“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.’” (John 6:53-55)
St. John’s Gospel does not include a narrative of the “institution” of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Rather, St. John concentrates on the action of washing the feet of the disciples. Scripture scholars point to the Bread of Life Discourse in chapter six of the Gospel as St. John’s “institution” narrative. In it, Jesus states unequivocally that eating his flesh and drinking his blood is the source of eternal life. Faith is the key that opens the door to eternal life as it is only the one who believes that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus who will eat and drink worthily.
Immediately after making this statement, John indicates that many of Jesus’ disciples considered this to be too difficult to accept. They left Jesus and no longer followed him.
The Eucharist replaces the Temple sacrifices of goats and lambs and bullocks. The children of Israel believed that these sacrifices were necessary and that God forgave them their sins through these ritual actions. While portions of the animal sacrifices were set aside for the temple priests, the people did not eat the flesh of the sacrificed animals with the exception of the Passover lamb which was prepared in the home rather than in the Temple. The blood of these animals was collected and sprinkled on the people, but it was not drunk. It is, therefore, easy to understand that Jesus’ words were difficult for them to understand. However, the other evangelists and St. Paul help us to understand that it is the bread and wine of the Last Supper which Jesus claims is his body and blood, a belief that is “source and summit” of our faith. The Eucharist is central to our belief in Jesus as God in the flesh.
Just recently I was listening to a “Catholic” personality who basically looked at the Eucharist as a symbol of the reality rather than the reality itself. So there are still people in our own world and in our own time, even within the Church, who find these statements too difficult to bear.
Faith is the key that opens our understanding of the Eucharist. We remember, we celebrate, we believe.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator