Hard Saying

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate how the hard saying of Jesus is the source and summit of our Life.

Bread and Life

In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke describes the miraculous actions of Peter that resonate with the action of Jesus.

* [9:31–43] In the context of the period of peace enjoyed by the community through the cessation of Paul’s activities against it, Luke introduces two traditions concerning the miraculous power exercised by Peter as he was making a tour of places where the Christian message had already been preached. The towns of Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa were populated by both Jews and Gentiles and their Christian communities may well have been mixed.

The Gospel of John describes the reaction to Jesus hard saying in John 6.53.

* [6:60–71] These verses refer more to themes of Jn 6:35–50 than to those of Jn 6:51–58 and seem to be addressed to members of the Johannine community who found it difficult to accept the high christology reflected in the bread of life discourse.

Rev. Richard Gabuzda invites us  to allow ourselves to listen carefully to Jesus’ words and reflect on whether or not we allow ourselves to be drawn into their realism and the promises these words make.

Yet, how precious is our acceptance of and belief in these words!  In an instant, these words speak volumes of Jesus’ promise to remain with and in those who follow him.  What more dramatic illustration of this promise could there be than our taking his body and blood into our own bodies?  In addition, the Christian tradition will capitalize on these words to reinforce the sanctity of our life in the flesh and, most pointedly, the statement of the Creeds that speak of belief in the resurrection of the body—that is, our bodies.  The tradition will refer to the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality,” the implication being that the flesh and blood of Jesus becomes the principle of, the seed of our eternal life.

Don Schwager quotes Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D. on Eat Life - Drink Life.

"'Unless you eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you shall not have life in you,' says the Lord. Eat life - drink life. You will then have life, and life is complete. Then the Body and Blood of Christ will be life for each person under this condition: what is eaten visibly in the Sacrament be spiritually eaten and spiritually drunk in truth itself." (excerpt from Sermon 102,2)

Friar Jude Winkler describes the spread of Christianity from the spiritual centre of the world, Jerusalem to the political centre of the world, Rome. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the Bread of Life discourse are at the centre of the seven signs of Jesus as Son of God in the Gospel of John. In this Gospel, the confession of Peter is a rare description of him favourably compared to the Beloved Disciple.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, quotes John O’Donohue on the body as a sacrament.

The body is a sacrament . . . a visible sign of invisible grace. . . . All our inner life and intimacy of soul longs to find an outer mirror. It longs for a form in which it can be seen, felt, and touched. The body is the mirror where the secret world of the soul comes to expression. . . . The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. —John O’Donohue

Our intimate reception of Jesus in our body is the Source of our Divine connection.
References


(n.d.). Acts 9:1. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/acts9.htm

(n.d.). John, chapter 6 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/6

(n.d.). Creighton Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 21, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/

Source and Summit for Love for All

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today contains the texts for the Solemnity of Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is the “source and the summit” of Life in the Roman Catholic Tradition. The mystical nature of this sacrament is not fully understood. The exploration of this mystery is often neglected by Christian believers. The reflection for today, from Creighton University's Online Ministries by Andy Alexander, S.J., is inspired by Pope Benedict XVI, Enclycical on the Eucharist, entitled The Sacrament of Charity (Sacramentum Caritatis). It was released after the Apostolic Synod on the Eucharist (2007).
Fr. Alexander quotes Benedict XVI “union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself”. This breaks down the barriers between all humanity and compels action from those in communion to seek justice for all, to love all and to forgive all. The mysticism of the Sacrament has its full impact as Jesus continues to minister to all people through the Body of Christ sourced for all in the Sacrament and those in communion become the “bread broken and shared” for all.