Dear friends in Christ,

In today’s Gospel passage, we indeed see the continuation of the discourse on the Bread of Life from last Sunday. Who is the Bread of Life? Jesus himself. The fact that Jesus claimed to be the heavenly bread indicated the extraordinary truth regarding his origin as the One “Who came down from heaven”. This would have called to mind the manna in the desert at the time of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt, but in Jesus a new form of bread from heaven appeared.

But, people with doubt in their hearts asked each other, “Is not this Jesus, whose father and mother we know?” The question is one of the disbeliefs about Jesus’ greatness. Moreover, they asked among themselves “How dare he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven?” The word “now” is important here, since the people think they know that he has only come from not so far away Nazareth, so how dare he say his origin is in heaven?

And to their objections, Jesus does not answer directly. Instead, he warns the people that their murmuring, grumbling and disbelief will not solve their difficulty. To understand the situation about Jesus and his origin they need divine enlightenment. They must be taught this by God and in turn humbly listen to God.

Jesus was clear in his teaching that the true bread from heaven comes from heaven and in addition gives life. Jesus is the bread and the life that we can all partake of and from whom we benefit. The manna in the wilderness could not prevent death: “Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died,” Jesus says.

The Bread of Life, Jesus, given in the new dispensation, prevents death. “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, for a man to eat and never die,” Jesus goes on to say. “If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever.” Obviously, we are not talking about the mere continuation of physical life, but of sharing in life after death, in heaven, where the Holy Trinity lives and reigns, along with all the angels and saints. In that life we hope to share for all eternity.

Jesus invites all of us to him in every eucharist and asks us to consume him in the form of bread and wine. Thus, we are to be active participants in the sacramental life of the Church; that is, partaking of what we believe is the Body and Blood of Christ offered at every Mass. This sacramental life is to be understood as a vital part of Christ giving life to the world. God bless you all.