I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. John 6:48-51

We often read these verses without paying much attention to them. Our minds skim through these words without dwelling on them too much because they are familiar words. For those of us in the Eucharistic traditions, we hear these words weekly, “This is my body which is given unto you!” We partake in the bread of the Holy Communion. We do not think too much of the fact that we are symbolically consuming His flesh. If we did, it should disturb us. Once I was talking to a friend who is a devout Christian and very well read when it comes to the Bible. She was appalled when I told her that Jesus told his disciples to feed on His flesh. She was shocked and asked half jokingly if it was in all bibles or just the Anglican one. Well, it is the gospel. We read it today. This verse is not the end of the argument but the mere beginning. It becomes progressively controversial and difficult to digest. However, for now, it is good for us to take these tough sayings in small doses. Jesus is the Bread of Life and we need to feed on Him.

These words of Jesus separate Him from all the prophets and priests of the past. They separate Him from the all the sages and religious leaders of the world. Buddha never told his disciples to feed on his flesh. Mohammad would have never imagined saying such a thing. It would have been scandalous and most likely diminished their status as religious leaders. The people who heard Jesus utter these words were scandalized, too. According to the gospel of John, many of them deserted him at this point. It was too hard for them to accept. They wanted Jesus to be their miracle worker. They wanted Him to be their great teacher. They even considered Him to be their prophet. The verses before these narrate an attempt of the people to crown Him as their King. All these were lofty roles and titles but none of them were worthy of our Lord. He is the living Bread; something which was common in that culture. Jesus used an everyday item to highlight the mystery of His work.

A miracle worker, a great teacher, a prophet or even a wonderful King are people who play a small role in our everyday life. You just need a miracle worker when you or a loved one is ill or in some sort of calamity. A great teacher is there to guide and help us. We can listen to him or her or we can just simply ignore them altogether. A King really has very little do to with the life of the common people. Anyway, bread, in the culture of that time, was essential for survival. It is something even the poorest of the poor had and needed on a regular basis. Without bread, we become weak. Without bread for sustenance, we will slowly die.

Everyday when we walk to where the children are, we pass by many churches. I know sometimes I sound like a broken recording and I cannot help it. I draw inspiration for my reflections on our everyday experiences. The first church we walk past is our own Anglican Church. Every Sunday, we have a Eucharistic celebration where we commune the Body and Blood of Jesus in our hearts by faith. Then we pass by another church that has daily celebrations. Each day the focus is different. On Mondays, it is to free the people from the curses. On Tuesday, it is to bring prosperity and happiness to one’s life. On Wednesday, it is about financial prosperity. I am not making this up. There are many more churches in a similar fashion. All of them focus on one aspect of the ministry of Jesus and some are based on local superstition. Our church might seem closer to these words of Jesus in their celebration but it does not mean that they are any different from the other churches. Feeding on the Bread of Life is not a question of believing nor knowing the right doctrine. Jesus said these words to deliberately shake the foundations of the people’s spiritual faith. If these words do not shake our spiritual foundations, then maybe it is possible that we do not comprehend them entirely.

These words of Jesus marked a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. People followed Jesus to benefit from what He did. Some followed in a manner of a spectator. The invitation to feed on Him is in reality to become like Him. His Life provides us the means to be transformed to become like Him. He becomes the focal point of our lives. He becomes the sustenance of our life here on earth. He is our daily Bread and this Bread needs to be manifested in our lives. It is an invitation to be transformed in our daily lifestyle to become more like Him. It does not mean we become more religious. This is many times defined according to the churches we belong. It goes beyond this. It is to allow His life to transform the way we think and act in accordance with His Life.

The problem with Truth expressed through faith is that there can never be a satisfactory answer to someone who does not participate in it. I have some agnostic friends and sometimes I imagine them asking me questions whenever I write these reflections. I am sure they would want to know how one feeds on the Bread of Life. In fact, some of the people who were discussing this very matter with Jesus wondered about this. We cannot go beyond the answer that Jesus gives them,

No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. John 6:44

Of course, like most things Jesus says in the gospels, this verse raises up more questions. It is not in my capacity here to address all of them. I am sure some might think that God is playing favorites by drawing some and rejecting others. There is no mention of rejection in these words. The invitation is open to all. The world is there for all to appreciate and admire. The marks of God are present in the universe. God is present in all the beauty and even in the darkness. However, most people are too busy or not interested to perceive His presence, or rather, His bread in the world.

Once as we crossed a busy pedestrian bridge we noticed an old woman who from her simple appearance looked like someone from the poorer class in this city. She was looking intently at something on the ground. Hundreds of people just walked past her without noticing her. Usually people like her are invisible to many. Some might have thought that she was out of her mind. She did behave a little odd. She was looking intently on the floor. Mary, my wife, said she was looking at an insect. We went to her and she pointed to it and asked us what it was. She said that she observed it walking across and avoiding the people. She was amazed with this tiny creature. I picked up the insect and we looked at it up close. I told her it was a praying mantis. She smiled. We stood there admiring this tiny creature peacefully moving around my hand. Tons of people passed by it oblivious of its existence. In a strange and simple way, it was a special moment for us and the woman. I actually talked about her with our youth yesterday. Among the hundreds of people who passed the bridge she was the only one who noticed this tiny creature. It was there for everyone but only one person noticed it. She was not more special than any one of these people. However, she was attentive and ready to be amazed by the simple things in Life.

Jesus is the bread of Life. It is a simple thing. It is present in our everyday life. However, only those who are attentive and open to be amazed will discover and feed on this bread. Some will feed on this bread and their lives will be transformed. They cannot claim this transformation as part of their personal merit. This is given by the grace of God. However, God does not play favorites. He calls everyone but only a few feed on Him. Only a few want to be sustained completely by His Life. Most people just want small doses of Him. Jesus does not want to be our Christ for occasional purposes. He wants to be our everyday live giving sustenance.