Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 11, 2024 - 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[1 Kgs 19:4-8; Eph 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51]Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that came 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]
The last line in this passage from the "Bread of Life" discourse in the Gospel According to John is one of those we might call a "WHOA!" line. What did he just say? It is bad enough that he calls himself "the bread from heaven" as if he is superior to Moses and the manna, but "flesh?" There is a definite shift from comparison to a whole new reality. It is one thing to call belief a kind of bread, but to call the bread the very flesh of someone? Yes, that line is definitely a shoe that drops and invites attention!
The teaching and faith of Catholic tradition takes Jesus at his word! That teaching was hard for the audience in the Gospel According to John, and it is hard for many others today. I have often mentioned the young Protestant woman whom I instructed to become a Catholic. When we finished the instruction and she was ready, I asked her what had been the hardest part to accept and she replied instantly, "The Eucharist. If you can accept that, the rest is easy!" The gospel passage for today will be continued next Sunday with the very question from the audience, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" That question is still around, but Jesus is not simply a "man." And that is what makes the difference! AMEN