XX Ordinary Sunday of the Year (B) - 18 August 2024 - Rev. Dr. Patrick Mathias SDB

 

XX Ordinary Sunday of the Year (B) - 18 August 2024

Mass Readings: Pro 9:1-6  Ps 34   Eph 5:15-20   Jn 6:51-58 

Key verse to Meditate: “The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (Jn 6:51).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

Over the last three Sundays in this ordinary time of the year, we have been reflecting on the theme of “Jesus, the true bread of life that came down from heaven,” as presented in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. Today, we conclude our readings on the ‘bread of life discourse.’ Today’s Gospel makes many references to ‘eating’ and ‘drinking.’ To possess eternal life, one must feed on Christ the Lord in the Eucharist and in the bread of His holy word. We all live in a spiritually hungry world, desperate for meaning and hope in life. But God’s word today gives us a ray of hope and assurance in Christ the Lord, who is the ‘medicine of immortality’ for our souls in the Eucharist. We must feed on Christ the Savior, the true food for eternal life.

First Reading: The first reading from the Book of Wisdom serves as a prelude to today’s Gospel. The reading foreshadows the disposition of believers who will participate in the Eucharistic banquet (cf. 1 Cor 11:27). Thus, the first reading stands as Wisdom’s invitation to her feast. It takes place in a permanent house built to nourish those who come to her. In its description of Wisdom’s preparation for a banquet, Wisdom’s house is said to be hewn out of her seven pillars (Pro 9:1). Bible scholars interpret the seven pillars of wisdom in various ways: the seven firmaments or heavens, the seven planets, the seven regions or climates, the seven days of creation, the seven books of the law, the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, the seven eras of the Church, the seven sacraments, the seven liberal arts, and even the first seven chapters of the Book of Proverbs.

The House of Wisdom: In this house of wisdom, meat and wine are served as the primary course of food. The householder sends out the invitation through maidens, who are allegorically explained as signifying preachers of righteousness. This act of the householder sending out servants to invite guests reminds us of the parable of the wedding banquet in the New Testament (cf. Mt 22:3). The invitation is addressed to the simple and those void of understanding—those who lack moral insight and self-direction, whose minds are unformed and not yet given up to sin. This shows that the author does not intend to exclude any class of persons from the counsels of Wisdom. Just as Jesus invited all people to eat His flesh and drink His blood, so too does the author of Wisdom extend his invitation in figurative form to eat bread, which here takes the place of meat: “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed” (Prov 9:5).

To partake in the banquet, those invited must “forsake their folly and live, and proceed in the way of understanding” (Pro 9:6). "In other words, to partake in the Eucharistic banquet, one must renounce their folly and worldliness." The statement is powerful, emphasizing the spiritual preparation required to partake in the Eucharist. It suggests that before one can fully engage in the sacred act of communion, there must be a conscious turning away from worldly desires and foolish behavior. Thus, when Christians are filled with the Spirit, they worship together: speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with their hearts to the Lord (Eph 5:19).

Second Reading: The second reading today, in line with the first reading, includes Paul’s exhortation to Christian disciples to be wise and be filled with the Spirit. In four verses, we find three contrasts in verses 15-18. The first contrast Paul presents is between being wise and unwise people (cf. 1 Cor 1:18–3:23). Wise people are those who walk righteously, make the best use of their time, and avoid being unwise. They must make good use of their time because believers have only a limited amount of it, and they must spend it wisely. Paul consistently advises Christians to be careful in how they walk and how they behave with others (Col 4:5). This leads to the second contrast: being wise means not being foolish but understanding and carrying out the will of God (v.17). Believers are to be wise and not foolish (see Lk 11:40; 12:20; Rom 2:20; 1 Cor 15:36; 2 Cor 11:16; 12:6). The third contrast is between getting drunk with wine and speaking useless words versus being filled with the Spirit (v.18). Wine and the Spirit do not go together. Instead of drunkenness and spirit possession, believers are to be filled with the ‘Spirit of God.’

Gospel Reading: In last Sunday’s Gospel reading, we saw the people protesting against Jesus’ statement that He is the bread that came down from heaven. They grumbled because they knew of His humble background, coming from Nazareth, and they knew His parents, Joseph the carpenter and Mary, His mother. Despite their unwillingness, Jesus emphasizes once again in today’s Gospel that He is the living bread that came down from heaven and that if anyone eats of this bread, they shall live forever (Jn 6:51). John also references this concept in his Gospel and letters, noting that Christ offered His flesh as a sacrifice not merely for Israel but for the world (cf. Jn 1:29; 4:42; 1 Jn 4:14). The people who already grumbled against Christ’s humble origin were now shocked to hear Him say that it is His flesh which He shall give for the life of the world (Jn 6:51). It is uncertain whether the people were prepared to listen to Christ and understand the deeper meaning of what the Lord was trying to teach them. Whether they understood the teaching or not, for us Christians, the true food and drink for our deepest needs are to be found in Christ alone.

He Who Eats My Flesh: In the Gospel passage of eight verses (Jn 6:51-58), Jesus repeats eight times that “he who eats my flesh will live forever.” Although these words are repeated, St. John formulates a very strong message with precise terms, concentrated on the same theme. Jesus extends an invitation to eat His flesh and drink His blood. He does not use the words “my body” or “myself,” but rather “my flesh.” Scripture scholar L. Morris suggests that “eating” in this verse points to the act of appropriating Christ. When Christ gave His flesh on the cross, shedding His blood, it was indeed “for the life of the world.” As the bread of life, Jesus voluntarily gave His flesh (Jn 1:14; 10:18) for the life of the world. The concept of Jesus giving Himself sacrificially for sinners is a recurring theme in the New Testament (e.g., Mt 20:28; Gal 1:4; 2:20; Eph 5:2, 25; 1 Tim 2:6; Tit 2:14).

Jesus, who had previously spoken about eating the bread that came down from heaven—that is, Himself—now speaks explicitly of eating His flesh and drinking His blood: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves” (Jn 6:53-56). This idea was abhorrent to Jews, as they were forbidden to partake of blood (cf. Gen. 9:4). However, Jesus categorically insists in this Gospel passage that eating His flesh and drinking His blood are absolutely necessary for eternal life: "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn 6:54).

Jesus Offered His Flesh: What we need to understand here, in light of Jn 6:47, is that eating and drinking Christ’s flesh and blood means that people must take Christ into their innermost being. The eating and drinking of Christ’s flesh and blood refers directly to the death of Christ. By this teaching, the evangelist seems to suggest that it is through death that Christ becomes the bread of life to the world. Christ the Lord prophetically refers here to His death on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24). It is Jesus’ offering of His flesh that is the price of redemption. But Jesus promises that "He who eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life, and He will raise him up on the last day." Christ was direct when He said, “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink” (Jn 6:54-55).

“I Will Raise Him Up on the Last Day:” The phrase “I will raise him up on the last day” is repeated four times in this sixth chapter (Jn 6:39b, 40, 44, 54). Here, we see a continuing reference to Christ’s raising up the believer on the last day. This theme also comes through strongly in the episode of raising Lazarus. When Martha met Jesus, she said to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus then promises her that he will rise again. Martha replies, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day" (Jn 11:21-24). As in this Gospel passage, Jesus promises her that "he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die" (Jn 11:25-26).

Eating and Drinking Means Remaining in Christ:

Eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood means “remaining” in Christ. The continuous tense here indicates a constant, ongoing contact with Christ. There is a close connection between Christ, who gives His flesh and blood, and the believer who partakes in His banquet. The believer who eats His body and drinks His blood is in Christ, and Christ is in the believer. The communion established with the Lord through this act of eating and drinking leads a person to eternal life. Abiding in Christ also presupposes a permanent relationship, not a temporary one. The concept of abiding in Christ is a prominent theme in the Gospel of John. Therefore, the idea of abiding in Christ by eating His flesh and drinking His blood is introduced here: "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him" (Jn 6:56; for ‘abide in me,’ cf. Jn 15:4-10).

Eating and Drinking Means Receiving Christ Within Oneself: It is not simply a matter of abiding, but of living in Christ, which is also the result of eating His flesh: "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me" (Jn 6:57). Eternal life in Jesus is bound up with His intimate relationship with the Father. In this verse, Jesus says that the Son of God, Jesus, has no life apart from the Father. In fact, Jesus emphasizes that the Son lives for the Father by doing His will (Jn 4:34). Since Christ came down as the true bread from the Father, He alone has direct access to the Father, and we, His disciples and believers, receive life only mediated through Christ. Therefore, the effect of feeding on Christ—eating and drinking His flesh and blood—is receiving Christ within oneself and living one’s life from this union. The equation is clear: just as Jesus lives because of His living Father, we who partake in His divine life will also live because of Christ, the living God. Jesus then goes on to differentiate the true bread, which is Himself, from the bread that the Israelites ate and died in the desert (Jn 6:58; cf. Jn 6:49).

Points for Personal Reflection: With the phrase “eat my flesh and drink my blood,” Jesus connects it to the essence of living: why do we need to eat and drink? Of course, to live and not to die. Jesus is emphasizing that He has something to offer the world that can turn it upside down, leading not to death but to a relentless flow of life toward God. This food will enlarge our capacity to live in God.

Eucharist as a “Medicine of Immortality”: Whoever desires eternal life must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood. There is no mincing of words. Christ the Lord is very clear in His teaching: “He who eats of My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.” Jesus says that eternal life is the life of God. It is life without end because God is without end. In the Gospel, Jesus immediately follows His mention of the gift of eternal life with the promise that He will raise up those who have been given eternal life on the last day. The “eternal life” that the Evangelist attributes to those who have faith is conceived here as a union of the individual with God that begins here and now, is not interrupted by death, and continues as one is raised up on the last day.

Only those who have partaken of the Eucharist can hope for the resurrection. Just as the Father has life and gives life to the Son, so too the one who partakes of the Eucharist will live through Him—in the resurrection on the last day. Whoever takes part in the Eucharist will, therefore, live forever because he will be raised on the Day of Judgment. In this sense, for us Catholics, the Eucharist is a “medicine of immortality.” Indeed, Jesus does not give what is necessary for earthly life, as with the Samaritan woman; instead, what Jesus offers is the new union with God that He brings with His divine presence.

Feeding upon Christ: And what happens when we feed upon Jesus? First, we receive the certainty of our salvation. This result is seen primarily in verse 54, where we are told of the gift of eternal life and of Christ’s promise to raise us up on the last day. Second, we enter into a life-transforming union with Christ as a result of coming to Him. This thought is expressed in verse 56, where the idea of union with Christ is mentioned for the first time in John’s Gospel. Here, Jesus says, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.” What does it mean that we are joined to Christ and He to us? Being joined to Christ means that our life and mode of existence change. In the same way, God promises to enlarge our spiritual capacities until the full life of the infinite Christ is reproduced in us.

What does it mean to feed upon Jesus? It means to believe, to come, to listen, and to learn from Jesus, which we call faith. The terms “eating and drinking” stress the commitment involved in faith. So, participating in the Eucharist means committing oneself to Christ. That is what it means to eat Christ’s flesh and drink His blood: to commit yourself to Him. By participating in the Eucharist, one participates in the life of Christ, inspired by His self-sacrificing love.

By feeding on Christ, we also receive strength for living this life as we feed upon Him. He says, “So the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me” (v. 57). This verse is not primarily talking about eternal life; it is about our present daily life, to be lived in Christ’s power. This is what St. Paul expresses in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Do you live by that life of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Eucharist – The Bread of the Soul: The words “This is the bread which came down from heaven” present Christ as a divine gift to the world—an indispensable gift of God to humanity. As we read in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father” (cf. 1 Tim 2:6). Christ is the special gift from the Father, “the Living Bread which came down from heaven,” sent by the living Father: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (Jn 3:16). If Jesus is “the Bread of Life,” then the Eucharist, the bread of the soul, is not intellectual knowledge, gold, power, or fame. It is love—love flowing from the heart of the Living Father, embodied in the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. He who lives in Christ lives life to its fullest.

Jesus does not say, “Drink my wisdom,” or “Eat my holiness,” but instead, He tells us to eat His flesh and drink His blood. This is a prelude to eternal life. Taking on the humanity of Christ involves giving ourselves in total commitment to the life of the world, showing love and mercy to the poor and needy. Thus, eating and drinking Christ doesn’t end with the Mass; rather, it becomes the first breath of the day and should occupy a central place in the whole of our lives.

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