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

 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

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught to the people who had followed Him after the feeding in the wilderness:  "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 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."  We recall that Jesus is in Galilee, the region from which His family comes and where He was raised.   Jesus quotes from Isaiah 54:13, referring again to the mysterious connection that faith confers with God, and how that connection draws people to Him.  The Jews, we remember, is a term most often used by John to designate the leadership.  Jesus is speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum.

"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."  Jesus speaks of Himself once again as the bread of life.  He is the living bread which came down from heaven, and it is He who gives life, even everlasting life.  Jesus begins here a discourse which is full of the significance of the Eucharist.  As the living bread that gives life, He speaks of the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  In tomorrow's reading, Jesus will continue to express the eucharistic meaning of the events which are to come.

Jesus not only introduces the meaning of the Eucharist in today's passage, but for the first time He speaks of the sacrifice that He will make, the bread which is "My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  These same people who hear His discourse are those who have followed Him from the feeding in the wilderness, in which 5,000 men, and more women and children, were fed from five barley loaves and two small fish.  They wished to make Him king because He'd fed them, but He evaded them.  In Saturday's reading, Jesus 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."  He is directing them to something more, something different -- that is, something entirely different.  How can it be conceivable to them that the bread of life is His flesh, which will be given for the life of the world?  And yet, it is to this that He directs them, and to which we are directed.  That is, into a life of participation in His life, which in turn gives us life.  In tomorrow's reading, Jesus will continue to speak about the Eucharist, giving an even more graphic depiction about His flesh and blood.  But what we start with today is His gift, that which He will give for the life of the world.  We note that He speaks not only of the life of human beings and those who have faith in Him, but for the life of the world.  His renewal of life is not for individuals only, but for the life of the world.  In the original Greek of the Gospel, the word translated as "the world" doesn't simply mean planet earth.  The word is cosmos, meaning all of creation, a whole universe.  This isn't simply the moon and the stars and the planets, that which we think of as physical creation.  It's also every order of created life, such as the ranks of the angels which we don't see.  Jesus speaks of life and renewal and the centrality of the Cross and His sacrifice.  Let us consider the impact of His words, and what it means to give thanks for the life He offers.