By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted August 16, 2024

The Gospel account for this Sunday’s liturgy comes from the Gospel according to John, specifically chapter six. Many scholars refer to this section of the Gospel as the Bread of Life discourse. We have been hearing passages from this section for four weeks now, and next week will be the final one.

We began hearing the account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Then we heard Jesus speak of his being sent from the Father as the Bread of Life, calling for faith in him. God has provided for his people in the past: manna in the desert, Elisha’s feeding the 200 people with the 20 loaves, Jesus himself feeding the 5,000 with the five barley loaves, God providing Elijah with bread that provided nourishment for his journey to encounter God.

We have heard a reference to the Passover at the beginning of these readings. The reference calls to mind God’s delivering captive Israel from slavery and saving them from death. The memory of this event is celebrated ritually through the Passover meal, which included eating unleavened bread, drinking wine and sharing in the unblemished lamb that was sacrificed.

Jesus’ call to faith is not universally accepted. He is not calling for a blind faith but one that trusts in him, seeks to understand his word and to accept the invitation to life. We see a development in the response people have to him. Crowds were following him to the mountain knowing he was able to heal them. Five thousand men, not counting women and children, were fed on that mountain.

Some of this crowd sought him out when he left. As he teaches them, he proclaims that he is sent from the Father. Some recognize the veracity of his claim and put their faith in him. Others, however, are not sure. They question him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?” “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?… Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven?”

This week the Jews quarrel among themselves at Jesus’ claims. And they will continue to question: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” The doubts raised by these questions serve to put into focus the faith of those who remain with Jesus, which will be articulated for them by Peter in next week’s passage.

Now we focus on Jesus’ further teaching on his identity as the Bread of Life. The passage opens, repeating the conclusion of last week’s reading: “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.” Jesus reiterates his coming from the Father. Jesus “comes down from heaven.”

As bread, he can be consumed as food. Eating this “bread” will bring everlasting life. The “bread,” Jesus says, is his “flesh.” He will make an offering of himself in his body. He will sacrifice himself “for the life of the world.” The sacrificial offering to which he refers startles the listeners, shocks many of them. Hence they start to quarrel.

Jesus is aware of the arguments in the crowd. It is as though he hears the clatter and interjects so that his teaching will be clear. Even though some will think his teaching outrageous, he makes his meaning clear. “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.”

Here we have the first mention in the discourse of his “blood.” Hearing this we might once again recall the reference, in the passage three weeks ago, to all this taking place at the time of the Passover. It seems that Jesus is using images from the Passover celebration as applying to himself as the Bread of Life. The bread, wine, and lamb are used in reference to flesh, blood, “true food and true drink.”

Again, Jesus stresses the importance of what he speaks: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” Consuming his body and blood that is offered for life gains a participation in the life that was offered – and there will be resurrection.

Jesus’ next words seem to be offered, once again, for clarity. He is aware that what he is saying will be hard for some to hear. It is radical. The one sent from the Father, who is Life itself, will offer himself “for the life of all.” So he says: “For my flesh is true food, and my blood true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

The union between the Father and Son will now be shared with all who participate in this saving meal and will have a share in divine life.

Jesus concludes this section harkening back to the manna images referenced earlier in his teaching. While there are similarities between manna in the desert and the “bread of life,” the difference could not be greater: “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus’ offering will be on the cross. He will die as the unblemished lamb, not symbolically but actually. Healing the relationship between God and humanity will be accomplished through Jesus’ unflinching obedience, his faith. Three days later the victory of life over death will be manifest in the resurrection.

Jesus invites us to put our faith in him and to express that faith through a sharing in his Body and Blood. The celebration of the Eucharist is our participation in this saving mystery. In this celebration, we eat his Body in the form of bread. In this celebration, we drink his Blood in the form of wine. This is not a symbol but a fulfillment, the fulfillment of his word and a real share in divine life.

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.