This Sunday’s Gospel: June 14, 2020

John 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish 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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In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus reveals the truth about the Eucharist, the gift of his body and blood that we receive to gain eternal life. This reading contains one of the most important teachings of Jesus, that his Body and Blood are true food and drink. Of course, this didn’t (and still doesn’t) go over well with people. Does Jesus really mean that his Body and Blood are edible? Moreover, does he actually want us to physically eat his Body and Blood? Yes he does, and he spells out exactly why. Partaking in the Eucharist is essential for eternal life. Jesus is the way to Heaven and to the Father, so we get there through his Body and Blood. In John’s Gospel, Jesus often uses the word “abide.” I love to meditate on the word “abide” and what it means. It seems to linger sweetly when it’s said out loud. I love getting lost in thought about abiding with Jesus, being together with him, and us knowing each other so closely. He wants us to abide in him and he wants to abide in us. This is possible through the Eucharist, where he gives himself to us without reservation or hesitation. Every single time we receive the Eucharist, we intimately unite ourselves to Jesus’s whole self, his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. This is intense, and Jesus knows it. He knows that it’s hard to fathom and that we might not even want it for ourselves. But he gives us himself in the Eucharist because it’s the most perfect and beautiful way to express his infinite love for us. The crowds eventually turned away from Jesus because they didn’t understand, but the Twelve stayed because they couldn’t imagine going anywhere where Jesus wasn’t.

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