Sunday Meditation: The Bread of Life, Do You Want to Leave?

So last week Jesus completed Hid Bread of Life Discourse, and now will respond to their reaction.  Let’s summarize first.  On the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we had the “sign” of Jesus’ divinity, the supernatural power to feed the multitudes, a precursor of sorts.  On the Eighteenth Sunday, we had the first part of the Discourse on the Bread of life, connecting Jesus with the Manna from heaven.  On the Nineteenth Sunday we have Jesus saying that He is the living Bread.  On the Twentieth Sunday, Jesus concludes His discourse telling us His flesh is the Bread of heaven, and that you must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have life.  Today there is a conclusion, or an epilogue if you will.  On the Twenty-First Sunday, Jesus makes clear it is not a metaphor and does not stop the listeners from leaving Him.

 

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."

~Jn 6:60-69

 

Oh, again, Bishop Barron gives the best exegesis of this passage.    

Bishop Barron I think is the only one I have come across that touches on the Ascension in Verse 62.  If Jesus were to rise to heaven right in front of you, would you not believe?  But He doesn’t.  He will save that for later.

One verse that Bishop Barron does not touch on is on verse 63: “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.”  Some critics take this as proving Jesus is indeed speaking as His body and blood being a metaphor or symbol.  When Jesus says the “flesh is of no avail” and it is “the spirit that gives life” He is not referring to His flesh and spirit.  He is referring to your (or the apostles’ there) flesh and spirit.  What He is saying is that His body and blood will give your flesh life by infusing your spirit.

 

Sunday Meditation: "Do you also want to leave?"

 

But it always has struck me as Jesus putting them to the test in a way that doesn't fully reveal the full understanding of the Eucharist.  What if Jesus explained that they will be eating His body and blood under the accidents of bread and wine?  What if He explained it's only the substance of His body and blood they will be eating, not the accidents?  The accidents will remain something non-revolting?  Would everyone have left?  Maybe, maybe not.  It's only at the Last Supper that the full understanding of this passage will make sense.

Since Bishop Barron mentioned the Bob Dylan song, “Gotta Serve Somebody,"” this will be our hymn for the day.