Eat, Drink, Live
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Proverbs 9:1–6 / Psalm 34:9a / Ephesians 5:15–20 / John 6:51–58
<< Back to LECTIONARY RESOURCES
Reflecting on the Word
By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.
As a boy, I was often sent to Kauder’s Bakery on the corner of Preston and Ensor Streets in Baltimore. There was nothing like the variety of breads today, but whether it was white, rye, or Vienna, the smell of fresh baked bread and especially the crunch of the crust stays with me more than sixty years later.
Kauder’s came to mind after reading today’s Gospel. Biblical scholars point out that the crowds would have been appalled at Jesus’ words: “Unless you eat the flesh of the son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” The word used for “eat” is a very physical word, the equivalent of munching or chewing. To hear “eat my flesh” would have been repulsive. An invitation to cannibalism! The same with “drink my blood.” Jewish law was very clear that no blood should remain in any animal slaughtered for eating. Blood was the “seat of life” and life belonged only to God.
But this is precisely the point. Behind this “sign” is God’s wondrous life-giving plan: to bring us into intimate communion when we partake of the very life of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. We are not to get drunk on the wine of this world but on the divinized drink of everlasting life. Not mundane manna but the bread that mediates an encounter with the Lord of our salvation. This is truly Wisdom’s house, where we eat both the bread of God’s word and the bread that is the Lamb of God.
Consider/Discuss
- Can you appreciate the shocking impact of Jesus’ words on those listening?
- Do these words have any impact on you or have they become too familiar to shock?
Responding to the Word
Lord Jesus, you call us to the banquet table to eat the food that will nourish us for eternal life, bringing us into communion with you, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Give us an appetite for this food you so generously offer. May we not turn away from it for other food that neither nourishes nor satisfies.