For the last few weeks our Sunday gospel comes from Chapter 6 of St. John’s gospel.  This Chapter is call the “Bread of Life Discourse”.  The first verse of today’s gospel is the climax of what Jesus has been saying since verse 32, and adds to the note that the bread that Jesus will give for the life of the world is His flesh.

If Jesus had stopped her, we could understand Him to mean that His flesh would be given over in crucifixion to bring life to the world.  While His words carry this meaning, what Jesus says next gives them an additional depth of meaning.

Jesus’ listeners take His words very literally and thereby misunderstand them.  Jesus is speaking of His flesh as real food and His blood as real drink, but as given in the Eucharist.  Through eating His flesh and drinking His blood eucharistically we are joined with Him and abide (remain) in Him, thereby entering into the life shared by the Father and the Son.  This life is eternal life: “whoever eats this bread will live forever”.  Jesus emphasizes that He is our only access to eternal life.  If we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we do not have life, but it we do share in His flesh and blood we have eternal  life and will be raised up on the last day.

Jesus had invited His listeners to come to Him and believe in Him as the bread of life, and He now invites them to partake of this bread eucharistically, receiving the body and blood that will be offered on the cross for the life of the world.  Jesus does not simply want to teach us about Himself, the He lives in us and we in Him.  This He accomplishes by giving Himself to us in the Eucharist.  The word became flesh– and He offers His flesh to us as the bread of life.

WHAT A GIFT WE HAVE IN THE EUCHARIST!

God Bless,

Msgr. Powell