Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)
In today’s gospel passage Jesus says, “’I am the bread of
life.’” Not many verses later, and in
the same discourse, he calls himself “’the living bread that came down from
heaven.’” Jesus uses the same word – “bread”
– to refer to himself in both cases. But
it does not mean the same thing in each context.
In the first part of what is known as the “Eucharistic
discourse,” “bread” refers to Jesus as the wisdom of God. It is food of the deepest thought. Consuming it is accepting the words and deeds
of Jesus as one’s way of life. The latter
use of “bread” is applied directly to the Eucharist. Consuming it makes one like Jesus. It identifies the person with Christ’s
community, the Church. It gives her the
moral courage and strength to love as he loved.
It brings her into God’s household and makes her His child.
John the Evangelist is iconized by an eagle. His soaring ideas must be pondered and then
lived. Doing so, we will end up -- as
Jesus promises today -- being raised up on the last day.
