The bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world

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

This week we have been reading from the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, in which Jesus discusses the Bread of Life, after feeding 5,000 people in the wilderness. We recall that the crowd wished to forcibly make Him king, which He refused - and He has led them to think about the true depth of the bread He offers. In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the Galilean Jews, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." This is a depth of teaching of faith that takes them (and us) to new levels of understanding what it is to do the work of God. Jesus went on to teach about the bread of everlasting life, and that He will raise those up with Him on the last day. He said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. . . . 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." Today, we continue in this dialogue.

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'?" "The Jews," of course, refers in this Gospel most frequently to the temple leadership. In this case, we remember He is in His home territory of Galilee. We recall that earlier in John's Gospel, we were told, "For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country." John also reports the scorn He receives from His own brothers (in Chapter 7, which the lectionary gave us before this week). Here, we have another reflection of the derision He endures from those who know Him in His earthly identity, the ones who are familiar with Him already in one sense in His life, before His public ministry.

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." We have discussed in yesterday's readings Jesus' references to the Father at work within ourselves, revealing truth and faith. What the Father gives to Christ He will keep with Him, we were told, and lose nothing of what He has been given. This refers to the faithful. Here, He reinforces this teaching, citing Isaiah 54:13. The Father Himself teaches within us, is His great affirmation to all of us, that we are so loved that the Father Himself has a connection deep within our hearts. He affirms, also, that though only He who is from God has seen the Father, "everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." We may not have seen, but we can hear and learn! An extraordinary revelation about our own natures, and the gifts we can receive from God.

"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." Once again, Jesus affirms the "work of faith" and its great power, which is to lead us to His sharing of His power of everlasting life for all of us, for each of us. But finally, He alludes to the sacrifice He will truly make. My study bible says of the last verse in this reading (verse 51), and those which will follow in tomorrow's, "Jesus' declaration that He is Himself the living bread which brings us life is intended to reveal the eucharistic feast. his offering is not for His people only but for the life of the world."

Jesus will give His flesh for the life of the world. A friend of mine once made a comment about what that depth of offering really means, and how deeply we can understand the commitment to the life of the entire world -- and all that is in it, grows upon it, lives within it. How deeply can we take this love to mean all of Creation that we see around us, its welfare and well-being, its healing? Can we possibly understand the depth of love for all of us, and all that we see and live in this world, and the timelessness that is also conveyed here? God's grace reaches its rays into each one of us, and in turn, perhaps we, too, may consider what it is to mean that Jesus will give His flesh -- die His death on the Cross - for "the life of the world." What does it mean to us, and how do we conduct ourselves in the knowledge that this is His will? Nothing is excluded from that love, and nothing given to Him will be lost, to life everlasting and abundant.