The Jews then complained about Him, because He said "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."- John 6:41–51
Our current readings are in chapter 6 of John's Gospel. This chapter has eucharistic significance, with Jesus' emphasis on Himself as the bread of life which came from heaven. In yesterday's reading, Jesus addressed the men who had previously sought to make Him king by force, after He fed them in the wilderness. He told them, "Do not labor for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the
Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on
Him." Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the
works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of
God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." Therefore
they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it
and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in
the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'
Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not
give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread
from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and
gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this
bread always." And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who
comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never
thirst. But
I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that
the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will
by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My
own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the
Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing
but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who
sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
The Jews then complained about Him, because He said "I am the bread
which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the
son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He
says, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus therefore answered and
said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the
last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught
by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father
comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from
God; He has seen the Father." Here Jesus offers us an important statement about our own connection to God the Father. He says, "No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the
last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught
by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father
comes to Me." Significantly, He taught the same thing to the disciples upon the confession of St. Peter that Jesus is the Christ, as reported in St. Matthew's Gospel: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).
"Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has
seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me
has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the
manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes
down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living
bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he
will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I
shall give for the life of the world." Here, Jesus makes clear the eucharistic significance of His statements teaching that He is the bread of life, the living bread which comes down from heaven. In our following readings, Jesus' continuing discourse will affirmatively emphasize this even more starkly.
Jesus says, "If anyone eats of this bread, he
will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I
shall give for the life of the world." Here Jesus begins to make entirely clear a reference to what is coming, to His Crucifixion. More powerfully, He makes clear that He is not simply speaking metaphorically, but even -- and additionally -- He is speaking quite literally of His flesh. Moreover, once again, nothing which Christ does is absent from the Father -- which means that nothing is done apart from love as its basis. That is, the love of God the Father and the love of the Son, giving His flesh for the life of the world. As we have repeatedly emphasized over the past few readings and commentary, none of what Christ does is separable from love, and indeed, our understanding of love itself. This is because many things may pass for love which are actually done in quite a selfish manner. But for us to understand and to grow in learning love, it is discipleship which teaches this. It is in John's Gospel that Jesus issues to us His final and new command, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35). It is in loving one another that the world can understand that we are Christ's disciples, He says. Here in today's reading, Jesus tells us that this love will extend to giving His flesh for the life of the world. We know this is love because He tells us this is so. Again, in this Gospel, He will teach us, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13). And finally, it is also here in John's Gospel, that we have been told, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). So, while Jesus begins His quite explicit discourse on Himself as the bread of life, and the powerful, visceral meaning that takes on regarding His sacrifice He will make on the Cross, and eventually in the Eucharist, let us take in today all the ways in which what He teaches conveys to us His love, and the Father's love. For we are meant to continue in this understanding of and practice of God's love, extended through us as disciples. For without it, He will indicate, we are not His disciples. Let us take into account the significance of this saying and all the ways it teaches us how we are to be understood as Christians.