John 6: 51-58
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081824.cfm
O God, who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love,
so that, loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
(From Collect of Mass)
Legends about a mythical “fountain of youth” go back to the ancient Greeks. That there existed some miraculous healing waters that would heal the ailments of those who drink, restore them to life, and promise a form of immortality.
The Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, in the early
1500’s set out to the Caribbean, somewhere north of Cuba, to discover the
alleged sacred waters verified by earlier explorers. Somewhere in Florida were those waters. Well, the true story bears testimony to some
very harsh and brutal treatment of the native population by these explorers,
and such hope for eternal healing waters was never discovered.
However, this Sunday’ Gospel, a continuation of
our reflections on Jesus as the bread of life, does promise such eternity. Not from some alleged yet undiscovered waters
but from the very mouth of Jesus the Christ. Not water to drink but bread to
eat which will bring the faithful to eternal life.
As Catholic/Christians, we have a rich
tradition of prayer and devotion centered around the Holy Eucharist. Whether it is Benediction, Adoration,
Eucharistic processions, prayerful holy hours before the Eucharist, Eucharistic
Congresses, 40 Hours Devotion, stories of saintly men and women whose lives
were clearly centered around prayer and the Eucharist, and more, despite all
these truly valuable spiritual treasures, we must say that the Holy Eucharist
is first and foremost, food. It is
clearly consumed and is given to us by Jesus Christ as food for our journey
through life.
Our Gospel this Sunday from the famous
discourse on the bread of life, graphically concludes Jesus’ controversial
teaching on the eucharist. In no uncertain terms he speaks definitively about
what we define as the “real presence” in the eucharist. To “eat flesh and drink
blood,” obviously sounds bizarre and repulsive as it is literally meant by
Jesus. And so, the crowds around him were understandably scandalized. But we
know that while he means this literally, yes, but in a spiritual sense sacramentally.
The last few Sundays have been gradually leading us to this point in which Jesus makes clear that his flesh and blood must be eaten and drunk, in a true and not symbolic manner. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life . . . (Jn 6: 54). By these words from our Lord, not only is our doctrine of the real presence revealed as true but also our belief in the Incarnation of Jesus. God entered our world through the Virgin Mary and became a human being with flesh, bone, blood. He took on our human nature as he mysteriously joined it with his own divine nature. When he states of his flesh and blood he refers directly to this truth. God in human form; divine and human nature joined together.
But there is another kind of scandal that
challenges us as well, albeit in a different way. That may be referred to as
the scandal of truth. The scandal of straight talk which brings a particular
issue into the light of day; it forces us to make a choice about our own
thinking and behavior. Such we may apply
to Jesus himself for it is clear from the Scriptures that he truly meant what he said. What he said was sometimes subtle like
many of the parables which bring the listeners to reflection but at times it
was a kind of direct and undeniable truth.
This Sunday we’ve been given a shining light to get our attention: “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 . . .” In the original Greek, John emphasizes the
literal meaning of Jesus' word to “eat the flesh.” John relates that Jesus stressed to gnaw the
flesh or chew the flesh, as in the act of tearing a piece of meat apart with
our teeth as we eat.
In fact, it is so literal, the Greek refers
to the way an animal would eat!
Cannibalism? This was an
accusation flung at the early Christians by the pagan world regarding their
Eucharistic assemblies. Rather than qualify his statement as more symbolic than
literal, as Bishop Barron explains, Jesus digs in even more.
To the sensibilities of the early Jews such a
graphic picture was repulsive, as it surely is to us as well. And apparently several of his disciples took
it just that way (not the twelve.) While Jesus obviously does not mean to eat
human flesh, his pre-resurrection body, he must mean something else. With the eyes of faith and an open heart we
come to understand the meaning of this unique teaching. But that belief begins
with our belief in who Jesus is. If we
are convinced of his fully divine nature, then to believe that he is truly
present in the sacrament is possible. If
he is not divine, he is a crazy man to say such a thing.
The power of these words was not only its
literal imagery but even more so the challenge to the status quo that it
brought to Jesus’ audience and to us. Jesus’ emphasis on chewing his body and
drinking his blood is a clear reference for the early Christians to the real
presence of Christ in the Eucharist. At
those assemblies, the Christians found a fellowship among themselves and an
encounter with the living Christ which created their sense of community. They knew that Christ was truly present among
them under the signs of bread and wine and that in feasting on those species,
they shared in the life of the risen Lord. It was truly living bread which is
pure gift.
Yet, this also emphasizes another truth that
goes with the eucharist – that of the incarnation of the Word, Jesus. If our
Lord remains so unabashedly literally in his teaching, he too was flesh and
blood; that his body was recognizable through sight, sound, touch. The crowds are shocked because he apparently
was taken in a graphic sense. They are
angry because they see his body before them.
The man they have known and, in some cases, grew up with. “Eat this body and drink this blood,” Jesus
says. But the crowds failed to open their minds to understand the deeper sense
of truly present that Jesus’ refers to.
The first reading from the book of Proverbs
says: “. . . She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her
table . . . come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed . . . that
you may advance in the way of understanding.”
It sounds like there is something very special about this food we share
at the meal we celebrate.
Not only are we wise to eat at this meal, as
the book of Proverbs reminds us, but in doing so we create a relationship
between ourselves and the one who has provided the meal for us – between us and
the risen Savior. What our early Christian brothers and sisters believed, so do
we today. That encounter with the living
Lord not only sustains us in this life spiritually, prepares us for the
heavenly banquet, but likewise creates a communion between ourselves and our
brothers and sisters in the faith.
Only the words of Jesus can be ultimately
counted upon. Only Christ does indeed
deliver what he promises. If our Lord
says he is the living bread – he is. If
he says that “unless you eat (chew) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you do not have life,” we don’t.
If he states, “he who feeds on me will have life because of me,” we
will. As Bishop Barron again states:
“What God says – is.” No fountain of youth but super abundant bread for
eternal life.
What or who is my bread of life? Is it Christ? Where do I go to be fed?
No comments:
Post a Comment