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| Eucharistic Still Life, Salvador Dalí, 1952 |
Bible Reading - John 6.25-35
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered 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. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Reflection
This passage describes an encounter between Jesus and a crowd of people the day after the feeding of the five thousand, which is said by some to be the Gospel of John’s equivalent of The Last Supper – the Institution of the Eucharist.
Jesus knows that despite having seen the great miracle of the loaves and fishes at first hand, the crowd don’t understand what happened; their minds remained focused on their earthly lives rather than the heavenly life that Jesus is offering to share; “you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” he says. He encourages them not to focus on filling their stomachs with the food that perishes, but working for the bread “which endures for eternal life.” To receive eternal life, the crowd are told they must believe in God and in “him whom he has sent.”
Although they witnessed the feeding of the five thousand less than twenty-four hours beforehand, the crowd seem to want more “signs” from Jesus if they are to believe him to be the Son of Man; perhaps an eternal supply of food – like the manna in the wilderness? Jesus reminds them that it was God who sustained the Israelites with bread from heaven, but the “true bread from heaven” sent by God will give life to the whole world.
“Give us this bread always” the hungry crowd cries – still seemingly unaware of the reality standing right before their eyes. “I am the bread of life” Jesus explains. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
As we hold out our hands to receive communion, what reality will be before our eyes, in our thoughts, in our hearts?
What hunger do we hope to satisfy as we kneel at the altar?
Are we, like the crowd on the shore, working for the food that perishes, to fulfill our earthly desires? In reality, are we searching for a quick fix, an ‘experience’ or ‘high’ – even though we know that this food, no matter how tasty and delicious it may seem - can only sustain us for so long.
Or are we working for the food that endures for eternal life? Open to receiving God’s gift of the living bread of Jesus; the only bread which can truly satisfy our hunger for the fullness of life that comes from relationship with God. A transformation that is cumulative, incremental and one which, in ordinary time, can be hard to discern let alone measure progress; perhaps not surprising in the context of a sacrament, where past, present and future collide.
No matter what divides Christians in their beliefs about what happens at the Eucharist, how often and in what form to receive it, all must surely agree that it is transformational?
The Eucharist helps us to remember the transformation of the passion of Jesus to the resurrection life – from agony and pain to glory; to recall the moment at which God and humanity were reconciled or re-membered; the moment humanity was saved. The Eucharist is also about the present; we bring the death and resurrection of Jesus into our daily lives; asking Him to teach us how to live so that we may seek to do God’s will here on earth as in heaven. The sacrament is also about the future. As we receive communion, what kind of world are we longing for? When the service ends, do we go out and speak and act according to the values of the Kingdom or the values of this world?
As we hold out our hands to receive communion, which reality is before our eyes, in our thoughts and in our hearts?
Which bread do we want to taste, always?
Love III by George Herbert
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lacked anything.
"A guest," I answered, "worthy to be here":
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"
"Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.
Amen.
Thank you for listening to this reflection. On Thursday at 12.45pm we hope to celebrate the Eucharist in public for the first time since March. Please do join us if it is safe for you to do so. The service will also be streamed online via Zoom. I hope you have a wonderful week.
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