The Words of Eternal Life.

John 6: 56-69

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.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Then many of his 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.”

Discussion Questions:

1. When did you first become aware of a spiritual hunger within? Do you think of this hunger as a gift from God? Explain
   
   
2. There is always a healthy tension between faith, reason and understanding. In what areas of your spiritual journey have you moved from faith as a belief, to faith as understanding and knowing through personal experience?

   Example: I was taught to believe that “we” as the body of Christ, are the Church. But through my participation in men’s ministry small group discussions, I have come to experience and know this to be a reality. What are some of your experiences?

3. Are there words from Jesus, or beliefs within our Christian or Catholic tradition that you struggle to understand or accept? How do you wrestle with these areas, to move toward deeper trust and growth? Explain
   
   
4. Beyond receiving the Eucharist, how do you experience Jesus as the bread that sustains your life or the life of others? Give an example.
   
   
5. Have you ever had a spiritual teacher try to teach you something you could not fully grasp? How did you react?

Biblical Context

John 6:60-69
Sr. Mary M. McGlone CSJ

We are reaching the end of the “Bread of Life Discourse”. Our opening line refers back to last week’s Gospel in which Jesus called himself the bread which gives life to the world. As we saw, his claims upset people who thought he was blaspheming as well as those who were appropriately awed/frightened by the immensity of what he offered them. The readings from last week left us pondering the meaning of all of that. Now we hear how those who heard Jesus responded.

In this chapter, we have watched the number of disciples diminish. First there were the 5,000 (men) who ate of the bread Jesus received from the child and blessed and broke and shared. Then we hear of an unknown number who sought him, and then enough to fit in a synagogue, and those were arguing among themselves because Jesus’ teaching was so difficult to accept.

Jesus knows what is bothering them and meets them head on. If they have been alarmed at the implications of God’s coming close to them through him, what will happen when Jesus is lifted up at the ascension? Every bit of what bothers this crowd has to do with God taking flesh as such a humble and vulnerable servant. That scandalizes them because it seems so un-godlike and because it portends a similar future for any who would remain with him.

The “Bread of Life Discourse” we have been hearing for five weeks presents John’s theology of the Eucharist — a theology summarized in symbolic action at the Last Supper when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. In this discourse, Jesus presents himself as God’s self-gift for the life of the world. The images of bread and flesh and blood make his message as concrete as possible, indicating that the Word of God became flesh to give life to everyone who would accept it, to anyone who would receive and take in that Word. As we noted, God’s self-offering upends traditional notions of sacrifice and undercuts any self-interested motives for discipleship. Jesus’ offer to those who would receive him is nothing less than an invitation to the adventure of unlimited love that leads to unlimited life.

Those disciples who have remained this long with Jesus understand the implications of what he has been teaching well enough to say “This is too hard.” Those who are concerned primarily with their own well-being will not be able to stay with him. He’s approaching them on the level of the Spirit of God, not the flesh. That is why he says again that no one can come to him unless the Father grants it. Only those who allow themselves to be drawn by grace can accept his counterintuitive, countercultural message.
That was finally enough for many would-be disciples. When they left, Jesus turned to the twelve, the representatives of the new community, and asked, “Do you also want to leave?” Now we see that Peter has learned something from his master. Rather than answer the question Jesus asked, Peter responded that there was no one with whom they would rather be.

Peter’s last statement says it all. He says, “We have come to believe…” Although he goes on to add more than he can understand at the moment, that first phrase said enough. They are committed to remain, to abide with him as they continue to come to believe.

Scandalous Humility

Reflection
Pope Francis

Let us look briefly at the attitude of those who withdrew and decided not to follow Jesus anymore. Where does this disbelief come from? What is the reason for this rejection?

Jesus’ words enkindled great scandal: he was saying that God decided to manifest himself and accomplish salvation in the weakness of human flesh. It is the mystery of the incarnation. The incarnation of God is what provoked scandal and presented an obstacle for those people—but often for us too. Indeed, Jesus affirms that the true bread of salvation, which transmits eternal life, is his very flesh; that to enter into communion with God, before observing the laws or satisfying religious precepts, it is necessary to live out a real and concrete relationship with him—because salvation came from him, in his incarnation. This means that one must not pursue God in dreams and in images of grandeur and power, but [God] must be recognized in the humanity of Jesus and, as a consequence, in that of the brothers and sisters we meet on the path of life… God made himself flesh and blood; he lowered himself to the point of becoming a [human] like us. He humbled himself to the extent of burdening himself with our sufferings and sin, and therefore he asks us to seek him not outside of life and history, but in relationship with Christ and with our brothers and sisters. Seeking him in life, in history, in our daily life. And this, brothers and sisters, is the road to the encounter with God: the relationship with Christ and our brothers and sisters.

Reflection from Give Us This Day- Pope Francis, Angelus, August 22, 2021

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, was archbishop of Buenos Aires before his election as pope in 2013. Pope Francis has proclaimed a Gospel of joy and peace, of care for the poor and for the earth.