Word to the Wise
Thursday, April 14, 2016 - 3rd Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 8:26-40 and John 6:44-51]"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 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." [John]
What did he just say? Did we hear him correctly? We could follow the argument about the manna in the desert. He is the one sent from God and his teaching is "new manna." It was reinforced by that "Amen, amen..." statement, the "I AM" statement and the idea we already heard about faith as experiencing eternal life in the present. But what is this new element that just showed up? His "FLESH?" Whoa!
This seems a very pivotal moment in the discourse, and, indeed in the ministry of Jesus, as we shall see in days ahead. We who take the celebration of the Eucharist for granted and come forward to receive "communion" are not really thinking "flesh" when we receive that consecrated wafer, are we? In the other gospels, when Jesus said, "This is my body..." and "this is the chalice of my blood..." "Do this in memory of me...." - did he really mean that? If we are faithful Catholics, the answer is "Yes!" - he really did mean that. It is no mere symbol.
By the time the Gospel of John was composed, the Christian community had reached that conclusion years before. St. Paul speaks of it in 1 Cor. 11:23-26. Nevertheless, if we are in that audience hearing this for the first time, it has to make us stop and think. The teaching will become more specific tomorrow. This is enough for today! AMEN
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