The children of Israel wandered forty years in the desert. The people the Lord God rescued from the bondage of Egypt were a hard-hearted lot, always grumbling, always testing God and Moses. They had not the faith to follow the Lord into battle. They were unwilling and unable to take the land of the promise away from the tribes who lived there. For this reason, the Lord let them wander for a whole generation, during which time he taught them to rely on him and him alone.
He fed them each day with a kind of hoarfrost that appeared on the ground each morning. It could be gathered up, and it tasted sweet when eaten, but it could not be kept for very long. It evaporated in the heat of the desert. This was the manna, bread from heaven, along with the flocks of quail that descended from time to time on their camp. It was the staple food for the Hebrews during their desert sojourn. Without that bread from heaven, they would have perished.
In today's excerpt from John's Bread of Life discourse, Jesus describes himself as the true bread from heaven. He told the murmuring Jews, "I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." While the wandering Hebrews ate the manna and died none-the-less, Jesus promised that whoever eats his flesh, the living bread from heaven, will live forever. Thus he taught that his flesh is real food, and whoever eats this food will live forever. A very sophisticated theology of Eucharist is beginning to take shape here in John's rendition of Jesus' teaching.
For us modern Christians, faith leads to baptism. It might be our faith, it might be the faith of our parent or guardians, but somehow, faith brought us to receive the sacrament of baptism. Faith is the Father's gift. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." Drawn by the Father, we are made members of the body of Christ at our baptism. Because we believe, we have eternal life.
All life requires nourishment. The spiritual life is no different. How do we grow in the life of the Lord? We are fed at his table with his body and blood. For those who believe, his flesh is true food and his blood true drink. Not only are we nourished by his flesh and blood, this Eucharistic food transforms us, and we become more and more what we eat.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul describes the behaviors we must avoid in order not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Instead, Paul urges us to imitate God's way of love, loving others as Christ has loved us. Jesus feeds us with his flesh and blood so that we may become ever more like him. In what ways has your Sunday participation in Eucharist transformed you? Has it had an impact on your life outside of church? Would you experience hunger and spiritual starvation if the Eucharist were taken from you?
We wish our students departing for college a healthy, safe, and successful school year. May God’s angels protect you, and may the Holy Spirit fill you with wisdom as well as knowledge. Remember to let Christ’s light shine through you, so that you can bring others into his love. Stay in touch with your parish family at sthilarychicago.org.