Over the previous four Sundays, the gospels have covered the “Bread of Life Discourse” from John 6. The Discourse itself reached its completion last Sunday (John 6:51-58). This Sunday we hear the reaction, not from the crowds, but from his disciples. O’Day [609] provides a keen description of how this small passage, in many ways, reflects the entire narrative structure of what came before it: Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Morris [335] offers this: “There is, moreover, a reference to the death of Christ, as we saw on verse 51. Flesh and blood in separation point to death. The words, then, are a cryptic allusion to the atoning death that Jesus would die, together with a challenge to enter the closest and most intimate relation with him.134 They are to be interpreted in the light of verse 47.”  While most would accept the intuition of Jesus’ atoning death are implied, there are none that argue that is a major theme. Yet Morris strains against established biblical meaning. In Hebrew, the double formula “flesh and blood” emphasizes the reality and corporeality of human existence. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 53 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. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

The language is graphic and direct, including images and actions that would have been abhorrent to faithful Jews: eating flesh and drinking blood (Gen 9:4). But is the language meant to be realistic or one of metaphor? Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 53 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. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

Most all scholarly works hold that v.53 is at the heart of the matter. In addition to the Protestant/Reformed – Catholic divide, there is a more subtle divide among scholars. Consider the position of Leon Morris [332] vis-à-vis these verses: Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Before we undertake our study of vv. 51-58, I would offer O’Day’s [605-7] comments as regards the place our verses have in the overall picture of chap. 6. Here she will argue against all the positions in the previous post – to some degree – and suggest there is intentionality and continuity with these verses within all of John 6: Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?” Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We are in the midst of a sequence of Gospel readings taken from John 6 – the Bread of Life discourse. We come to a critical point in the narrative as Jesus alternatively has addressed two groups: the crowd of people who followed Jesus and his own disciples. Everything began with the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 (plus) people whose response is that they want to take Jesus away and declare him “king.” (v.15) But Jesus knows their hearts and withdraws – but the crowd follows. They are astounded by the miracle of the feeding, but miss the “sign” it was meant to convey. It is good to remember that St. John never refers to “miracles” but only to “signs” as the acts point beyond the result of the act and reveal the One who is the actor, Jesus. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, lectionary cycle B. We have been taking a “summer break” from the Gospel of Mark, our normal gospel reading for cycle B, as we explore Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John – the Bread of Life Discourse. This “summer break” began on the 17th Sunday and will conclude on the 21st Sunday. However, this week’s gospel reading is perhaps the most dense in language, theology, and nuance. Not surprisingly, it is the passage for which there is a very wide, diverging understanding. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.  48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Continue reading →