“I Am The Bread of Life (No, Really)”
by Rachael Pineiro, Fiat Ventures
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
If you’ve been paying attention in Mass for the past two weeks, the Gospel this Sunday should sound familiar to you:
Jesus: I am the bread of life.
I am the bread of life that came down from heaven.
Really. I am the bread of life.
I’m not joking.
Jesus = Bread = Eternal life.
Have you heard of me? I am the bread of life.
I’m not speaking hypothetically here. I am quite serious.
I am living bread.
#BreadFromHeaven
#NotASymbol
#Eucharist
Is this starting to ring a bell? Similar to what Jesus said last week and the week before? It is.
What’s going on? Are we hearing the same reading, or is Jesus repeating himself? The answer is both, kind of. This week is basically Part 3 in a Bible mini-series known as the “Bread of Life Discourse” from chapter 6 in the book of John. This is kind of a special super-episode, because in the year 2015 (which is liturgical cycle B, if you wanted to know) we specifically hear from the book of Mark on Sundays. Mark, however, isn’t long enough to cover every Sunday during the year, so we give John a guest appearance. John is the guest star for this month only!
The “Bread of Life Discourse” goes on for 5 weeks and we essentially hear everything in John’s gigantic 6th chapter, stretching for 71 verses. Breaking down the passage like this makes the message “bite sized” (pun intended) because what Jesus is saying is pretty tough to understand.
In telling the crowds that he is the “bread of life,” people essentially freak out. “Jesus – what are you saying? It doesn’t make sense to say that you are bread. Are you saying that you just got beamed down from heaven? We know that’s not true because we saw you grow up.”
The people come up with some very understandable points, but they are not able to see the whole picture or understand what’s going on. Jesus’ explains, but it’s sort of information overload and goes straight over their heads for the most part. He tells them that God the Father sent him, and that he will raise his followers from the dead at the end of time. Then he quotes the prophets, “They shall all be taught by God.” Translation: I am teaching you. I AM GOD and I am telling you that my flesh is actual bread that you will actually eat and actually live forever because of it.
Can you imagine why people were grumbling? This would have been extremely difficult for people to understand who were looking at Jesus face to face when he walked the earth. It’s easier for us to understand the phrase “I will give my flesh for the life of the world” when we know the rest of the story — that Jesus gave his body up for us on the cross and comes back to us in the form of bread in Holy Communion every time we go to Mass.
Even so, it can still be difficult for us to understand, which is why we hear the “Bread of Life Discourse” mini series every 3 years at Mass for 5 weeks straight. Hopefully, every time you hear the message “I am the bread of life,” you will begin to understand and believe a little bit more each time.
When the priest puts the little piece of bread in your hands next time you go to Mass, think about the fact that you are holding “living bread.” For real.
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