What is he saying?

The gospel passage we have heard today follows on last weekend’s gospel.  Jesus is explaining the fact that he is the bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6:41).  These words are as true today as they were when he first spoke them, but even now, we can find it difficult to understand what these words mean.

God sent his son Jesus into the world so that we might understand his desire to be close to us – to all his beloved people.  We understand what it means for two people to be close friends, confidants, husband and wife.  This is the kind of relationship that God wants to have with each one of us, and he chose to live among us, in the form of another human being so that we could understand his desire. If he had remained far off, we would never have come to understand this level of his love for us.

It’s not always easy for us to understand this relationship between God and us.  We can easily grasp the fact that Jesus was a human being, the son of Joseph and Mary, but we find it more difficult to comprehend how he can say I have come down from heaven (Jn 6:42).  In order to understand this, we must first hear him tell us that the Father has sent him, and that the Father draws us to him (cf Jn 6:44). 

It is God who has always desired this relationship with us.  It is He who invites us to gather in this place and in other such assemblies, around his table.  It is He who feeds us with special food just as he fed Elijah.  We heard about this in the first reading today (cf 1 Kings 19:4-8).  Just as God provided food for Elijah, he also provides the bread of angels for us at this Eucharistic table.  Strengthened by this food, we too are sent out – just like Elijah, and just like the disciples – to share the good news of the gospel with others.

We need to be reminded of this simple food.  That’s why we need to keep coming back to his banquet, to receive the Eucharist over and over.  We also need to hear the encouragement that Saint Paul offered to the early Christians at Ephesus.  His words also speak to our hearts: we have all been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit (cf Eph 4:30).  Therefore we need to remember every day that we are much more than just physical beings existing in the world.  This is why Saint Paul urges us to resist all temptations toward bitterness, anger, wrath, slander and malice, and instead to be kind to one another, tender-hearted and forgiving of one another (Eph 4:31-32).

Here then is our homework for this week: we have gathered in the presence of our God, let us present our prayers to him today: praising him for his goodness and asking him to help us.  Let us receive graciously the food that he offers us so that it will strengthen our hearts and souls, and let us set out on the journey, seeking only to practice the virtues that he has taught us.