BREAD AND WINE

“I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry; whoever believes in me will never thirst.” These past few weeks our Sunday gospel readings have been taken from what is known as ‘the bread of life discourse,’ the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. To eat the ‘bread of life’ raises us to a new level; offers us the vision of faith that enables us to see beyond what our natural eyes see.

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus once asked his disciples, and continues to ask us his current followers. The faith that comes from the bread of life enables us to recognise better who Jesus is. John wrote his Gospel “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name” John 20: 31.

The great French thinker, Blaise Pascal, wrote that all humanity’s miseries stem from our inability to remain quietly in our rooms. According to Pascal our restlessness gets us into a lot of trouble. All strife, from family arguments to organised street rioting, to great wars, to ethnic cleansing and genocide, ultimately has its roots in what goes on inside the human heart and mind.

We get a glimpse of this in the gospel where the crowd is following after Jesus, eager for more miracles. They were hungry and wanted more bread and who can blame them? But Jesus points out that no matter how wonderful the miracle of the loaves and fishes, there are needs that go deeper still.

“Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” In these words, Jesus is saying that the deeper needs within us often go unrecognised. Jesus’ task was not about supplying bread; he wanted people to hunger for more. Most people don’t look to Christ to supply their basic needs. Our world and its shops offer an abundance of “bread” that distract us from our real hungers. I am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never be hungry.

This requires reflection. Jesus is saying that the cure for our deepest needs involves relationship with himself. He loves us, especially when we are weak and feel in need of help. He wants us to surrender to his love. His love comes from God – is God – and can touch the very core of our being. Thus the Lord comes to us in the form of food, bread and wine. Just as food goes into us and becomes part of who we are, so Christ the Lord in Holy Communion enters us, goes deep within us, transforming us from inside us into his body. He heals our restless hearts and offers us that deepest peace the world cannot give.

Fr QQ – 08/08/24