Gospel JN 6:52-59
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
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.
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.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Reflection:
“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.”
Our Lord’s words in today’s gospel seemed impossible to many of the Jews of Jesus’ day; their response was understandable.
They argued among themselves and some exclaimed, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus went on to tell them that though their ancestors ate, manna sent from Heaven, they still died. But, whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood will live forever.
To fully understand this, we must read the next several verses of John’s gospel. “Even his disciples said, ‘This is very hard to understand. Who can tell what he means’ At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.”
Jesus then turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you going too?”
Simon Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life and we believe them and know you are the holy Son of God.”
These passages give us the very crux of faith. There is no challenge to believing in something we can see or something we can understand. But, can we believe when we do not see and cannot fully understand?
In answering Jesus’ question, Peter did not say that he fully understood. He said of the Twelve “we believe” your words and “know” you are the Son of God.
In my heart, I cannot honestly say that I understand how bread and wine can become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. But, like Peter, I accept it as a reality because I too believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and his words are true.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1