Twentieth Sunday in
Ordinary Time Year B
Readings: Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; John
6:51-58
Jesus is the living bread that gives eternal life. The
readings of this Sunday focus our attention on the Eucharist as the bread of
life in terms of wisdom. The Book of Proverbs foreshadows Jesus as the wisdom
who prepares a banquet and invites guests to the feast. “Come, eat of my food
and drink of my wine I have mixed!” This is certainly a prelude to the
Johannine high point on the bread of life discourse. In the Gospel this Sunday,
Jesus repeats his teaching of last Sunday: “I am the living bread that came
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.” This was one of Jesus' most
difficult teaching. While Jesus was speaking on the level of spiritual
realities, the crowds were still on the physical level, and could not get the
point. That is why they complained and asked: "How can this man give us
his flesh to eat?" Was this wisdom
or madness? Was it pure nonsense or truth? Our faith takes us to the spiritual
level, leading us to realize that Jesus’ teaching is profound wisdom and the
absolute truth.
In the Gospel, Jesus uses
several arguments to convince his audience: “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.... Unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true
food and my blood is true drink.” The bread of life discourse has to be seen in
the light of the resurrection. Therefore, we find here the essential
relationship between Eucharistic faith and resurrection faith. How clearer
could Jesus be in his teaching? What Jesus says is NOT a figure of speech but
direct language of flesh and blood. The bread that He gives us is indeed his
flesh. The blood that he gives us is indeed his blood. At the end of
the Gospel of today Jesus show us that we enter into communion with him when
we eat his flesh and drink his blood. By eating the flesh of Jesus and
drinking his blood, we become totally identified with his very person, his
vision of life, his values, and with his mission to build the Kingdom of God.
Here again Jesus brings in the concept of the total identity with his
self-sacrifice on the Cross, where he totally surrenders his flesh and blood to
the Father. This is what Paul calls the foolishness of the Cross, but we must
let the wisdom of faith guide our hearts and minds this Sunday. Similarly,
guided by the Spirit of wisdom, we are led to recognize the real presence of
Jesus in the Eucharist and we express our thanksgiving for so great a gift.
What more can we ask the Lord for such an intimate act of love for us? So what
message do we take home this Sunday? 1) The readings invite us to let the
wisdom of faith guide our hearts and minds, leading us to deepen our faith in
the real and enduring presence of Jesus in the Eucharist; 2) We believe
that by eating the flesh of Jesus and by drinking his blood, we become totally
identified with and in communion with his very person, vision and mission;
we become what we eat. 3) We believe that through this communion we share in
the Trinitarian life of communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit.
©2012 John S. Mbinda
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