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 this not 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 

 

After Jesus fed five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness, the people sought to make Him king by force, as they were filled with the bread and fish He provided.  Jesus eluded them, walking on the water, but they followed Him by boat to Capernaum, so He began to teach them and to speak about Himself as Son.  In yesterday's reading, 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."  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 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 this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  We recall that in John's Gospel, the term the Jews is usually used to denote the religious leadership.  Here Christ is in Capernaum of Galilee, and it is likely the local rulers in the synagogue who know His father and mother.  At any rate, these speak for those who "know" Jesus in the earthly sense of His human birth.

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."  Here Jesus once again affirms something He alluded to in our previous reading (see yesterday's reading, above).  It is an affirmation that ultimately, our faith is something desired and willed by God the Father, but we have the capacity to reject and resist that faith and that "drawing" power of God upon us.  See Matthew 16:17.

"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."  Here, as frequently happens in John's Gospel, Jesus turns their thoughts from an earthly understanding of His language to a holy or heavenly one.  He Himself is 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 is at once a revelation of Christ's Passion, death, and Resurrection to come, but at the same time a reference to the Eucharist to come.  This and the verses that will follow (in this Monday's reading) establish this eucharistic significance.  My study Bible comments that Christ's declaration that He is Himself the living bread reveals the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  It notes that John's Gospel doesn't report the details of the Last supper, but rather the significance and truth of these events (which were known to the hearers of the Gospel) by reporting Christ's words. 

Jesus teaches,"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."  This is an important understanding about how faith works.  Christ clearly alludes to the drawing power of the Father upon human beings, and that all starts from there.  Our faith connection, therefore, is not only from Christ the Son Himself, but also from the Father -- as Christ asserts here -- and from the Holy Spirit.  Christ affirms this same understanding about faith as a revelation of the Father within us when He responds to Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Son of the living God in Matthew's Gospel.  He tells Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:16-17).  In this sense, Jesus quotes from the prophet Isaiah:  "And they shall all be taught by God" (Isaiah 54:13 LXX).  So the fullness of our capacity to "become like God," built into our creation as a potential and promise (Genesis 1:26), becomes possible through Christ's life, death, and Resurrection, but the potentials of faith in us begin with the Father's presence and activity in us, even drawing us to faith in Christ.  Everything points to Christ as the key to all things, for even the Father gives to Him this role.  He is the One who will give His flesh for the life of the world, for the everlasting life made possible and given to us through His sacrifice.  The eucharistic language is clear:  the bread from heaven is that which He will give us in the sacrament, making it possible even for the kingdom of God to dwell in us, and for us to hope for the everlasting life in which we dwell with Him.  He gives us this living bread from heaven through His sacrifice made for the life of the world.   In the beginning of the Gospel, we read, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).   Let us be those capable of seeing and receiving the light, not dwelling with the darkness, for His light is the light of everlasting life.

 

 

 

I am the living bread which came down from heaven

 

 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 one 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 the people who had sought to make Him king, "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 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 one 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."  Augustine comments on this passage that Jesus is telling the religious leaders ("the Jews" - referring to the leadership)  that when Jesus speaks of faith, He is not speaking of those forced to be drawn, but of those to whom Christ is revealed who long to know Him as one longs to know the truth. 

 

"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."   The Eucharistic significance of this passage is clear, and will continue in the following reading.  As the living bread, the bread of life, Christ Himself becomes that which we "take in" through the Eucharist, and becomes a part of us, giving us His life.  And this life, for which He will sacrifice His flesh (His earthly life as Jesus) is given for the life of the world.  

What does it mean that Jesus is the bread of life?  Jesus says that "he who believes in Me has everlasting life."  In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus taught, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  If faith is defined as the work of God which we may do, then this "bread of life" is the bread our work is for.  It is what feeds us something necessary to us, this life that supersedes and adds to the life of the flesh that we know in an earthly sense.  For this "work" we must be drawn by the Father, so that Christ is revealed to us through us through hearts in which there remains a deep and mysterious desire for the truth of this revelation, to know Him.  Since this is something known to the Father, it seems that it is a deeply mysterious process indeed, as God the Father -- and therefore Christ and the Spirit also -- know us at depths within ourselves which we don't understand.  The process of faith is something in which we find ourselves responding to what we don't yet understand.  We are drawn by just this process that Christ names as the Father drawing us.  This process is the thing to which Jesus refers when He quotes the prophets, saying, "And they shall all be taught by God" (Isaiah 54:13).  He says, "Therefore one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me."  And He makes clear that this is a mystical reality:  "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."  It is only Christ, the Son, who has truly "seen" the Father, who can behold the Father as One who is also God.  But clearly there is a place deep within ourselves where Christ says the Father draws us, and those who are drawn are capable of this faith, of the revelation of Christ.  If we think about our faith, it is so often true that our faith evolves and grows within us.  Christ continually presents the experience of faith as a journey, with Himself as the road upon which we journey into a deeper communion with God ("I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" - John 14:6).  But for today, let us consider the "work of God" given to us, that of faith, and the "bread of life" which Christ can give to us:  Himself.  Through the voluntary sacrifice of His worldly life, this everlasting life of which Christ speaks can triumph, and it can be distributed to us who approach in faith.  Let us consider what it means that we are given the work of God, for which the Father draws us, in order to reveal to us the Son -- and the life that is given to us in this communion, even the life that grows in us from the living bread which came down from heaven.

 

 

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"

 

 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."  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."

 

- John 6:41-54 

 

John's chapter 6 began with the fourth sign of John's Gospel:  the feeding of a multitude.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught the people who followed Him to Capernaum:  "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 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'?"  We recall that in John's Gospel, the term the Jews is most often used to represent hostile religious leaders, possibly local leaders of the synagogue.  Here He is in Capernaum of Galilee, where there are many who are likely to know His extended family in Nazareth.  But the irony is that these people do not know the true story of His birth, nor do they hear His words regarding His Father.

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."  Once again, Jesus returns to the closeness of the relationship between Himself and the Father.  So deep is the relationship that not only is it the Father who sent Him, but no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws that person to Christ.  St. Hilary of Poitiers sums up Jesus teaching this way:  "There is no approach to the Father except through Christ. But there is also no approach to Christ, unless the Father draws us."  Therefore, not only does the Father share and give everything to the Son, but the Father also draws Christ's followers to Christ.  Therefore the Father works deep within us as well, and is "all in all."

"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."  The Father draws us to Christ, the only One who is from God and has truly seen and knows the Father in the Father's fullness.  Christ is the bread of life to whom the Father would draw those who hunger and thirst for the everlasting life offered through grace.  My study Bible reminds us again here that the whole of John's chapter 6 reflects the story of the Exodus, but under the new covenant of Christ.  In the Exodus, God fed God's people manna and gave them drink from a miraculous water source (Exodus 16:1-17:7).  Here, Christ declares Himself to be the true bread that has come 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, as in yesterday's reading and commentary, we note that Christ does not say He gives for the life of human beings only, but for the life of the world.  In Greek, this word is κόσμος/kosmos, meaning the whole of the created order, the universe and everything in it.

 

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."  These verses begin a new section of chapter 6, which has a clear eucharistic significance, tying the teachings that have come regarding the bread of heaven to the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  This theme shall be continued in tomorrow's lectionary reading.

St. Augustine has a great deal of commentary on these passages from John's chapter 6, as we also noted in yesterday's reading and commentary.  In today's passages from chapter 6, Jesus speaks of His closeness to the Father, but also how that tie to the Father extends into the relationship between the faithful and Christ as well.  He says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."  St. Augustine comments here that this is the doctrine of grace:  none comes unless they are drawn.  But this is a mysterious process, to some extent predicated on our own internal hunger of the soul for this particular bread of heaven, or bread of life.  We come by the gift of faith.  St. Augustine says that the soul is drawn also by love, and we are drawn even by delight, quoting Psalm 37:4:  "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart."  He writes, "There is a certain craving of the heart to which that bread of heaven is sweet. . . . how much more boldly ought we to say that a person is drawn to Christ when he delights in the truth, when he delights in blessedness, delights in righteousness, delights in everlasting life?  Do not the bodily senses have their pleasures, and the soul its? . . . Give me one who loves, who longs, who burns, who sighs for the source of his being and his eternal home, and he will know what I mean."  Faith, then, in the words of St. Augustine and the experience of uncountable numbers of people throughout these centuries, depends upon so much, involves so much -- but perhaps none more so than a true desire for this delight in truth and in the love which springs from the Father, for, as John writes in his first Epistle, God is love (see 1 John 4:8).  When Peter makes his confession of faith, Matthew reports Jesus' response, so consistent with today's teachings in John:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (see Matthew 16:16-17).  May we all be blessed with this hunger for truth, for the delight we may take in what He offers, the life that is in the love and truth of God, and know what it is to be filled.

 

 

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 learned 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 

 

We are presently reading through chapter 6 of John's Gospel.   Earlier in the chapter, Jesus fed five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness; after this, wanted to forcefully make Him king, but He evaded them.  In yesterday's reading, He taught the people, "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 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.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."    Once more, Jesus affirms the connection made first through God the Father drawing people to faith in Christ, just as He said that it was God the Father who revealed Jesus as Christ to St. Peter at Peter's confession (see Matthew 16:16-17).    In yesterday's reading, as we can read above, Jesus taught the people, "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."  So we can see the repeated emphasis that everything -- including the faith of human beings that Jesus is the Christ -- has come from the Father, and even that it is the Father who draws people to faith in Christ.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 54:13, connecting Isaiah's statement explicitly with "everyone who has heard and learned from 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 Jesus begins a passage, which will continue into the following reading tomorrow, which is full of eucharistic significance.  My study bible says that Christ's declaration that He is Himself the living bread that gives life is a revelation of the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church.  It notes that John does not give the details of the Last Supper (such as the "words of institution") which are recorded in Luke 22:19-20).  Instead, John's Gospel gives us the significance and truth of these events -- which we must keep in mind were already known to the hearers of the Gospel -- as John reports Jesus' own words.  

John's Gospel makes extremely strong connections between human beings and the divine reality of Christ.  Not only does Jesus repeatedly say (in yesterday's and today's readings) that our faith that He is the Christ comes from the Father, and that we human beings are "given" to Christ by the Father, but also that we may become more surely connected to divine life through the food that He will give us, the bread which came down from heaven.  He declares Himself to be the bread of life, a food which conveys eternal life through faith.  He is the living bread which came down from heaven.  To eat of this bread also confers divine attributes as it gives immortality.  He says, " 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 is clearly referring to His crucifixion which is to come, and to the Eucharist in which we "eat of this bread" which is "My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."   There will be more on this explicitly in tomorrow's reading, as Jesus continues His discourse.  But let us note first of all in today's reading the deep connection that John's Gospel makes between human beings and the life of the divine.  For in these words in today's reading Jesus makes the most powerful connection possible between His mission and ministry into the world, and the offering of participation in divine life that it entails for humanity.  Not only are we "given" to Christ by the action of God the Father, but we also come to faith through the work of God the Father in us.  Moreover, Christ's saving sacrifice on the Cross will be made explicitly to unite us to Himself, and confer the attribute of eternal life -- a purely divine reality -- upon us, and through faith.  This is the substance of the Eucharist, its very meaning, as my study bible points out.  It is not a picture of a "two-story" world, in which the purely flesh and purely worldly are here where we live, and God's world is "up there" in the heavens.  It is much, much more than that.  This is a powerful statement about our very being, that Christ has come to unite both and specifically in us.  And it is not just a mission of Christ alone, but works first and last through the very action of God the Father in us, bringing us to recognition of Jesus, the Son of Man, as Christ, and to the true substance of the Eucharist, so that we might have eternal life as well.  We partake of the food of Christ Himself, who is the bread of life.  It is a way of telling us in the most complete terms possible that not only are we offered the grace to participate in this divine life even as we are human beings in this world, but that Christ's very substance is given to us as food for this divine life in us.  Just as we eat worldly bread to become substance for our bodies, so we might also partake of the bread of eternal life which is Christ Himself.  If we look at the story which began this chapter, the feeding of the five thousand, we can see a metaphor, a kind of illustration, in the picking up of the twelve baskets full of fragments which were left over from the loaves and the fishes.  It reminds us of Jesus' words that of all the Father has given to Him, nothing will be lost (see yesterday's reading, above).  It is yet another facet of the story of Christ as the bread of heaven upon which we may be feed, reminding us that absolutely nothing is cast aside, lost, forgotten.  There are no "crumbs" from this food, only the precious substance of life itself, of the divine reality made present for us and vital in our lives, teaching us that we are meant to be held in the hand of God and given this significance too.  As it is the Father who begins this circle or communion which engulfs and "informs" us in our capacity for participation, so we must acknowledge that Christ's mission to us is of the highest possible significance.  It is our very faith that Jesus is the Christ that confers that significance upon us, giving us participation in divine life, touched by the action of the Father.  If all of this is too heady to consider, just think about what we might see in the world:  the cheapness of life caught up in violence, or reduced by addiction, or destroyed with slavery for its  own purposes such as human trafficking, or cast off by the unloving and uncaring.  These images from our world in which life is not upheld in the vision of the divine that Christ brings for us, are all diminishing movements that deny the power of faith not only to confer meaning and value, but also to give life and love itself to each one, regardless of circumstance or place in this world.   To diminish life is a lie, because Christ has told us the truth about who we are, who we are capable of being, how precious we are in God's sight, and how He will not lose even one of us who comes to faith.  Let us cling to His food and realize how precious -- and how necessary -- it is, in a world that would so frequently seek to teach us instead that we are nothing and that God's love is meaningless.   Jesus says we must choose our master:  God or mammon (see Luke 16:13).  The voice of mammon says, "You're nothing without me" (my power, my money, my connections, etc.).   The voice of Christ  says He will lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13).  What does your faith teach you?  Which one offers life?

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 spoke to the crowds which followed Him to force Him to become king after He had fed them in the wilderness.  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."  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.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."  In Matthew's Gospel, when Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus responds:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:16-17).  Here, in the consistency of the Gospels, Jesus gives this as a general principle.  He states that "no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him," and asserts the testimony of Scripture:  "And they shall all be taught by God" (Isaiah 54:13, Septuagint).  But then He points to Himself as the One who is from God, and only 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 read, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  Returning to the themes of the parallels with the Exodus that dominate chapter 6, Jesus declares Himself to be the bread of life, contrasting this bread with the manna of their ancestors in the wilderness.  He begins a deeply Eucharistic teaching regarding Himself as this living bread, which my study bible says reveals the Mystical Supper of the New Testament Church. 

 Jesus has just fed 5,000 men, and more women and children, by multiplying loaves and fishes in the wilderness.  They pursued Him to take Him by force and make Him king, and He evaded Him.  His disciples know that He has walked upon the water of the Sea of Galilee to their boat, as they crossed the Sea in the middle of the night.  The crowds have anticipated Jesus and the disciples, having seen their boats set off, and are now in Capernaum where He addresses them.  So, in addition to the time which they spent with Him in the wilderness, they now have pursued Him across the Sea (really a large lake), and the time has come for a deeper revelation to the public.  Jesus has told them (in yesterday's reading, above), "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life."  The work of God He told them, is faith in Christ.  In today's reading, He goes another step further:  He Himself is the bread who came down from heaven.  They, the crowd, thinks of Moses and the manna in the wilderness.  They expect the Messiah to be one who is like Moses, who restores the fortunes of Israel, who can shake off the Roman Empire and make Israel a great and dominant power, who can feed them even in the wilderness.  But Jesus offers them another plan.  And here is the overriding reality of the Christ who is the bread from heaven -- who has come down from heaven to offer something no one could ever offer:  everlasting life.  There are powerful revelations in today's reading:  that it is the Father who draws us to Christ in faith, who works even in us to bring us to truth, to the Son who is also the human Jesus.  That He offers eternal life.  And moreover, that "the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  Theologians and saints have given us challenges to consider what these words mean, "for the life of the world," and to consider that Christ will go to the Cross not simply for His own followers, not simply for human beings, but for the life of the world.   That is, for all of the creation, as the Greek word translated as world is not the word meaning merely "earth."  In the Greek, it is cosmos/κοσμος.  That is all of creation, seen and unseen, and everything and everyone in it.  These are things which we can barely grasp in our human imaginations.  For one thing, we don't even know what the entire cosmos really is, nor its limits, nor all the creatures and realities it holds.  But for another, not only will it all be transformed with even more life than before through Christ's Passion on the Cross, but our participation in that very act which is done for the life of the world depends on one thing, our faith.  And that faith is so important that the very Father Himself acts in us to bring us to Christ -- through that "work of God" which is belief in Him.  In the Cross is the intersection of the highest and the lowest, every human heart, by extension all of creation, even to the work of God the Father.  All of it intersects in us that we might participate in it and also participate in this life abundantly He promises, for the life of the world.  We are invited in to work at something which encompasses forces so far beyond ourselves we cannot understand them, but this process is at work deeply within us, and through our faith, will always offer this same life, this capacity to find us another plan. Everything with Christ works unexpectedly.  There will be enormously challenging disappointments (such as that He does not want to be their king), and yet, instead, in that other plan He offers, there is such level and dimension of treasure as we cannot possibly anticipate or imagine.  But one thing will always bear out in our faith experience:  if we come to a dead end, if we exhaust our own understanding and what we already know, Christ will offer us another plan.  In the great and grand understanding of the Lord, there will always be something more, something further He draws us toward -- and this holds true for the challenges in our own lives, for the understanding towards which we can, in faith, grasp.  Let us consider the better deal, the other plan, the greater life He offers this crowd, and know that He is also addressing His words to us, even as we grapple with the same choices on a different day and at a different time in the world.

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. 

And they shall all be taught by God

 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is this not 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 recent readings, Jesus has fed thousands in the wilderness, after which they sought to make Him king, and have followed Him across the Sea of Galilee.  He began to speak to them of the true bread from heaven.  In yesterday's reading, He taught, "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 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 this not 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.'"  This quotation is from the prophecy of Isaiah (54:13).

"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."  What begins here is a passage teaching the significance of the Eucharist, which we shall read further in tomorrow's reading.  For now, what we notice here is the powerful pull of the Father in all things; even we who may come to Christ do so from a kind of prompting by the Father.  In this sense, Jesus is the "living bread" which came down from heaven, which draws us back to the Father and eternal life.  We remember that this chapter began by telling us that the Passover is near, and so these teachings about the bread of heaven or bread of God are fulfillment of the Old Testament type of the Israelites fed in the wilderness.  This is the second Passover reported in John's gospel; Jesus' death will take place one year from this time.   His teaching regarding His flesh, which He shall give for the life of the world reflects that event to come.

As we've repeatedly seen, all things go back to the Father with Jesus.  The Father is the one who gives the Son to the world.  The Father has sent the Son as the bread from heaven.  But there's something else in today's reading that is so powerful, and significant.   Jesus quotes from Isaiah, saying, "And they shall all be taught by God," and then He tells us, "Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." It is an awesome sort of statement that somehow this "hearing" and "learning" from the Father is also in us.  That means that what Jesus will speak about at the Last Supper is shown all through John's gospel:  that the Father isn't just a far away God so that Christ is sent to us as mediator.  He's saying that the Father is also, somehow, in us and with us.  God the Father, whom the Son follows in all things, is also present in us, teaching us and even speaking with us.  It is the Father who prompts us to follow Christ.  This is a relationship of love that is complete and full, and inclusive of everything, Creator and creature, and all that this means.  Jesus calls those who follow Him that which has been given to Him by the Father.  In yesterday's reading, He taught, "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."  We are part of "all He has given Me."  But today's reading completes the circle.  God the Father's work in us is a speaking and teaching, from which we must "hear and learn" so that we come to the Son.  I can't say that I could define how this mysterious action happens, nor even the depths at which the Father is in us and at which we learn from Him.  But we're promised by the Son that this is so, and that we could not come to the Son otherwise.  It is tied to the love of God, to relationship at the depths of ourselves in the first place. Jesus has taught the leadership that they cannot "hear" Him because they don't have the love of God the Father in themselves in the first place.  So it all starts with this loving relationship with the Father to begin with, somewhere deep inside ourselves.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will become more explicit about the depths and inclusion of such relationship:  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:21).  This is an extension of this relationship:  through the word of the disciples, there will be those who believe and these too will be part of this prayer that "they all may be one" -- as the Father is in Christ and Christ in the Father, so He prays that we may be one in Father and Son as well.  All of this completed, universal, cosmic relationship is bound up in faith and none is separate from the other.  It's not just the Son who has seen the Father, except in the sense that the Son contains all the properties of the Father, is a divine person like the Father.  But Father and Son are also in us, and He is here to let none of us be lost, to let none of us go.  So, we are not just invited but rather guaranteed that we are a part of something so great and so far beyond us that we are included in a relationship of love that invites and includes the entire cosmos, all of creation.  That's what we take from this reading today, and Jesus' amazing words that we "shall all be taught by God."  Again, we we remarked in yesterday's reading, we're given a picture that seems to stand the world on its head.  What if we are really and truly loved and held from the inception of creation, by the very Father whose will the Son always follows?  What if the Father Himself has a voice in us, teaching us?  And that this "voice" is the root of faith in the Son?  In Matthew's gospel, after Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus tells Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:16-17).  The most important thing we can realize from this is how much we are loved, how we are held in relationship, and how complete and full is that relationship.  This is the God of love, who acts and works in us to give us an eternal life with Him.  This is the Father who gave us His Son so that we may find this salvation and life in abundance and eternal.  This is the love with which held, created, and sustained -- that wants to give us everything it can and add all things possible to us.