Fourth Meditation - John 6

TWENTIETH SUNDAY (replaced by the Assumption in 2021) 51 Jesus said to the people I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. 52 The people then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Clearly this is a repugnant image to the people and they just cannot image how this could ever happen. If someone in the crowd was suggesting that Jesus did not mean this literally Jesus in the next five verses makes it very clear he means literally.  Here are two thoughts to consider. 1. There is a saying, "you are what you eat". When we ingest food it literally becomes part of our bodies with all of its healthy nutrients. 2. For the people of that time, to gather to share a meal together meant more than just food, it meant togetherness, family, what is mine is yours.   Jesus is talking about "union", a com-union by which we become what he is - that we become no longer mere human beings but now, like Jesus, we become divine human beings. (You become what you eat.) Like Jesus, we become true family members in the divine family. We are sitting at the table of the heavenly family calling God our Father. Only God's children can sit at the Father's table. To give us a sign to point to this "transforming union", Jesus takes the fellowship of the breaking of bread (see here the Last Supper) and makes the bread into himself. This leaves us with the question how can he give us his flesh to eat? To answer this question, how does Jesus change bread into himself, since its appearance remains unchanged, the theologians  of the Church have stepped up to tackle the question. While it still remains a mystery to contemplate, the Church recognizes St. Thomas Aquinas' thesis of Transubstantiation as a creditable explanation? (See the official Catholic Catechism for its teaching on the Eucharist) ***LINK *** CONSIDER: While theology can support our faith, the first reason for our belief in Jesus' real presence in the eucharistic bread and cup is because Jesus said it is so. When you come to the table Jesus sets before you expect that it is you who will be changed; that you will be taken up into a union that is real yet requires faith to see and understand. CONSIDER: In the structure of the Mass before we come to the Table of the Bread & Cup we first sit at the table of the Word. There Jesus by his instruction prepares us to enter a mystery that will require the eyes of faith with which to see. CONSIDER: To the question - How can he give his flesh to eat - we discover there are two types of response people have: 1. Show me the proof and I will believe. 2. I believe Lord, deepen my faith to understand. With which of these two do you identify with more?