This is the last of the readings from the Bread of Life Discourse in John’s Gospel. In today’s passage, we move on from seeing Christ as the Wisdom of God, who must be accepted and believed, to a reflection on the sacrament of eating the bread of life. These two themes correspond to the two halves of the Mass, first the service of the Word, then the Eucharistic banquet. We are all so diet-conscious nowadays that it is quite obvious that the food we eat affects us. By eating the Body of Christ we are assimilated into him. But, just as, if I am sick, food does me no good and can even harm me, so if I eat Christ sacramentally without wanting to be moulded into him, it does me no good at all. That is why Paul complained that the Corinthian people were answerable for the death of Christ. Blood is the sign of life – if there is no blood, there is no life – and God is the Lord of life and death. So if I receive Christ’s blood I take on his life, his divine life, as the gift of God. That has alarming side-effects: it means I share Christ’s life with other Christians. We all live with the same life’s blood. Do I really share my life, my talents, my goods with others, knowing that we share the same life of Jesus?
Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB
Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB
RSS Feed