A sermon on John 6:51-58

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Benignus Catholic Church 
St. Mary Queen of Heaven
and Holy Trinity Catholic Church

A teacher asked the students in religion class: "Why did Jesus use bread to become the Body of Christ?"

After a moment of silence, a little girl excitedly says, "I know the answer to that." 

The teacher says, "Tell us the answer." 

The girl confidently proclaims, "Because he is risen."

Why did Jesus use bread? Bread must be God's favorite food. God mentions bread 492 times in the Bible. It is the first food made by humans and can be found in every part of the world. Bread does more than just keep humans alive. It is also a visible sign of friendship, comfort and unity among humans. Jesus gave bread the highest importance. He made bread sacred, a visible sign of our communion with God.

What does Jesus mean when He said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day?." (John 6:54.) 

Christians differ on what Jesus means. Some say "the flesh and blood of Jesus" is only symbolic for the word of God and faith in God's word. They believe it is faith in Jesus that gives eternal life. 

I believe faith in Jesus gives eternal life. But I also believe Jesus was not just referring to faith. Jesus was literally saying "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." (John 6:56.) Like the Jewish leaders, we Christians argue among ourselves how can Jesus give us His flesh to eat? I am no learned theologian. I can only rely on God's word to provide the answer.

Jesus said, "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." (John 6:55.) The Greek word for "true" is "alethos" which means "real." Jesus is saying His flesh and blood are physical. They exist in a physical world just like food that can be eaten. It is as real as eating your favorite desert. (Mine is a hot fudge sundae from DQ.) Jesus is not speaking symbolically to refer to faith as His flesh. He is speaking literally that real eating and drinking occur of His flesh and blood. 

The word of God provides an understanding of what Jesus meant by the word "eat" when He said, "Whoever eats my flesh." Jesus does not use the word Greek word "esthio," which means to eat metaphorically. An example would be "I will devour (eat) my enemies." Instead, Jesus uses the word "trogo" which means to literally "chew" like when an animal rips apart its prey to eat it. (I love to trogo a good steak at Ponderosa.)
 
What is the "flesh and blood" of Jesus in Holy Communion? It is not the flesh and blood of His earthly body. After His resurrection, Jesus kept His body, but it changed into a glorified body. His glorified body could do things that His earthly body could not do. He could change appearances and walk through walls. Yet, Jesus could also eat a fish to show He was not a ghost. When someone eats Holy Communion, they are eating the glorified body of Jesus, not His earthly body. Jesus is God. He has the power to change a small piece of bread and little cup of wine into His glorified body.

Jesus said in John 6:53, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." Catholics can feel guilt on any given day. It's our favorite group activity. Jesus is not saying you will not live forever with God unless you receive Holy Communion. We are saved by faith in Jesus. The thief got to heaven because He believed in Jesus.

So why is Holy Communion important? Because God wants you to be with Him in Heaven. Jesus gave you this great gift of His body and blood as soul food to strengthen you through the storms in life.

As the storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, “Anyone here knows how to pray?”

A pastor stepped forward. “Captain, I know how to pray.”

“Good,” said the captain, “You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets – we’re one short.”

Holy Communion keeps you floating.