The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2024)
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?”
—John 6:51-52
Questions are an essential part of who we are. Not only is our ability to ask questions part of what makes us human, but questions are also an essential element of faith, because the questions we ask have the power to help us discover what is true about ourselves and about God.
As we consider events that are playing out in the world today—both locally and on an international scale—we might find ourselves asking questions of Why? and How? in an effort to make sense of sense-less acts of violence and repression or of policies and decisions that are simply motivated by politics and ambition. Our questions are important and will, we trust, help lead us to truth and, in the end, healing for victims and for humanity, as a whole.
These types of questions came to mind as I reflected on the Gospel proclaimed this Sunday and, as I prepared to write this reflection, I found myself sympathizing with the questioning, quarrelling crowd described in John’s Gospel. Like us, they were asking questions and wrestling with hard truths in an effort to make sense of what they were hearing and experiencing.
The Church’s teachings about the Eucharist—Christ’s Real Presence in the bread, and wine consecrated in the Mass—is a fundamental Christian belief. And yet, theologians and saints have struggled for centuries to explain the how of this sacrament. Technical words and complicated theological propositions (like transubstantiation) can help us enter into the mystery of the Eucharist, but theology can only take us so far. Even the beautiful poetic language we use in speaking of the Eucharist (such as “Saving Victim” or “Bread of Angels”) can’t plumb the depths of this mystery and presence. And yet, if we can really open our hearts to the truth that is being presented to us in this Sunday’s Gospel, we discover that John is breaking open the mystery of the Eucharist for us in a particular way. Jesus’ words remind us that there is much more at stake than fine points of theology or poetic imaginings. Here, Jesus is offering us a promise: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
In those few words we discover the great gift that is at the heart of what we believe about the Eucharist: Jesus is giving us all of himself. And Jesus’ gift of himself is also an invitation for us to give ourselves to him. This relationship the real meaning of “holy communion.”
And so, while the how of the Eucharist is an important and difficult question, is this really the right question?
By changing our focus from the how to the who and why of the Eucharist, we quickly realize that the Christ’s Presence in the Eucharist isn’t a theological problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived.
Some years ago, Pope Benedict XVI reflected, “Christianity is not a new philosophy or a new morality. We are Christians if we encounter Christ.” We are Christians because we have a special relationship—a communion—with Jesus that inspires us to follow him and live as he did.
The who of the Eucharist isn’t only Jesus who is truly present in the sacrament. The who also includes all those in the Church who celebrate and receive the Eucharist. And this leads us to the why of the Eucharist: as we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we renew our communion with him and with Christians of every time and place. And in the Eucharist we are given the strength to be like Jesus by giving ourselves to others so that, together, we may all share in the eternal life that that he has promised us (cf. John 6:57-58).
O God, who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love,
so that, loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
