August 18, 2024: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: John 6: 51-58

“I myself am the living bread come down from Heaven. If any eat this bread they will live forever; the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Temple authorities then began to argue with one another. “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus replied, “The truth of the matter is, if you do not eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Chosen One, you will not have life in you. Those who do eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Everyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in them. Just as the living Abba God sent me and I have life because of Abba God, so those who feed on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from Heaven. It is not the kind of bread your ancestors ate, for they died; whoever eats this kind of bread will live forever.”

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Reflection

Our Gospel this week begins with a repetition of last week’s closing words: “I myself am the living bread come down from Heaven. If any eat this bread they will live forever; the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Temple authorities’ response is to argue with one another and their actions lead Jesus to offer them a deeper insight and a further challenge.

These past August Sundays, Jesus has been asking his listeners (including us) to probe the nature of the hunger within humanity. And, he has promised everlasting nourishment to the people. It is a nourishment that is characterized by a deeply personal and relational spiritual level with him as the “giver” and the “gift.”  

And, there is more to engaging this gift.  There are Scripture scholars who point to a change in the Greek verb form of “eat” used now by Jesus in this dialogue. In an English language translation, it is rendered more closely to “gnaw” or “munch” as in an animal’s feeding activity. I had a strong reaction to this insight as I first recalled images in  documentaries such as Animal Planet that portray their eating habits.

My memory connected with the visual and visceral urgent aspect to the animal’s often frantic consumption of the food. How does this relate to me, to us?  Can I experience a deep, urgent desire to accept Jesus’ invitation to eat his flesh and drink his blood so my life can be intimately and endlessly intertwined with his and his life with mine?

Action

In prayer this week, spend time reflecting on the hunger that is within. To what degree do we allow Jesus’ life, his teachings and ministries of love, mercy and forgiveness infuse our lives? Does his life help to truly define ours?