Jesus, the bread of life

Enzo Bianchi

After the recounting of the miracle Jesus performed (cf. John 6:11–13), and understanding this event as the revelation of Jesus, “the bread of eternal life,” through which the Father draws people (cf. John 6:26–51), today we read several of Jesus' words that illuminate the gesture he left to the apostles later, at the end of his earthly existence – that is, the Eucharist. John does not present it as “institution” by Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. Mark 14:22–25), but as a proclamation from the very mouth of Jesus.
In the dialogue with the religious leaders of Israel in the synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus elaborates on what has been said throughout the sixth chapter of the fourth gospel, leading to a decisive revelation: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven... The bread that I will give is my flesh, given for the life of the world.” This proclamation, which also contains a promise, as suggested by the future tense, seems mysterious and shocking and still sounds strange to us today. How is it possible for a man to give himself, his body to eat to others? Yes, anyone without faith may only be scandalized by these words, which are a stumbling block...

Yet, in the face of the shock of his listeners, Jesus confirms this statement of his with a particularly solemn manner: “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... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” It is, therefore, a matter of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God, participating in all of his life, absorbing the entirety of Jesus' life as food and drink, and thereby arriving at such a life as he lived (cf. Philippians 2:5; Titus 2:11–12). However, these words also refer to Jesus' suffering and death, to the violent and unjust end endured on the cross, to his broken body and spilled blood, to the gift of life given for others, to the love lived to the fullest. All of this is a sign of the Eucharist, all of this is told in the life of the Church...

It is essential to understand that in this Eucharistic proclamation lies a great mystery of faith and at the same time a great mystery of love. It is a mystery of faith, as it is about eating and drinking not just ordinary food and drink, but nothing less than the body and blood of the Son of God who came down from heaven (cf. John 3:13; 6:38, 41, 42) and ascended to heaven at the hour of his death and resurrection (cf. John 3:13; 20:17). It is a mystery of love, because it is necessary to accept, know, love, and absorb Jesus' life with the certainty that it is a narration of agape, the love of God for humanity (cf. John 3:16; 15:9; 17:23–26).

He who believes in Jesus Christ therefore receives an immense opportunity, that Jesus himself will live in him and he in Jesus: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” And moreover: “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” Through Jesus, thus, the believer can partake in the very life of God, divine and eternal life (cf. 2 Peter 1:4)! In other words, whoever lives from Jesus' love (cf. John 13:34; 15:12) lives from the life of God, who is love (cf. 1 John 1:8, 16), love stronger than death (cf. Song of Songs 8:6) and any sin (cf. Luke 7:47).

In this light, we understand well the words in the prologue of the fourth gospel: “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14), a flesh that can be absorbed in the Eucharist, whether in the form of Jesus' words or the sacramental form of his body and blood. We arrive at a deep understanding that illuminates the great mystery of the Eucharist, which is announced to us throughout the New Testament: John reveals to us that the Eucharist is not just a memorial of Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection, but a reminder of his entire life as the Son, his life with the Father before the world began, all the way to his coming in glory at the end of time. And this is the “cup of unity” – according to the words of one Church Father – which we participate in every time we approach the Eucharist.

(Excerpted from the book Proclaim the Word,
commentary on the Sunday liturgical readings, annual cycle B,
published by the Carmelite Publishing House
in Kostelní Vydří in 2014.)