John 6:51-58
Hunger
and thirst are powerful forces. Either
one alone can shape our journey or impede it.
Either one alone can mean the difference between life and death. This is true on a physical level as much as a
spiritual level. The readings for today
contain some rather astonishing claims that speak to a profound spiritual
hunger and thirst that we all have. Moses
claims that we need God's word as much as we need food to live. Paul claims that we are literally bound
together as one body when we partake of the one loaf. Jesus claims that his body and blood are true
food and true drink and the very source of eternal life.
Indeed, the gospel readings for the past
several weeks show that Jesus recognizes and speaks to our spiritual hunger,
and that he longs to nourish our spiritual needs. To demonstrate this point, Jesus
often uses dramatic language in revealing the purpose of his life and mission. He once described himself as the light of the
world (Jn 8:12). Another time, he
described himself as the way, the truth and the life (Jn14:6). Yet another time, Jesus referred to himself
as the true vine and his followers as the true branches (Jn 15:1-5). Those who heard such talk did not think Jesus
was speaking literally. They understood
and accepted his language as nothing more than analogy, a comparison, for the
sake of revelation.
When
Jesus referred to himself as the bread of life come down from heaven, however,
many had a very different response. In fact,
many went away in disbelief when Jesus claimed that, “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” (Jn 6:53-55). Many disciples also found this teaching too difficult,
and they “returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him”
(Jn 6:66).
This
is a puzzling response from the very disciples who were also witness to some astonishing
miracles by Jesus—feeding the multitude with a few loaves of bread and some
fish, raising the dead, driving out demons, curing the lame and disabled. Thus the difficulty these disciples had with
the bread of life teaching was NOT because they misunderstood Jesus’ ability to
make good on his claim. Rather, the
disciples had difficulty because they knew that Jesus was no longer speaking allegorically. They knew he was speaking in a literal sense. From their perspective, Jesus had crossed the line.
Jesus crossed the line with the promise of eternal life to
those who ate his flesh and drank his blood. Some of the disciples objected to this promise because, in their view, only God is the source of life.
Thus, for Jesus to claim that he too could give eternal life through his
own body and blood was tantamount to claiming that he was God. And that claim, as far as some of the
disciples were concerned, was blasphemy. This perceived blasphemy is why many
of the disciples objected to his promise and abandoned Jesus.
The
Twelve, however, that small band of loyal followers, remained with Jesus. They remained because they believed that
Jesus was the “Holy One of God” (Jn 6:69; cf. Mt 16:21, Mk 8:29, Lk 9:20). When Jesus asks the Twelve whether they too
want to leave, Peter’s response demonstrates the basis of their loyalty: “Master,
to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:67-68). This
response gives no indication, however, that the Twelve found the “bread of
life” teaching any less radical than those who left.
The
picture that emerges at the Last Supper, however, is quite different. When the disciples gather with Jesus for the
last time in the Upper Room and hear him declare that the bread and wine are his
body and blood, they express no doubt or astonishment over his words and
actions. Nor is there any suggestion
that any of them abandoned Jesus at this time.
In fact, Scripture suggests that the only concern of the disciples at
this time was the fear of being accused as the betrayer of Jesus.
The
contrast between the first and last reactions of the disciples to the bread of
life teaching reflects a gradual, yet remarkable, transformation in perception
and belief. Their transformation suggests that perceiving
Jesus in the Eucharist, as well as perceiving Jesus in others, is a gradual consequence
of spiritual nourishment that takes place over time.
The
lesson for us is clear. When Jesus said,
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes
in me will never thirst” (Jn6:35), he in fact claims that he can nourish our
spirits, that he can give life to our souls.
He claims that he is enough for all.
The
difficulty for many today is that we doubt this possibility. We do not know how to find genuine
nourishment. We look for it in the wrong
places. We spend our spiritual coin for
what is not bread; our wages for what fails to satisfy. Many of us live in spiritual poverty. We have nothing to eat or drink. We are not satisfied.
Yet,
the Lord Jesus calls us out of our poverty.
He invites all of us to come to his banquet. All we have to do is bring our hunger and our
thirst to him and do as he says. When we
bring what we have to Christ—our needs and ourselves—and unite them to him,
Christ becomes the foundation of our lives and he changes us.
Our
relationship with Jesus then motivates us to imitate what he says and how he
acts. When we put on the mind of Christ,
as St. Paul instructs us, we find reason and desire to share our gifts with
others in a spirit of love. We find
reason to live the truth in love. When
we take Jesus into our hearts through word and sacrament, we become what he is,
and our eternal life begins here and now.