It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

- John 6:60-71

Yesterday we read that the leaders of the synagogue quarreled among themselves over Jesus' words, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Than 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, 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. 

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.   My study bible remarks here that even His disciples took Christ's teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying.  Many walked with Him no more.  It notes that there are many who still reject Jesus' words regarding the sacramental eating of His Body and drinking His Blood.  Because of the difficulty of grasping the depth of this Mystery, many have attempted either to define its nature with a rational explanation or to explain away His words completely, regarding them as purely metaphorical.  But, it notes, the words here are quite explicit; to reject them is to reject the witness of the Scriptures and the unanimous teaching of the Church throughout history.  The Gospels are consistent in that witness; see also Luke 22:19-20. 

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  At this turning point in Jesus' ministry, when many disciples turn away because of His saying about His Body and Blood, there is a monumental choice made here, on behalf of the twelve.  Peter makes his confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.   This confession of Christ's identity as Son sets Christianity apart from other philosophical systems or paths of spirituality.  He is Creator; He states over and over again in our recent readings that everything that He is, says, and teaches is from the Father -- saying, "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father" (6:46).   This conveys an exclusive position as Son.   Let us make note also that the confession of faith, as is always essential to the Gospels and to our faith, comes from the experience of the faithful.  Peter says, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  My study bible adds that Peter's understanding can't be reached through human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  .  Christ means "Anointed One," equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."   We note also Jesus' awareness of the coming betrayal by Judas, and the note of the presence of evil in His words ("Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" ).

Central to today's reading is the concept of the Spirit.  Jesus teaches, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."  He has made clear throughout the dialogue of chapter 6 that He has come from the Father; He is the bread which has come down from heaven.  Here He is telling His disciples that the reality of life is based in the Spirit, and that even the words He speaks are spirit, and they are life.  In other words, the true realm of the spiritual is that which He brings, and teaches, and mingles with our own sense of life and earthly reality.  It is the basis for all life; it, in fact, life itself.  It is what gives life.  These words apply to our understanding of the mystical nature of the Eucharist, the Mystical Supper, His Body and and Blood.  They apply to how our faith works in us, and why change in us is possible through faith.  They apply equally to the response of Peter, on behalf of all the disciples, in his confession of faith.  Jesus says above, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  We have the ties to the spiritual reality of the universe at work even with us at all times; through Jesus' words, we understand that the Father also works in us, and works with our faith.  All of this is entirely mysterious to us, and is understood that way by Christ.  John's Gospel is very clear in the message that what Jesus gives us are "earthly things" -- such as Baptism and the Eucharist, meant for our participation in spiritual life even as we are a part of this world.  The fullness of the mystery of the life of God the Father, Son, and Spirit are not things He expects us to grasp; only He is aware of that (see John 3:10-12).  In the great mystery of the Eucharist and other sacraments, it is important to understand that these are given us as part of our participation in heavenly life, in the fullness of life indeed, that which is given by the Spirit.   The fullness of life, Jesus is saying, comes only through this participation, this link, this abiding.  Let us make note, also, of that which is counter to God, also an aspect of spiritual life.  Jesus has done all things according to the will of the Father, and yet, He says, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"   This too is a part of the mystery of the fullness of spiritual life and our participation in it.  There will be those forces that oppose God; they are those spoken of in the Scriptures as conveying captivity, enslavement, ignorance, darkness.  They are not equal to God; it is Christ who is the "stronger man."  (See Luke 11:21-23, in which Jesus speaks of exorcism, and refers to His role as Liberator, Redeemer, Savior, and Son.)  Included in today's reading is the mystery of theodicy, the question of why evil is permitted in our world.  Christ, as Son, could indeed simply eliminate all enemies, supposedly to create a kind of paradise for us, but this is not God's way.  It is not the Father's Way for Him even to avoid the cup that is coming (the Cross) -- see Luke 22:42-43.  This is not the way evil is defeated nor the way in which human beings will be liberated.  We are invited into His struggle, His way, as His disciples and followers.  We are also invited to the Cross (see Matthew 16:24-26).  As faithful, our job is to remain faithful to His word, His teaching, and His presence with us.  Let us abide in Him, as He teaches, and use all the sacraments and tools we are given to be strengthened in that faith, including our prayers for one another and our communion in Him.   To meet adversity with grace is perhaps the greatest achievement for which we hope in faith.