Jesus is the bread of life

Jesus came to reveal the fact that He is the Bread of Life for all of us. When we pray, listen and follow Him, He is there for us in good and bad times. He nourishes us and our spirit with His Spirit, His Wisdom and His love.

In these ways, He feeds us and our whole person — not just our physical, emotional or spiritual needs but the Whole Person! It was hard for people at the time of Jesus to believe and accept this, and so it is one of the most difficult articles of faith for us to believe, live and act on!

Jesus states, “I am the Bread of Life that has come down from heaven.” This blew the crowd’s minds. Many of the disciples and those who had been following Jesus left Him at this time. This teaching of Jesus is still a difficult article of faith for non-Catholics to believe; that rhe Eucharist is more than a sign, it is really Jesus Christ!

Jesus adds to this problem when He again states, “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” He challenges us not just to have faith in Him but to believe He feeds us with His own Body and Blood at every Mass with the gift of the Eucharist. Jesus also states that eternal life comes to His followers, if they totally accept Him. The very eating of His living Bread, the Eucharist, leads to Communion with Him, with each other and leads to eternal life. This means there are three reasons for receiving the Blessed Sacrament: union with the Lord, union with each other and eternal life.

Jesus combines the Bread of Life with the teaching of the sacramental presence of Himself in the Eucharist. It is thus that we can make the second reading real from St. Paul to the Ephesians. It is a model of love, compassion and kindness that we must offer to others. If we dare to receive this Body of Jesus, we must act on it and in His name as we dare to pray, “Taste and See the goodness of the Lord.” Jesus really did come down from the Father in Heaven to feed us and lead us back to the Father and to eternal life. We can not be a stiff-necked people, but must act with love, compassion and kindness after receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus. It is not enough or sufficient to say AMEN to faith. It is important that we put that faith into action!

Take time this week to check your response to how you act after you have gone to Mass and received the Eucharist. Do I praise and congratulate others and am happy with their accomplishments or do I have a put-down at the ready? What if someone I had pegged as a no-account or a cast -off turns his or her life around? What is my response? Praise? Thanksgiving? Amazement? Or are skepticism and judgment the first thoughts to my lips?

Maybe I need a little spiritual massage to loosen up my stiff neck and reflect after receiving Communion how I might have a better attitude and put that into action, NOW!