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.
Jn 6:53–54
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
One Chapter, 71 verses, the sixth Chapter of John’s Gospel, tells us of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes; feeding the 5,000; telling the crowd that they should, “… not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life …”; and then telling them that he is the “Bread of Life” and that he will give us his flesh to eat and his blood to drink so that we may have eternal life.
Sound familiar? I think many readers may be aware that once every three years in the “cycle” of Readings that the Church gives us for Sunday Mass, in five weeks (17–21 of Ordinary Time), usually in late July and August, we read from the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. We heard verses 1–14 on July 25, then vs. 24–35 last Sunday, and vs. 41–51 this Sunday (Aug. 8). We will “change course” next Sunday, because it will be Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and we’ll read from Luke’s Gospel (1:39–56), the Visitation and the Magnificat. On Sunday, Aug. 22, we’ll return to John 6, reading verses 60–69.
The first suggestion that I would make to all readers (and ask you to invite others) is: take some time with John 6. Depending on how fast or slow you read, it can take anywhere from five to 10 minutes to read the whole chapter. Reading the chapter once, even quickly, has a value and I believe something that you read will touch or strike you in some way and very likely in a profound way. Yet, when I suggest that you spend some time with John 6, I’m suggesting that you give it more than a quick once over. Read it a few times — perhaps read the full chapter once every day for a week. Then spend some time in prayer, meditating on what you have read.
Even more important than reading the beautiful 71 verses of John 6 is the opportunity to spend some quality time with Jesus. In verses 1–21, you will see and hear him feeding the great crowd and walking on the water. In verses 22 –59, you will hear Jesus teach a class on the gift of his Body and Blood and what it means to receive him in Holy Communion. You will also hear him respond to some (hard) questions from the students. In verses 60–71, you will witness a very intimate moment between Jesus and his disciples and a moment when we see the very human and vulnerable side of Jesus when he asks (in v. 67), “Do you also want to leave?” and we see and hear Peter at his very best — see verses 68–69.
As I have said before and will say again, I was shocked by the August 2019 Pew Research Survey that said 71 percent of Catholics responded to a question saying that they do not believe that Jesus is truly (really) present in the Eucharist. They seemed to indicate a belief that the Eucharist is some kind of symbol, rather than the Real Presence of his Body and Blood (soul and divinity). I hope that a few of the members of that 71 percent may be reading this column or know someone who is reading this column and they may respond to my invitation and spend some time with John 6 — and with Jesus.
As Catholics, we are not “fundamentalists” or “literalists” when it comes to the Bible. We believe it is truly the living Word of God, but when Jesus says that “if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, or if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out,” he is speaking metaphorically rather than literally. At the same time, when we hear Jesus teaching us to love one another as he loves us, to love our neighbor as ourself, and to love even our enemy, His meaning becomes very clear.
So, when he repeats in John 6 that His “… flesh is true food and (His) blood is true drink …” (v. 55), we can hear His message clearly. When he says in v. 51, “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,” he does not seem to be saying that “it is very important to receive some sort of symbol” that represents his presence.
My brother and sisters, what does it mean to receive Jesus in Holy Communion? Many of us are aware that the question of whether our Catholic President should be able to receive Holy Communion causes very strong feelings amongst sincere, faithful Catholics who come to very different conclusions. I do hope to be able to write in the near future about my own (developing) opinion on this question. For the time being, as we reflect together on John 6, I invite us all to reflect on what it means to say (pray) those words,
Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
And then, to come forward, and hear the words, “The Body of Christ” and say our “Amen” and receive him who is the “Bread of Life” (My Lord and My God).
Do we take it for granted (at times)? Are we aware that there are many who want to come forward to receive and even though they believe that Jesus could just “say the word” to heal their soul, they do not approach because they feel they first need to be reconciled sacramentally? Do we ask ourselves, “Why do so many of our sisters and brothers seem to have no desire or interest, hunger or thirst, to receive him in Holy Communion?” Is there a way that we might invite, encourage, or inspire them to come back to the Lord’s Banquet?
There are no easy answers, but we need to keep asking the questions and asking for the grace to be in deeper communion with Jesus and with one another. During these weeks, as we reflect and meditate on John 6, maybe we can ask St. Peter to help us, so that we may respond, more and more, with his faith and confession,
“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 6:68–69