John 6:51-58

Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

This passage in today’s Gospel reading is one of my favorites. Some people don’t realize how serious Jesus was in this passage.

The Jews questioned…..

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Today many people say….

“It was a symbol, you can’t really eat His flesh.” You should keep reading.

After the Jews questioned, Jesus repeated Himself….

“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.”

Amen means believe, Jesus was saying believe what I am saying.  He said Amen TWICE!!  Which means…..This is serious! It was not a symbol (more on this next week) He keeps going…..

“unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

Unless we take communion every day (every Sunday at least), we are opening ourselves up to a spiritual death.

He continues… (changing from third person to first person)

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink”

Jesus is the Truth! The words in the Gospel today are the words of Jesus Himself. If you don’t believe in what is written (remember Jesus said “Amen” Twice) then you’re calling Him a liar. Jesus is not a liar. He loves us so much that he sacrificed Himself for us. He knows what is best for us.

wait a minute…..what is best for us?

Well….if Jesus knows what is best for us then we need to get to know Him more personally. One of the best ways (the number 1 way) is receiving Jesus into our heart, into our mind, into our soul, and into our Flesh. The Holy Mass accomplishes all of this.

Step 1 in coming to know Jesus personally  Going to Mass.

Next week I’ll post some reflections about the true followers of Jesus stepping forward. Please go to Mass next Sunday and hear about one of the greatest moments in Church history because the ripples of that moment are alive today.