For the life of the world

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven?' " Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

- John 6:41-51

In today's reading, Jesus continues his discourse on "the bread of life." We recall that he is speaking to those who have pursued him in order to make him king, because he filled them with bread and fishes at the feeding of the 5,000. Yesterday's reading told us of Jesus' teaching to them about the "bread of life" which he told them they should be pursuing, rather than asking him to be their king because he fed them loaves to eat. Jesus has expanded on his role as Son and his reflection of and union with the Father. In yesterday's reading, Jesus made the important statement that to have faith - "to believe in him whom He has sent" - is to do the work of God.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven?' " Clearly we are given a picture here of those "from his own country." John has told us, in an earlier passage about Galilee (reporting the second miracle of the gospel) that "Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country" (John 4:44). Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day." Jesus has already elaborated upon his identity as Son (see yesterday's passage) and his relationship to the Father. He is here, he has taught this crowd, to draw all to the Father that are the Father's. Here he makes an unequivocal statement about this relationship: that all those who come to him are in reality drawn to Jesus by the Father who has sent him. Therefore along with himself, in his spiritual nature, these people who come to Jesus will be raised up on the last day. The notion of Son of Man as an apocalyptic figure is already familiar to them. But Jesus clearly states his nature and union with the Father, the depth of relationship extending to a baptism of the people who will believe in and be drawn to Christ because they are drawn by the Father.

"It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father." Jesus is speaking of the depth of connection between those who believe in his word, and through him, to the Father. It is the Father who is drawing all to Christ, because the Father pulls up to Himself through Christ, this incarnate Son. This is how we are "all taught by God." The pull of faith within the heart is the "law that is written on the heart." It is a connection of faith deep within ourselves that draws us to the reality of Christ and his union and single nature with the Father, even as incarnate human being. While the people he is speaking to - as is very common in John's gospel - take his words literally and try to contemplate what they could mean, Jesus is teaching mystery, about the hidden depth behind the words and phrases he uses.

"Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die." Therefore, faith in Christ gives eternal life. We are raised in union with Christ and the Father, in the baptism of faith. When Jesus says, "I am the bread of life," he is effectively giving us the power for eternal life through his life, the capacity for a life of abundance and all the reality to which we are capable of aspiring through himself.

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Jesus has been sent. He is here on a mission. He is clearly and powerfully stating to this crowd that knows him and his family as their neighbors that he has been sent from heaven. He equates himself with the manna in the wilderness with an important distinction: those who ate the manna died, but those who eat his bread - which he calls his flesh - will not die. This bread is the life of the world. He will give this bread - his flesh - for the life of the world. There is a clear reference here to his sacrifice, the Cross. And an equally clear reference to the Eucharist. Jesus' life itself is the bread of life to us which we take in. My study bible notes that Jesus gives his bread, his flesh, "for the life of the world." This is for the whole world, for everybody. There are no exceptions. Everybody is invited to this feast.

How do you view "the life of the world" and the "bread of life" that is his flesh which he will sacrifice? How do we understand Jesus' life as a gift to us? There are mysteries here too deep for all of us to grasp in a sense that is completely clear, cut and dried, potent in its perspective as "facts." But in relationship, we can understand. Jesus draws us deeper into the matters of the heart deep within us. The Father calls to us through Jesus, calls us to Himself as we are drawn to Jesus. Jesus will lose his life so that faith will redeem us and all that we are capable of being. In the past few passages, I have remarked in my commentary on how this life in abundance is truly a gift that teaches us that we are so much more than flesh and blood and bone - that there is so much more to life beyond what meets the eye. In the powerful poetry of the gospel, we understand that Jesus' sacrifice will be our bread that raises us with him to the Father, to heaven, and gives us a bountiful harvest of what it is to truly be alive to all the possibilities and dimensions of life. He will take us with him on this journey in our own lives in the world and beyond. We remember these important words, "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." It isn't just about the last day, but our very lives in the world, and the life of the world. Take that bread that always gives and let it light up your life, and walk in the world with that drawing power that is in Him. See where it leads you and what it teaches you about yourself and who you are, who you can be. Christ gives us life for the life of the world, so that we in turn can be that life for others, for the world.