Others may have been confused by a Semitic figure of speech where to "eat someone's flesh" was to slander him (Psalm 27:2). If they had understood Him in a metaphorical, figurative or symbolic sense, there would have been no reason for them to quarrel. Just as Nicodemus thought of being born again in the purely physical sense (John 3:4), and the woman at the well thought only of natural water (John 4:11), so now the Jews understand the reference to His flesh literally.

53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
      ------We normally end our prayers with "amen" but Jesus begins His statement  in this manner. Amen means "truly", "so be it", "I do believe". The doubled Amen is a solemn affirmation, an oath. The faithful and true witness is Christ, the Amen (Revelation 3:14). Since two witnesses are required to sentence someone to death (Deuteronomy 17:6), Jesus is bearing the part of both witnesses and alerting them that what he is going to say has life and death consequences. This is the fourth time He has reminded them that this is a life and death situation.

53b unless you eat the flesh
      -----The Greek verb used for "eat" is  (fag-o). The significance of this will be seen in the next verse.

53c of the Son of Man
       ------Recall that "Son of Man" is a term which Jesus applies to Himself, the New Adam (Daniel 7:13), the one who will effect the resurrection (Ezekiel 37). Jesus' words do not encourage any figurative understanding of His pronouncement, they only underscore the literal meaning.

53d and drink his blood,
       -----If the idea of eating someone's flesh is repugnant, what about drinking their blood? To the Jewish audience this would be even more repulsive. Blood was a forbidden food under the Law (Leviticus 7:27; 17:10-14), the penalty for which was to be expelled from the tribe; they would be excommunicated. "flesh and blood" is a common Old Testament expression for life. When the two are separated, death results. By taking both, they must be partaking of a living being.

53e you do not have life within you.
       ----Are dead, have no spirit.

54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
     ------The Greek verb used here for "eat" is  (tro-go) is actually much stronger than just simply "eat" it literally means "chew", "gnaw". This shows that it is a real meal that He is talking about. There is now absolutely no room for saying that He is speaking symbolically. Not only has He reiterated the statement, He has strengthened it.

54b has eternal life,
      ----A guarantee of life eternal. If He had been speaking symbolically, He would have been commanding them to slander Him or suffer the pain of eternal damnation.

54c and I will raise him on the last day.
       ------A pledge which only God can make.

55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
     -----If there had been any questions before, there is now no question at all that He is speaking quite literally.

56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
     ------Again the strong verb is used for eating. This is the fourth time, in four verses, that Jesus has said they must eat His Flesh and drink His Blood. The number four in Hebrew numerology stands for the world in its entirety (four winds, four cardinal points of the compass). The Eucharist is God's gift to the whole world. With this rapid four verse repetition, it's almost like Jesus is saying "what part of 'eat' and 'drink' don't you understand?". God is not stupid; when hearers misunderstand Jesus, He corrects their misunderstanding immediately (see John 3:3-6 for example, where Jesus corrects Nicodemus' understanding of "born again" and explains that it is not a physical rebirth but a spiritual rebirth through baptism). Here, no correction is made because no misunderstanding exists.

56b remains in me and I in him.
      ----This is covenant imagery. When people are bound by a common covenant, they are part of the same family. A person may be cast out of the tribe for drinking blood, but in doing so in this case they are made a member of the Body of Christ; an even bigger and more important family. By eating His body and drinking His blood, they are partaking in the family meal which binds them together. John 15:4 utilizes this same covenant imagery.

57 Just as the living Father sent me
      -----What kind of life does the Father have? A spiritual/immortal one; God is not mortal.

57b and I have life because of the Father,
       ------The Father and Son are one (John 14:10-11; 5:21-24); they share a life with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32; 15:26). They are a common union (communion).

57c so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
       ------Will share His eternal life. The Christian shares a communion with Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16). How is this communion shared with Christ and the Christian community? The same way every family shares communion; by sharing a common meal - the Eucharist.

58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
      ------This is the third time in this discourse (verses 31, 32 and 49) that Jesus compares the true Bread of Life, His own Body, with the manna God used to feed the Israelites every day during their forty years of wandering. That bread was only a faint type of the Eucharist, the sacrament of life. It sustained them for forty years, this will sustain them through all eternity.

Meditation

Why did Jesus offer himself as "food and drink"?   The Jews were scandalized and the disciples were divided when Jesus said "unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you."   What a hard saying, unless you understand who Jesus is and why he calls himself the bread of life. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, when Jesus said the blessing, broke and distributed the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper. The Gospel of John has no account of the Last Supper meal (just the foot washing ceremony and Jesus' farewell discourse).  Instead, John quotes extensively from Jesus' teaching on the bread of life.

In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to their Creator. Melchizedek's offering of bread and wine, who was both priest and king (Genesis 14:18), prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king.  The remembrance of the manna in the wilderness recalled to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3).When at the Last Supper Jesus described his blood "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28), he was explaining his coming crucifixion as a sacrifice for sins. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal lamb.  That is why John the Baptist called him the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus  made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He "offered himself without blemish to God" (Hebrews 9:14) and  "gave himself as a sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).

Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum- giving his disciples his body and his blood.  Jesus' passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God's kingdom. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being. That life which he offers is the very  life of God himself. Do you hunger for the bread of life?

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you.

·  I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." (John 6:51).
   ------What different results do you see between the Manna which the Israelites received in the first reading, and the Bread which you receive?

.  The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" (John 6:52)
    -----Jesus was challenged by the Jews about this special food and drink. Have you ever been challenged by others about your faith in "Jesus the bread of life?" What is your reaction?

.  Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. (John 6:53-56)
    -----When you receive the Holy Communion, is it the flesh and blood of Christ? What makes you believe so?

.   You eat and drink everyday to live. What do you  consume to lead you to the eternal life?

. How do you prepare your heart before receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus? Share one experience in which you truly have peace after receiving the Lord or visiting the Blessed Sacrament.

To live His Word this week:

·  Try to visit the Blessed Sacrament once this week.

.  Read and share one paragraph relating to the Blessed Sacrament in one of your night prayer gatherings this week.

For Youngsters:

.  Say a short prayer each morning.

.  Do one thing that pleases your parents.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you nourish and sustain us with your very own presence and life. You are the bread of life -- the bread that sustains us now and that produces everlasting life in us. May I always hunger for you and be satisfied in you alone.