Coffee With God

 

Reflection: John 6:44-51

In the Gospel for today, Jesus invites those people who had seen the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves to upgrade their faith. He helped them recall the event of manna with which God had fed the forefathers in the long journey through the desert. Now he applies the symbol of the bread to himself and says: “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:48). We need bread to live and Jesus reveals himself as that bread, that is essential for our everyday life. Pope Francis explains the passage by saying, “Jesus alone nourishes our soul; he alone forgives us from that evil that we cannot overcome on our own; he alone makes us feel loved even if everyone else disappoints us; he alone gives us the strength to love and, he alone gives us the strength to forgive. He is the essential bread of life.” Jesus speaks in parables, and in this expression, “I am the bread of life”, he truly sums up his entire being and mission. In the Gospel, however, his listeners are not much amused, but instead are scandalized. Perhaps we too might be scandalized: it might make us more comfortable to have a God who stays in heaven without getting involved in our life, while we can manage matters here on earth! Instead, God became man to enter into the concrete reality of this world and he enters into our lives. The Lord is interested in every aspect of our life. Pope Francis has a beautiful analogy for the “Bread of Life.” He says, Being the Bread of Life, the Lord wants us to have him for the main course and not as a side-dish! Often we set him aside as the Side-dish and call on only when we need him. At least once a day we find ourselves eating together in the family, perhaps in the evening, for the dinner. It would be lovely, before breaking bread, to invite Jesus, the bread of Life, to ask him simply to bless what we have done and what we have failed to do. Let us invite him into our home; let us pray at home. Jesus will be at the table with us and we will be fed by a greater love. The phrase, “Eat my flesh” means much more than eating the Eucharistic bread. It means to assimilate the person of Jesus – and thereby, live as another Christ with flesh and blood. This is the huge challenge that the Lord places before us: to become another Christ. May the Virgin Mary, in whom the Word became flesh, help us to grow day after day in friendship with Jesus, the bread of Life.