The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 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.’ John 6:52-57

We need to avoid our tendency to soothe these words by spiritualizing them.
By the way, this still doesn’t even tone it down. The odd choice of words makes it almost impossible to make it sound less offensive. After all, any suggestion of cannibalism should always be offensive in any circumstance. Nevertheless, Jesus chose these words deliberately. John decided to register them in His gospel because he believed that it was important for his readers to understand. We are challenged with the task of interpreting these words in a way which is meaningful in our everyday lives. I have to interpret them to our homeless youth in a way in which they will understand. We have a great task before us. I am going to try it now. Maybe I need a little bit more of maturing but for now, I will work work with what I haver.

Let us to go back to the verses which started this whole conversation. The people came after Jesus after He had fed five thousand in the desert. Jesus told them,

“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:26-27)

Philosophers who were critics of religious faith in the ancient world used to say that people sought the gods because they wished to fill their stomachs. It seems like Jesus is echoing their words. Stomach is here used metaphorically to signify all our base needs and desires. By no means it is a negative statement. We need things to survive whether it be food or shelter. Many times it is a struggle for us to acquire the basic things of life. Many underprivileged people in Jesus’ time and in the present too feel like they need divine intervention to just survive. In the gospel reading, the people acknowledged that Jesus had a special divine gift and they followed Him because they believed that he could help them in some way to achieve what they needed and desired. The critics of religion were not questioning this attitude but just wondered if God was really relevant after our stomachs are full.

This week we had a special encounter with a former crack addict. Once upon a time this poor soul was completely lost in a desolate place known as “crackland” in this city. Thankfully, he decided to attend a treatment center operated by the Catholic Church. We know of this center. They have very peculiar practices. The participants wake up early in the morning and say their rosary for about an hour. They also follow a rigorous communal prayer life throughout the day. The idea is to pray the addiction away. This young man went through the program successfully. He had gone through several treatment centers before but none had a lasting effect on him. This time he was able to stay off crack for years. However, he confessed that he still was an alcoholic. He showed us a bottle of hard liquor which he had with him. He was not drunk by any means when he spoke to us. He was waiting for the vet to treat his canine companion. We actually met him at a free veterinary clinic. Now we have to add accompanying our homeless youth to get medical help for their animal companions as part of our job description.

This young man is satisfied with his life. He wanted to overcome his debilitating addiction to crack and he did. This was not an easy thing. We strongly believe that he could not have done it if he did not sense the love of God in his heart. However, Jesus has more to offer than being a mere cure for addiction.

All our homeless children and youth are satisfied with their lives. Most of them would even say that they are happy. They have grown accustomed to their homelessness. In spite of their tragic situation, they have learned to find joy and peace. They are satisfied but Jesus wants to give them more. It does not mean that Jesus is going to wave His hand and change their social circumstances. Homelessness is a complex social and political problem. I am not going to deal with it here. I just want to interpret these tough sayings of Jesus for our daily lives.

We, humans, have an incredible capability. We can adapt to any given situation and find satisfaction in it. It does not mean that this is all there is in life. Jesus is offering something higher and aligned with our true vocation as human beings. He is giving us His flesh and His blood. His flesh or body is how He lived His life in this world. His blood is Life connected with God the Father. Jesus is inviting us to open our hearts and souls to allow Him to live out His life through us. He doesn’t want to possess us. He wants to become united with our individuality. It is the definitely not the same as asking ourselves, “what Jesus would do” in any given circumstances in our lives. I know that one time this was a popular spiritual practice. However, it still keeps Jesus at a distance and we conjure Him up whenever we are faced with a dilemma. In this gospel passage, these words are talking about a complete integration of Jesus into our lives. In other words, we need to allow the person of Jesus to live through us in this world. We need ask ourselves this question, “Is this actually possible?” The greatest enemy of the Christian church, Nietzsche thought it was impossible. This is why he wrote his infamous words, “There is only one Christian and He died on the Cross two thousand years ago.” The philosopher wasn’t making a mockery of the Christian faith. He understood the words of Jesus in this gospel passage. The essential message of the gospel is that we become Jesus. We feed on His flesh and drink His blood so that He will become integrated into our entire being.

With God, all things are possible.

One of the young people is an addict. He uses drugs every night. We have had a very close relationship with him for ten years. Even though he is an addict, his major preference is to engage with people in the neighborhood where he sleeps in the streets. I told him once that his situation does not stop him from being a blessing to people. He can still allow Jesus to live His life through him. To my surprise, he took my words seriously. In most cases, my words usually don’t go very far. This week we spoke to a lady who lives in the building above where this young man spends most of his time. She told us how her life has become richer through her friendship with this young man. She said that she had to deal with depression and in a strange way this young man was part of her healing process. There is also an old widow who lives by herself and everyday she cooks a lunch for two and brings a hot plate to him. He is the only person she talks to during the day. There are tons of lonely and neglected people. For some of these, this young man is their only human contact. They sense his genuine interest and they feel connected to him. He is also very proud of his friendship with them. He never asks for money but always receives more than what he needs. He uses some of it for drugs. Sounds sad, but there is a great improvement. He used to be someone who used drugs all day long. Now, he only uses them at night when there is no one around. During the day, he has found something better to do. He spends time with the people whom he loves. Eventually drugs will lose their grip in his life.

Feeding on His flesh and drinking His blood is a lifelong process. However, it starts where we are now. It is not for perfect people. Those who are well do not need a physician. Those who are satisfied with their lives do not want to change anything. Jesus is irrelevant for these. However, there are those who sense a strong hunger for something more concrete and eternal in their lives. Jesus offers His Life to these so that He can live through them. Perfection is a not prerequisite, only openness and willingness. We can start where we are spiritually. We can start with reading His words and allowing them to speak to our souls. We can start by trying to imitate Him and love people like He did. It will not be easy. We need to feed on Him daily and eventually His body and blood will slowly transform our hearts and minds to become like Him.

Jesus became human so that humanity can become Him.