Bread That Lasts Forever

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐀𝐜 𝟖:𝟐𝟔-𝟒𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟔:𝟖-𝟗, 𝟏𝟔-𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎 “𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐲.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟔:𝟒𝟒-𝟓𝟏

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟒𝟖) 

Today’s Gospel passage that we read in 𝐉𝐍 𝟔:𝟒𝟒-𝟓𝟏 is one of the most theologically-rich part of the Bread of Life discourse. It moves from faith into the mystery of the Eucharist, and it does so in a way that touches both the mind and the heart.

           This was the second time that Jesus told the Jews “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟒𝟖) as the people kept arguing among themselves as they could not figure out how someone they knew who came from humble beginnings could come forward to say he was the one whom God has sent to redeem Israel.

          What was apparent in the story of Jesus as depicted in the four Gospels was that Jesus and the Jews were coming from two different planes. Jesus knew whereof he comes from, but the Jews were consumed by their passion to judge things by human values and by external standards.

          This was evident in this Gospel passage today and we see that the Jews have already judged Jesus for what he was. To them, Jesus was the son of a carpenter. They saw him grow up in Nazareth. It doesn’t matter if he was the best yoke maker in Judea. What consumes them was their judgment that a tradesman who came from a poor home could not possibly be a messenger of God.

          And this was their undoing because what they didn’t know at this point was that when they rejected Jesus their actions kept them away from the eternal life that he was offering them. What was also clear at this point was that the Jews did not learn anything from what Jesus was saying.

          There are different levels of listening to someone. We listen to find faults and to criticize. We sometimes listen but we resent what we hear. At times we listen only to make a judgment that our views are superior to what the other person says. We also listen but remain indifferent to what we hear and there are times we listen simply because we are not given the opportunity to speak.

          And the Jews missed the point of what Jesus was saying because for all the religiosity that they have this was one instance when they failed to ask God to guide them in qualifying the words they heard from Jesus. What they failed to realize was that salvation was an initiative of God and not from men.

          The Jews or at least those to whom Jesus was talking to in this passage failed to grasp what he was saying because they failed to draw on the power of God and this remains true to this day. God initiates and we are given the choice to believe or not such that no one can believe in Jesus without the help of God and this was what he meant when he said: “𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦” (𝐯.𝟒𝟒)          

In this Gospel passage, Jesus makes a claim that only God can make that He was and is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. When Jesus told the Jews and he is telling us now “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞” he is saying something that is essential for life and to refuse or reject what he says is to miss out on that life he is offering us and this could mean death.

          Conversely, as with Jesus in this Gospel today we sometimes experience a heavy load when we can’t seem to get our friends converted to share the faith we have but this shouldn’t preoccupy us because we can only go as far as tell them about the eternal life that they can have by believing in Jesus.

          And the eternal life Jesus offers is largely dependent on how well we listen, and this was what Jesus emphasized when he said: “𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟒𝟕) because to believe in Jesus is a continuing process and not just a one-time happening. To believe in Jesus is to keep on believing and trusting Jesus with our life.

          Jesus drew on the Old Testament Scripture to remind the Jews that their forefathers died in the in the wilderness because they refused to listen to God who urged them to go to the promise land. What Jesus was also telling the Jews when he claimed to be the “𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞” was a prefigurement of the abundance of the supernatural life of God that sustains us for all eternity that we can find in the Holy Eucharist.

          When we receive Jesus who is present in the Eucharist, we not only unite ourselves with Christ, but it also makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine nature. St. Ignatius of Antioch describes the Eucharist as the “𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭.”        

To reject Jesus as what the Jews did in this Gospel today is to refuse eternal life and an unending life in the bosom of the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come.

          Jesus is offering us much more than what we can ask for and we cannot imagine the width and breadth of the life he offers. There are two ways we can be united with Christ and these are by believing in his death and his resurrection that we can relive each time we partake of his body and blood present in the Holy Eucharist and, by living our lives as Jesus had commanded us – a life spent in believing and trusting in his Word with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

          And today as we step into the heat of the electoral process the political battleground has been reduced to a fight between those who stand for the preservation of life and the family and those who are involved in the morally-bankrupt flood control scams that have engulfed the country in recent months.

          When we deeply reflect on the Gospel passage today, we can see and feel the deeper meaning behind the passage – the stirring up of our consciousness that leads to our interest in the bread that translates to a clearer understanding of the significance of the bread that satisfies not only our human hunger but our longing for a life that never perishes.

           When Jesus said: "𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟓𝟏), he is laying the foundation of the Eucharistic celebration as he speaks not only symbolically but personally and sacrificially. As we dissect this passage, we l see three things that refer to what “𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡” meant.

It points towards His Incarnation (God truly becoming human), His Sacrifice on the Cross, and to The Eucharist where this gift becomes present in the here and now. Thus, what we will come to realize is the God just doesn’t teach of guide us from a distance, but He gives Himself completely.

In closing, let us summarize this passage into the following truths – the Father draws – meaning Grace begins our spiritual journey. We listen and learn which means our faith has been awakened. Jesus reveals Himself as Bread referring to His life that has been offered in expiation for our sins and, He gives His flesh – the total gift of Himself for our salvation.

At the center of this Gospel passage, we learn that Jesus is the divine initiative that required our human response which are filled in the celebration of the Eucharist when we are given the opportunity to partake of His Body and Blood during Holy Communion.

   We will come to realize that the hunger we experience is not a weakness but a sign that we were made for more. And the God who draws us does not leave us searching endlessly, but He becomes the Bread that we need, the life that we seek, and the presence that satisfies the deepest longing our hearts. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 23, 2026)