We heard Jesus declare, “I am the bread of life.” Anyone who assimilates his proposal will satisfy the hunger and thirst for happiness and love (John 6:35).
The Jews react severely because they are convinced that they already have the “bread” that satisfies: the Torah, the Word of God contained in the holy scriptures. They cannot admit that a man proposes himself as the “bread of life.”
The Jews had their own troubles because they knew him for over 30 years: “This man is the son of Joseph, isn’t he? We know his father and mother. How can he say that he has come from heaven?” (41-42). How can Jesus be the bread of wisdom of God that came down from heaven?
The Jews murmur. They refuse to follow this path that leads to God. They are frightened by the idea of a God who became man. They cannot conceive that he reveals himself in a weak and fragile man, in a son of a carpenter.
To grasp the message of the passage, it is important to identify those whom the Evangelist calls “Jews.” In the Gospel of John, the word “Jew” indicates anyone who takes a hostile attitude to Jesus and refuses to believe that he is God’s complete revelation.
The evangelist wants to explain to his readers that “today” they must choose between the wisdom of the Gospel, which is the bread of life, or the proposals of the world. Unfortunately, today, there are many who do not believe that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Why is this happening? What is the root of unbelief? This problem is answered in the second part of today’s passage (43-47). The reason — says Jesus — is that no one can come to him unless drawn by the Father who sent him (v.44). The discovery of the “bread of heaven” is not an achievement of man but a gift of the Father. How is it that this gift is not offered to all? Does God perhaps favour some and hinder others?
The instruction that the Lord gives is his Spirit, the divine impulse that acts within every person. Unfortunately, not always and not all nourish it; not all learn his teachings. “Only those who learn from him” accept Jesus (v.45). The question then is just one: Do I let myself be taught by the Spirit of Christ? To have life, it is a must “to eat the bread which is his flesh.”
“To eat” his flesh means to recognise that through “the carpenter’s son” comes the complete revelation of God.
We repeat: this episode is not about the Eucharist. Jesus constantly refers to his gospel as the bread. Next Sunday will speak about the intimate relationship between this reception of the Word and the sign of the Eucharistic bread.
For your reflection
Or are we able to open our eyes and let ourselves be surprised by the saving presence of God in so many moments and in so many people we meet?
Father Fernando Torres CMF
www.ciudadredonda.org
Translated by Father Alberto Rossa CMF
