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

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 recent readings have taken place near the time of Passover.  Jesus fed the five thousand in the wilderness, and they followed Him to make Him king by force.  He walked on the Sea of Galilee to His disciples, while the people tried to follow Him. He taught 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."  In yesterday's reading, 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."   Jesus quotes from Isaiah 54:13.  Some texts place the last statement in the present tense: "Therefore everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me."  This is another kind of hint that it is the work of the Father in us to reveal the identity of the Son.  See also 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 we can read the eucharistic significance in Jesus' words.  That He is the living bread that gives life reveals the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church, says my study bible.  The next verses (tomorrow's reading) will continue to illumine this eucharistic understanding.

Jesus has repeatedly emphasized His union with the Father.  And by saying that "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" (yesterday's reading), Jesus teaches us that we are included -- through Him -- in this union.  In today's reading, He goes even deeper into the meanings and understanding of union.  He says, "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."  To eat this bread implies a kind of depth in nourishment that makes up all that we are.  Bread or food is not just for eating to be full; it is for full absorption into the body.  Without it we do not survive, and our bodies can't form their cells nor renew or maintain our health.  Bread becomes a part of who we are.  This bread which Jesus says He is, then, becomes something without which we cannot live, upon which we are dependent, which feeds and nourishes our very lives.  It is a type of union that is all in all.  He offers us His very life so that we may share in it, participate in it, and be raised with Him.  This is a kind of depth of relatedness that is hard to compare to anything else we know, and it tells us about identity -- that we are His.  In this fullness, we also become "sons" (both male and female) and thereby heirs.  The great mystery is how this identity is conferred and becomes so deeply a part of us.  But its key is the mystical supper of the bread of life.