There was an estate sale for a wealthy man who had just died. Among the items up for bidding was a painting of a young man. As soon as the auction began, people bought all the furniture and everything, but no one was interested in the painting of the young man. Suddenly, the housemaid saw the painting of the young man, liked it, and asked if she could have it. The chairman of the auction could not wait to be relieved of it. When the maid took the painting, she found a piece of paper hidden underneath the painting’s matting. On this paper was an inscription: “This is a painting of my son, who died at a young age; whoever owns this painting is entitled to all the proceeds from the sale of my estate.” And so it happened that the maid became very rich overnight.
Today is the fourth consecutive Sunday of reading from the Gospel according to John 6. In this chapter, Jesus begins with the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish to feed the crowd. He then moves on to present himself as the bread of life. This chapter gives solid biblical teaching on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ present under the appearances of bread and wine.
The Holy Eucharist is the greatest of all the sacraments. Baptism is the most necessary; it is the gateway to all the sacraments; without baptism, you cannot receive any other sacrament. Baptism and the other five sacraments are instruments God uses to give grace to his people. But in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we have, not merely an instrument, but Jesus Christ, who is the actual giver of grace himself. Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. But so many people, including some Christian Churches, do not believe that Jesus is really present in the Holy Eucharist; they think that Jesus is only figuratively present.
In response to those who believe that Jesus is God, but deny his real presence in the Eucharist; I would ask, “If Jesus had the power to multiply five loaves and two fish to feed over five thousand people, why could he not command the bread and wine to serve as the packaging for his real person?”
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus says, “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.” Some Christians believe Jesus is speaking figuratively here. In response to them, scholars share that among the Jews, the only time that the phrase “to eat someone’s flesh” was used figuratively was when it meant to hate that person, or to persecute that person vengefully. Similarly, “to drink someone’s blood” meant to punish a person severely. But Jesus is not inviting his followers to hate, persecute, or punish him here.
Another strong proof that Jesus meant the Holy Eucharist to be his real flesh and blood is the fact that some of his disciples deserted him (as we will see next Sunday) because they found the idea of eating him too disgusting. So, they left him and no longer went about with him. If it were just a case of misunderstanding, Jesus would not have let them go; he would have explained to them that he was only speaking figuratively. There were other instances where Jesus had to clarify himself. For example, in John 3:3, when he told Nicodemus that a man must be born again, Nicodemus asked how a grown man could enter his mother’s womb. Jesus very patiently explained that he was referring to baptism. In Matthew 16:6-12, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They thought he meant real bread, so they complained that they had no bread. Jesus then explained that he was talking about the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees, not bread. In John 2:19-21, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.” John explained that Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body. In John 11:11-14, Jesus said, “Lazarus, our friend, sleeps. But I go that I may wake him from sleep.” The disciples answered that it would be good for Lazarus if he slept; the rest would help him to recover. Jesus then said plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”
My dearly beloved in Christ, if we believe that Jesus is God and God is all-powerful, it makes no sense to question Jesus when he plainly tells us that he is really present in the Holy Eucharist. We have the Church’s greatest treasure in the Holy Eucharist; you have it, you have all. May the receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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