Jesus the Bread of Life

XIX Sunday “B” August 11th 2024 John 6:41-51 The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven, " and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Just to remind you that today is part three of our five part teaching of John’s Gospel on the Eucharist. I am not exactly sure what Murmur means and it is interesting because it is almost exactly the same in Spanish: Murmurar. I get the idea it is kind of like complaining quietly. I imagine like kids in the school when the teacher says, “put away your books and get out a pencil and paper we are going to have a surprise quiz.” The kids all quietly begin to complain but not too loudly. Or people at the airport when they announce, “The flight has been delayed.” The people at the gate begin to complain under their breath. It says that the Jews began to murmur against Jesus. In John’s Gospel whenever he says Jews I like to change the word to the people. The people began to murmur against Jesus. It isn’t so much about the Jews complaining, but more about the people. It is better to think about us not them. What is it that keeps us from believing in the Eucharist. What is it that keeps us from accepting Jesus words that he is the bread come down from heaven. Or another way of putting it, what would help us to believe that Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus is “the bread from heaven.” In the scriptures we see again and again the example of God’s love for the people in the bread that he sends them, like Elijah in today’s first reading. But in Jesus this gift of bread is different from any food of the Old Testament. Jesus doesn’t give us bread; he gives us himself. Jesus doesn’t feed us; he invites us to feed on him. So, the key to understanding the Eucharist is understanding Jesus. Or the first step in believing that Jesus is the bread of life is to believe in Jesus, to have a relationship with him. Or as St. Alphonsus says, to see Jesus as our best friend. Friendship is so important. We all need friends, and the most important part of friendship is to spend time together. If you have a friend who lives nearby you try to spend time together. Maybe go out for a cup of coffee, stop by on your way to somewhere. Someone you can ask for help when you need it. And if you friend is far away you go out of your way to maintain contact. You call them on the phone, you plan your vacation so that you can be together. To be friends, you need to spend time together. There are few things more special than being able to share a meal with someone that you love. Some people show their love by preparing a beautiful meal for their beloved. Others enjoy going to a fine restaurant. But a meal with a friend can be as simple as a taco on the street or a cup of coffee and pan dulce in a coffee shop. A meal with a friend feeds us not just bodily but spiritually as well. The same is true of Jesus. He desires to share a meal with us. Jesus in the Gospels always has time for the people, especially those who others don’t have time for: the poor, the sick, people who we might label today as crazy. The Church and the eucharist exist primarily so that Jesus can enter into contact with us so that we can have a relationship with him. As Church we need to bring people to Jesus. In the celebration of the Eucharist that is what we are doing. St. Alphonsus says it is so important to be close to the one that you love. You don’t necessarily need to say anything, we are happy to just be in their presence. To reiterate what I said last week, there are two keys to our understanding of the Eucharist. The first is to believe in Jesus and the second it is to eat his body. We are invited into an intimate relationship with Jesus, eating his body and drinking his blood.