Flesh for the Life of the World

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug. 9, 2009 (Jn 6:41-51)

At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.

I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread which I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews cannot comprehend how Jesus could have come down from heaven. They know Jesus and even His parents. So how could they believe that Jesus came from heaven?

Jesus explains to them that no one can come to Him unless the Father wills it. Through this, He implies that it is the will of the Father for Him to come down to earth so that all may live. He was born on earth because this was God's plan for the salvation of His beloved people. Jesus is God's grace to us, a gift for our salvation. He is the living and life-giving symbol of God's care.

For us who are living after Jesus' time, He has given the Holy Eucharist. This is not only a reminder of His sacrifice on the cross. This is not a mere symbol. This is really Him, the living and life-giving bread. Through the Eucharist, God's will to bring His Son to all peoples is fulfilled. It is here that Jesus' offering of His flesh on Calvary two thousand years ago is made present now.

Jesus offers us His flesh and blood for the life of all (Jn 6:51). His offering of flesh and blood is an offering of His life. In the Eucharist, we receive, in faith, the life of Jesus. This life is the eternal life with the Holy Trinity and with all the saints.

Receiving Jesus' life is also accepting a challenge. It is a challenge to make our lives His life. As St. Paul puts it, "It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me (Gal 2:20)." We need to take upon ourselves the works of Jesus. We need to follow His footsteps, to live as He had lived because we have received His life.

Therefore, the Eucharist does not only nourish us, it also changes us. If, in faith, we receive the bread of life, we, little by little, become Jesus to all. This can only happen if we keep the lessons of the Eucharist in our hearts and in our deeds. Imagine how peaceful the world will be if we can all become Jesus!

Image of a Perfect, Life-giving Love

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ June 14, 2009 (Mk 14:12-16, 22-26)

On the First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"

He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" ' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there."

The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body."

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Eucharist is the highest form of prayer. It demonstrates the very meaning of prayer - man coming to God, and God meeting His people. The Eucharist is not just a memorial of the Last Supper; it makes present the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

Indeed, in the Eucharist, Christ is present in the form of bread and wine. The bread and wine do not just signify Christ; they become Christ Himself.

Christ, who once humbled Himself and took the form of a slave (cf. Phil 2:7), takes the form of bread and wine in the Eucharist. This sacrament is His gift to the Church and, through it, He nourishes His people. In His humility and out of love for us, He has made Himself vulnerable to the irreverence of man, as He was at the moment of His passion and death.

As we receive Christ in the Mass, we ought to be more like Him. It is said that you are what you eat. Therefore, when we receive Christ, we become Christ. We ought to imitate Christ's love, the love that nailed Him to the cross, a selfless and life-giving love.

Today, we are afraid to love, for we fear being hurt. But we should realize that love entails sacrifice, and sacrifice means being ready to endure pain for the sake of the beloved. We should realize that the more scars we have, the more beautiful we are. That is why Jesus, scarred and nailed to the cross, is a very beautiful image, for it is an image of a perfect love.

Nevertheless, we must realize that love, in itself, does not hurt. But love makes us vulnerable to being hurt. It is because Jesus loved Judas that He was hurt when Judas betrayed Him. It was because Jesus loved Peter that He was hurt when Peter denied Him thrice. It is because Jesus loves us that He suffered and died on the cross for us. And it is for the same reason that He continually makes Himself vulnerable to irreverence when He makes Himself present to us in every Mass.

Let us learn to love God and one another, for when we do, nobody will end up getting hurt and nobody will betray anyone anymore. Let us also learn to love and respect the Eucharist. In it, God expresses His love for us and He expects us to love Him back. Let us be grateful for this great gift of Christ which He gave us in His love.