This is the bread which came down from heaven

The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven - not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

- John 6:52-59

We continue today with Jesus' discourse on Himself as the Bread of Life. In yesterday's reading, Jesus introduced the theme of His flesh. He said, "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." He taught once again about those whom the Father will lead to Christ in faith, and quoted from Isaiah 54: "And they shall all be taught by God." Today, the discourse continues from His reference to His death on the Cross, and to the Eucharist.

The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" Once again, John is taking us into territory that is impossible to understand from a purely worldly or material perspective, and into the spiritual and deeper meanings to Jesus' words. "The Jews," we recall, is a term used to refer to the religious leadership. All persons in the Gospel reading are Jewish, including the audience He addresses as He calls them to faith. There are those among the leadership, we know from the Gospel, who will also be among the faithful.

Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." We can only wonder at the effect of these words! Even His disciples will have a hard time with this. My study bible has an informative note which I will fully quote: "Christ's body was crucified and His blood shed on the Cross. We receive the benefits of Christ's sacrifice by coming to Him in faith (v. 35), and by communion with Him: we eat His flesh and drink His blood. These words refer directly to the Eucharist, the mystery of Christ our life. His words are clear: To receive everlasting life, we must partake of His eucharistic flesh and blood. St. John Chrysostom (Homily 47:2) teaches we must not understand the sacrament carnally, that is, according to the laws of physical nature, but spiritually (v. 63), perceiving a true but mystical presence of Christ in the Eucharist."

"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed." Again, I will quote from my study bible: "St. Hilary of Poitiers writes, 'What we say concerning the reality of Christ's nature within us would be foolish and impious were we not taught by His very words . . . There is no room left for doubt about the reality of His flesh and blood, because we have both the witness of His words and our own faith. Thus, when we eat and drink these elements we are in Christ and Christ is in us' (On the Trinity, Book VIII, 14). This reality, however, is a profound mystery of faith and grace." It goes on to remind its readers that in Orthodox theology, this mystery of Christ's flesh and blood is not simply referring to the physical/material but of the deified and glorified Body and Blood of Christ which give resurrection life." I wish not to quibble with mystery in any form, nor debates about the nature of the Eucharist. But clearly in this mystery as conveyed here by the words we have been given in the Gospel, Jesus is central to all things. He will give His flesh "for the life of the world" and also that we may have everlasting and abundant life, and His nature is a part of us in which we dwell. How deep, eternal, and transcendent that is takes us not only from this story of Jesus, but also to all possibilities of life and Creation inherent in Him and God the Trinity. That depth in us can do what is impossible without God.

"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven - not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. And, finally, in these words we have the affirmation that what is His true nature in some mystical sense will abide in us, as we abide in Him. We become a part of Him -- the same way that though we ourselves have not seen (only the Son has seen the Father), we can still hear and learn. This is divine grace, that somehow the reality of God is shared with us who are not of the same substance. And it is at once the great mystery in which we partake, which has been offered to us through His sacrifice -- and its unifying power for all things, up to and including everlasting life which He promises.

How can we understand the promise to abide in Him, as He abides in us? Can we grasp the tremendous meanings, and the power in this statement? How do you feel that abiding love and presence, in you and with you? It is a gift for which to be eternally thankful, as it continues to present us with its power and grace throughout an eternal lifetime.