Jesus said to the crowds:
“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.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
Gospel Trivia:
Imagine we were among the audience of Jesus in the gospel. We would wonder whether Jesus is speaking symbolically or literally. Just observe the many times he repeats the references to his flesh to be eaten and blood to be drank:
- Verse 51 – The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.
- Verse 53 – Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
- Verse 54 – Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life
- Verse 55 – For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
- Verse 56 – Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me
- Verse 57 – … the one who feeds on me will have life…
Having repeated himself so many times, Jesus insists that indeed what he is saying is to be taken literally.
Unlike the other three gospels, the gospel of John does not have a Eucharistic meal during the Last Supper. Instead, John presents the washing of the feet.
John tells us that Jesus did not come simply to satisfy earthly hunger, but to provide life without any kind of hunger. For John, Jesus provides this by feeding his disciples with his Eucharistic flesh and blood.
In Hebrew language, the body/flesh and blood represents the entire person so that the meaning of eating Jesus’ body and blood is to have a personal communion and encounter with Jesus. When we receive Jesus who is present in the Eucharistic host, then we encounter him in a personal way.
John says, “we remain or abide in Jesus, and Jesus remains or abide in us.” This is a unique expression found only in John. In a few simple words, John is able to express something unique in the whole of creation, namely, two beings (Jesus and us) achieve the closest possible union without either losing our distinct personality.
While remaining human, we become like Jesus, who remains divine.
Why did John write his Last Supper account different from the other evangelists?
During the early Christian communities, there was doubt on the presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic bread and wine. Jesus’ real presence in the bread and wine is not in the physical sense, since the bread and wine maintain their taste, look and other physical similarities.
John’s audience included those who considered Jesus as divine, but that his human body was simply a disguise, (then known as the Docetist heretics). Hence, John presents Jesus as insisting that his “flesh is true food and his blood as true drink.” s?
Something to think about:
Nutritionists say that “we become what we eat.” If we partake of Jesus in holy communion, then we should become who we eat, Jesus.
Reference:
Nil Guillmette, SJ, Hungry No More, Manila: St. Paul’s Publications, 1989, 100
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