“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” -John 6:56-60

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.  So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”- John 6:66-67

Bruna and Wanderson went to Mass.

I feel like I am starting this in the middle. The beginning is a little strange and perhaps may seem even a little unrelated. However, this is the way I began in my reflection. Therefore, I am going to start the way my meditation began. In a convoluted way, it has something to do with the disturbing words of Jesus.

His words brought me back to 1993, my first time in Brazil, before I started working with the children. I walked passed a store with a sign that said “religious artifacts”. A statue of an elderly black gentleman dressed in a white suit smoking a pipe stood at the entrance. My curiosity was perked. I walked in and discovered a completely different religious world. Everything in the store was connected to worship but apparently nothing was directly related to Christianity. There were deities of all shapes and sizes and they appeared to be of African origin tinged with some European influence. There was a statue of St George, at least that’s what it said. It was nothing like the ones I have seen in the church’s stained glass windows. The old Black Man in white suit was apparently very important. He was represented in many of the images. There was a deity with a ferocious dog-like face which reminded me of a personality in Indonesian folklore. The most unsettling one was the figurine that looked very much like the devil of our imaginations, all red including the horns. I had to ask about this particular one. The store owner said that he just sold the items and denied any knowledge of its significance. He wasn’t very convincing. However, I did not want to pursue it. I left the shop convinced that satanic worship was alive and present in Brazil. Now, I am a little older and slightly ashamed that I jumped to such conclusions, not to mention, that such an attitude is also disrespectful. Thankfully, I kept my opinion to myself. I still don’t know what all the deities represented. I will never understand it because it is not my religion or my faith. They have a mythology where all these symbols and personalities fit in perfectly. I can read about them but I will always remain an outsider. They will always seem strange and unnerving to me but it doesn’t make them evil. I don’t remember anywhere in the gospels Jesus going around passing judgments on other religions. However, Jesus did do something quite disturbing. He told us that unless we become like cannibals we cannot be part of Him. At least, this is what it would sound like to an outsider. It is easy to jump to conclusions when you are an outsider.

Now, I can go to back to Bruna and Wanderson. They went to Mass. They heard the words, “Take and eat, this is my Body” and “Drink, this is my Blood which was given for you.” They went to a Roman Catholic Church where doctrine teaches that the Bread and Wine in a mysterious way become the Body and Blood of Christ. They take the words of Jesus quite literally. Different branches of Christianity have tried to tone down it and make His words more feasible. Something which our Lord Himself refuses to do. Instead, He intensified it. He said, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:56). The word, ‘eat’ in original Greek could mean to gnaw. Jesus was really putting a lot of emphasis on chewing and eating of His body. The part still makes us cringe a little bit if we think about it deeply. However, Bruna and Wanderson heard these words and they did not feel uncomfortable. It made sense to them because they were not outsiders. It is not that they were ignorant of its implications. These words are very simple and extremely profound. Their meaning is never lost to those who have ears and eyes to see the Truth. They did not need to have access to sophisticated theological explanation to make sense of everything. I am not sure if most theologians understand the true significance of Jesus’ words. Wanderson and Bruna understood what was offered to them. Perhaps, if I asked them to explain it to me, they would be lost for words. However, they knew that Jesus was offering something marvelous to them. Jesus was inviting them to become part of His body.

They went to Mass, not because they were forced into doing it. They noticed that some Franciscan friars were saying mass in the public square. It was open to everyone. Bruna wanted to go and Wanderson agree to go with her. They stayed until the end. I am not sure if they partook in the Communion. They never said much about it. They just wanted us to know that they went to Mass.

The following day, I was reading with Wanderson. After we got done, he stood up and approached a homeless man whose arms and legs were bandaged. He looked as if he had suffered a very bad accident. Wanderson sat next to him and whispered something to him gently. He wasn’t aware that I was paying attention to his actions. They spoke for a few minutes and then he came back to where I was. He did not say anything about his conversation. Then few days later, there was another homeless man who was clearly mentally-ill and looked very much lost in the streets. Wanderson did the same thing again. He got up and approached the man and spoke to him. This time I had to ask. He told me that the Mass he attended was to give thanks for the inauguration of a new shelter for homeless adults. He wanted these people to know that there was a place for them to be safe. He said that he encountered a homeless man the day before who was initially quite aggressive towards him and then later when he calmed down, he asked Wanderson’s help to find the shelter. Ever since the mass, he has been on the lookout to help homeless adults who seem lost and helpless in the streets.

I don’t know if they partook in the communion. However, Wanderson encountered something good and wonderful and now he looks for people with whom he can share this goodness. It is almost as if Jesus is manifesting Himself in Wanderson’s life to those who suffer and are lost. Just recently, he asked me if I go to Mass every day. I said no. The conversation ended there and he did not explain why he asked the question.

Jesus did not come to be our Teacher. He came to offer Himself so His Life can shine through us. It is more than being like Him. Jesus wants His body and blood to dwell in us. Actually, the opposite is true. He wants us to dwell in Him. To an outsider, these just sounds like words of a crazy person. Someone who hears these words and some how understands their true meaning can agree with St Peter when he responded to Jesus, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”- John 6:68-69

You don’t have understand everything as long as you sense in your soul that there is Life in these words.