Conviction by Faith

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:60-69.

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before? 
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him. 
And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" 
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? 
You have the words of eternal life. 
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

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Reflection

As a result of Jesus' teaching, many of his disciples left Him. They were drawn to Jesus because of the power of His words and the many signs and miracles that He worked. The recent teaching however was a challenge: one has to consume Jesus' flesh and blood in order to have eternal life. Not only was it against the Jews' religious sensitivities, it was also a call to cannibalism most, if not all, cultures would reject.

The invitation of Jesus was not symbolic. It is graphic and disturbing, something that challenges one's worldview. For those who rejected the invitation, they returned to their former way of life. For them, Jesus was just a fad who turned out to be too strong to the taste. The evangelist John directs us however to the honest and sincere response of Peter: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

The twelve stood out from the disciples as those who chose to stay. Jesus forced them to face their own position, "do you also want to leave?" They were however taken up by their conviction, in their faith, to stay. They have seen and experienced for themselves the mystery of the person of Jesus and they were ready to take His challenge. They have left everything and they have followed only Him. Our Christian faith requires that strong conviction in Jesus.

A Invitation to Nourishment We Now Celebrate

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:51-58.

Jesus said to the crowds:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you. 
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day. 
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink. 
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him. 
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me. 
This is the bread that came down from heaven. 
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."

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Reflection

Jesus graphic challenge to the Jews is startling. While most spiritual teachers challenge their disciples to listen and obey, Jesus asks his disciples to eat His flesh and drink His blood as a requirement for salvation. Along with this, He claims three things: that His flesh and blood is true food and drink, that through it the disciple remains in Him, and that the disciple may receive life.

At the heart of the challenge is the eternal truth of man: we cannot live without nourishment. We take life in order to continue on living. We raise poultry and livestock, and gardens and orchards, to provide food - life for a life. Jesus, the Incarnate Source of Life, offers His very self: His truth, His flesh, and His friendship, that we might receive Life in its fullness.

This truth is celebrated in the Eucharistic liturgy, when we perpetuate this promise of nourishment and presence every time we celebrate Mass and receive Holy Communion. What was taught by Jesus, written in Scriptures, is lived and celebrated in the Church. It is Life Himself for our lives.

Beyond What Eyes Can See

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:41-51.

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
"I am the bread that came down from heaven, "
and they said,
"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? 
Do we not know his father and mother? 
Then how can he say,
'I have come down from heaven'?" 
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves. 
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day. 
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father. 
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life. 
I am the bread of life. 
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die. 
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

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Reflection

The Jews murmured against Jesus because they thought they knew Him fully. But they didn’t know Jesus’ true identity and mission. For although they knew Jesus’ parentage, they didn’t know his true origin. Their knowledge of the person of Jesus is limited.

This is why Jesus invites them to faith. There are realities that escape our grasp because we cannot fully understand them. These we call mysteries. The small hole that our intellect can make cannot contain the ocean of God’s truth. What the intellect does not fully understand, faith provides. Faith is a gift but it also is a response. 

The outlandish claim of Jesus that He is the bread of life is more than enough for the Jews. Cannibalism is not part of their menu. Faith however allowed early Christians to see that the Bread they partake in is really the Body of the Messiah, that the meal is also fellowship and communion, and such food is Life Himself. Faith allows us to see beyond what eyes can see. 

The First Leap

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:24-35.

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?" 
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
you are looking for me not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled. 
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you. 
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." 
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" 
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." 
So they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? 
What can you do? 
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."

So they said to him,
"Sir, give us this bread always." 
Jesus said to them,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

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Reflection

For most of us, we would not believe until we see it for ourselves. The people who saw Jesus multiply bread were looking for Him because they saw that He could do wonders. Jesus had to point out to them the purpose of those wonders. Jesus had to remind them that His purpose is much higher than feeding people and establishing a utopian society. Jesus came to share with us the fullness of life.

Christianity is all about entering into that fullness of life. Such is the work of God, to bring His children into His Life. But to achieve that fullness one must make the first leap - the leap of faith. This episode of the Gospel reminds all Christians of the fundamental requirement of their faith - the belief in Jesus as the Bread of Life, who came from the Father in order to feed us His very own Life. To be Christian means to believe that Jesus did come down from heaven from the Father, in order to unite Himself more fully with humanity by giving them His own Life.

As Catholics, we celebrate this in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Sacrament is our celebration of Jesus’ own promise of the Bread of Life. Ours is not only taking in His teachings but most of all, that communion with Him in the most physical, most profound, and most human way - taking Him as our Bread from heaven, His Body and Blood, in the form of bread and wine. Our Catholic life takes its vitality from this first leap of faith.