Jesus The Living Bread
Solemnity of the Most Holy
Body and Blood of Christ
Jn 6: 51 – 58
Introduction
Today
is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Today, we remember
Jesus giving himself as food and drink for the life of the world.
The Gospel
51 I am the living bread that came down
from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I
will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among
themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So
Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the
Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those
who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up
on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is
true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide
in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and
I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This
is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors
ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Today
is Corpus Christi Sunday. Corpus Christi is the latin word for the
Body of Christ which is why this Sunday is called the Solemnity of the Body and Blood
of Christ. It might seem really strange that we are celebrating a physical body
of a person like Christ’s own body. Our reading itself, specifically in verse
52, contains some elements of this bewilderment especially when Jesus began to
talk about his body as flesh and his blood as drink.
It is not surprising therefore, that even today, this reading has become a real bone of
contention for many, both for Christians and non-Christians alike, but
especially for a world that believes only in what is rational and verifiable. Despite
the diverse views about this subject matter, our belief in the Body and Blood of
Christ as Catholics has practically remained unchanged over the centuries and
has in fact, become central to our faith.
The
opening line of this reading begins with Jesus saying: “ I am the living bread
that came down from heaven…” The image of “bread coming down from heaven” is a
familiar image for Jews. It reminds them of the days when Israel once wandered
in the desert where they had nothing to eat. God, however, provided for them
and rained down bread from heaven, called manna, to be their food ( Exod 16:
4). It is also interesting to note that in the Gospel of John, the phrase “came
down from heaven” has a nuanced meaning because this phrase describes the
journey of Jesus who once was in the bosom of the Father then came down from
heaven to live among us ( Jn 1: 11; 18). In this single verse, the Gospel
of John succinctly describes Jesus’ identity: he is from God ( he came down from
heaven) and he is food for the life of the world ( he is the living bread). As
manna came down from heaven (Exod 16: 4), so did Jesus come down from heaven.
As manna became the food that nourished Israel throughout their journey in the
desert, so did Jesus become the food for the life of the world. This clear
parallelism speaks volumes about the identity and purpose of Jesus. He is the
Father’s gift to a hungry and starving world, the concrete expression of God’s
providence on our perilous journey here on earth.
There
is, however, another striking aspect to this reading. Jesus describes his flesh
and blood rather enigmatically. When he tells the Jews, “ unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you,”
the dividing line between what is real and what is figurative vanishes. Was
Jesus speaking figuratively or not? He himself clarifies this by saying: “ For
my flesh is true food and my blood
is true drink…” In referring to his
body and blood as true food and drink, he was no longer talking figuratively
but rather in the real sense. Despite the clarity of this text, with Jesus pointing to
the real sense of the words he said, many have interpreted this text differently
from what it plainly says. For us Catholics, however, we take the text to mean
that the bread we receive in communion is the real body of Christ and the wine we drink is the real blood of Jesus. His presence is
real, not symbolical, not figurative, but real.
What
makes this reading even more striking is its underlying imperative. Jesus uses
the word: “unless you eat…and drink…” The word “unless” evokes a forceful
condition as it simply says that if we do not eat and drink of the Lord’s body
and blood, we shall never have life within us. The force of this condition
becomes clearer if we could just imagine the Israelites journeying through the
desert. Had the Israelites refused to eat manna, they would not have survived
the journey. Similarly, if we refuse to partake in the Lord’s body and blood,
we too shall not survive our earthly pilgrim.
Lastly,
the end goal of partaking in the body and blood of Jesus is for us to share
in the life of God himself. In verse 57, Jesus says: “ Just
as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats
me will live because of me”. In this single verse, we find the word “live” and
its derivative “living” mentioned three times. The body of Jesus communicates
the very life of God to those who partake of it. One clear manifestation of
this life is eternal life. God who is eternal, bestows eternal life to all
those who partake of the food given by his Son.
The celebration of Corpus Christi reminds us of God giving
himself totally to us without any reservation. The giving of his body and blood simply tells us that God has no fears, and in fact, no
hesitation of any sort, to give himself totally for our sake so that we may share in
his life. Such generosity and humility simply makes us once more reflect of how
much love there is for us, and how valuable and precious we are in the sight of
God. Let us be grateful and always keep that joy inside, knowing the price that
God had to pay to bring wholeness into our life.
Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from you.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to you
That with your saints I may praise you
For ever and ever. Amen.
“16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” – 1 Cor 16 - 17
You have eaten well of the Word of God ( the Word that became flesh).
ReplyDeleteEzek. 2:8—3:3; Jer. 15:16a; Rev. 10:8-10;
Amen. Amen.
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ReplyDelete더카지노 사이트 사이트 / 分이트 / 分이트 사이트 카지노 사이트 사이트 사이트 kirill-kondrashin