The stone the builders rejected

During this past week, the gospel readings have all been from the sixth chapter of John’s gospel in which Jesus clearly and unequivocally describes Himself as the Bread of Life. This entire lengthy chapter is devoted to the idea of Jesus feeding His disciples. It begins with His feeding 5000 men with a few loaves and fishes. Then, when the crowd followed Him to the other side of the lake (which He had walked across), Jesus gave them what is described as “The discourse on the Bread of Life.” He said, “You are not looking for me because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten your fill of the loaves. You should not be working for perishable food, but for the food that remains unto eternal life, food which the Son of Man will give you.” When the people ask for a sign like the one that occurred in Moses time, when manna came down from heaven, He replied:
“I solemnly assure you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from the heavens; it is my Father who gives you the real heavenly bread. God’s bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever by hungry.” This alarmed many in the crowd and they questioned whether Jesus Himself had come down from heaven. His response was direct and to the point: “Let me firmly assure you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestor ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”
This reply startled the people and they asked, “How can He give us his flesh to eat?” Listen carefully to Jesus response:
“Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. This is the bread that came down from heaven.” This really shook up the assembly and many turned away from Him. When they began to walk away from Him, He could have revised His statement or clarified it to be a metaphor, or parable, but He did not. Rather than retract anything at all, He acknowledged that, “The words I spoke to you are spirit and life. Yet among you there are some who do not believe.“ In John 6:66 we read, “From this time on, many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in His company any longer.” (Note that the chapter and verse are 6:66).

Reading and rereading this chapter several times, it is notable that Jesus is quite emphatic about what He is saying, using the words, “I assure you” and “I solemnly assure you,” several time over and repeating Himself in the face of the people’s disbelief.

Psalm 118 will be sung this Sunday and verse 22 will be repeated several times, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” It was not only the Jews who rejected Jesus in His time. Many today continue to ignore or reject Him. As Catholics, we take Jesus at His word. We accept the gospel as the truth, and especially the words spoken by Jesus Himself. Three times in John’s gospel He repeats, “I solemnly assure you” followed by, “I am the Bread of life, come down from heaven” and, “the bread I give you is my flesh, for the life of the world” and, “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal.” Does this sound like He was talking about a symbol?

Over the centuries many who believe in Jesus have refused to accept these words of Jesus in which He directs us to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood. At the last supper, He again made it abundantly clear, when breaking the bread and distributing the wine, “This is my Body… This is my Blood” and He gave it to His disciples to eat and drink. In this act of giving us His Body and His Blood to eat and drink, He established the “new and eternal covenant” by which He remains present to us even now, 2000 years after His crucifixion and resurrection. This is the belief of the Catholic Church. This is why the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. It is not enough to read or listen to scripture, it is not nearly enough to hear a human person declaring their faith in God and in Jesus. The Real Presence of Jesus is at the heart of the New Covenant. He continues to offer us His Body and His Blood, so that we may be one with Him and have eternal life. This is a hard truth to believe. Many Christian reject it, even many Catholics have come to regard the Eucharist as merely symbolic. If it were meant to be symbolic, Jesus would have said so, He would have clarified Himself to the people who rejected Him when He proclaimed that His Flesh is real food and His blood, real drink. He would not have said, “I solemnly assure you, the bread I give you is my flesh…”

Our world is becoming increasingly secular. Church attendance is dropping all over the world, and as it does, society becomes more crude, more self-centered and more oblivious to the consequences of letting morality slide. The grip of sin on the world is tightening and as it does, people seem to be blinded to the truth and results of their choices, rationalizing all sorts of aberrant behavior while ignoring the consequences. Jesus offers us Himself as the antidote to sin. He does more than speak to us across the ages through scripture and through the inspired words of His followers. He offers us His very Body and Blood to strengthen us, to enable us to enter into a deep personal and physical relationship with Him so that we may become the Body of Christ on earth. Do not reject Him and His selfless sacrifice. He is the cornerstone of all life and He offers to be with us in body, soul and spirit. He wants to feed us with the Bread of Life come down from heaven. If we believe in the inerrancy of scripture, how can we ignore Jesus own words in John’s gospel, “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.“ How can we possibly reject Him and expect to build a life of faith, hope and love on our own?  Let Jesus be the cornerstone of your life.  Don't be like those described in John 6:66.  Take Jesus at His word.  Receive Him, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist so that you may have Life within you.