Friday of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59)
People have searched for the perfect food. They want a natural source of all the
necessary protein, carbohydrates, fat, and nutrients. Eating this food, they would never worry about
balancing their diet. Nutritionists,
however, say that no such food exists.
Of course, there are eatables that are very healthy, but no single food
can sustain a person indefinitely. So,
what is Jesus talking about in today’s gospel?
He says, “Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life?”
What does he mean by this?
The passage marks a turn in the “Bread of Life”
discourse. Jesus is no longer referring
to receiving him by heeding his teaching as what gives life. Rather, he is pointing to the Eucharist. It is the bread transformed into his Body and
the wine made into his Blood that give eternal life. Two additional points need to be made. First, Jesus is not saying that the Eucharist
will sustain natural life. Rather, they
provide life in God’s company for eternity.
Second, eating his Body and drinking his Blood is tantamount to
receiving him and heeding his teaching.
Anyone who does not believe in Jesus or has not followed his teaching does
not benefit from the Eucharist but puts him or herself in peril. It will bring that person condemnation, not
life.
The Eucharist on a spiritual plane is like a balanced diet
on a natural plane. As we eat healthy
food to keep us alive, we need the Eucharist to enjoy life with God
forever.
