Sunday, Aug. 18, is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58.

In the Gospel today, we continue with Jesus’ great treatise on the Eucharist (John 6). Although many who hear him speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum are grumbling and murmuring in protest at his insistence that they eat his flesh and drink his blood, Jesus does not back down. In fact, he “doubles down” and quite graphically teaches a very real (as opposed to symbolic) call to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Let’s examine Jesus’ teaching in four stages.

 

Reality of the Eucharist 

Jesus begins by insisting on its reality, saying, “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.” Notice, therefore, that the bread is his flesh. The bread is not simply a symbol of his flesh, of his body, or of his life and teachings. It is not simply a way of remembering him. It is in fact his Body and Blood.

The Lord’s teaching provokes a strong reaction from his listeners: “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’”

This is one of the most difficult moments of Jesus’ public ministry. The scene is the synagogue at Capernaum, the town where Jesus worked some of his greatest miracles. As we continue with this Gospel next week, we will see that their revulsion is so severe that many leave him and no longer walk in his company.

Jesus does not back down. 

The people’s rejection leads him to reinforce his teaching: “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 …’”

Yes, Jesus gets emphatic and uses the intensifier, “Amen, Amen I say to you,” which is the Jewish equivalent of “Let me be perfectly clear.” He also switches his vocabulary from the polite word for “eat” (phagein), to trogon, which more graphically and almost impolitely speaks of gnawing on, or chewing his flesh.

Jesus wants to be very clear: His listeners now understand him to speak literally, rather than metaphorically or symbolically. Jesus assures them that he expects to be understood literally. Why is he so emphatic? He wants to feed and thus save us. “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. … I am the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.”

 

Reward of the Eucharist

Here, Jesus’ words speak plainly of the reward in receiving the Eucharist: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. …. The one who feeds on me will have life because of me. … Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Note that Jesus mentions three rewards:

Intimacy: The Eucharist is called Holy Communion because, by receiving it, we grow into a deep, lasting union with Jesus. We remain in Jesus. 

Increase: We find that our life grows richer. Sin is put to death, and graces come alive. We are more joyful, confident, and serene. Jesus in his Eucharistic indwelling of us produces these effects over time.

Immortality: The Eucharist is the pledge that we will live forever. 

WATCH
Did you hear Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie read the Bread of Life discourse at the National Eucharistic Congress?
Watch via EWTN YouTube: