In today’s gospel, critics “murmur” about Jesus. Why do they respond with such skepticism? Jesus says: “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” This claim both perplexes and disturbs these critics.
“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” Our Lord is speaking about himself. More specifically, he is speaking about himself as he is sacramentally present to those whom he came to save. Jesus is not speaking metaphorically. Indeed, he is speaking metaphysically. He is talking about reality. “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
John 6 is among the most famous of all biblical passages. In this chapter of the Fourth Gospel, Our Lord makes explicit reference to himself as really present in the Eucharist. Those who murmur against Jesus, however, do not attempt to understand Jesus in reference to himself. Rather, they attempt to understand Jesus in reference to themselves.
They say, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother?” These are not bad questions. Indeed, Jesus is the son of Joseph and Mary—and these questioners do know his parents.
We notice, however, that these questions have a subtle preoccupation. These questions are centered around the knowledge of the critics. “Do we not know his father and mother?” In other words, these questions are not so much Joseph and Mary—and they are certainly not about Jesus himself. Rather, these questions betray the self-focus of the questioners. These critics are attempting to understand Jesus in and through themselves—in light of their own knowledge, ideas, and preconceptions.
In short, these questions are not centered around Our Lord himself as much as they are centered on the critics themselves. And this is the reason why these questioners miss who Jesus really is. They try to understand Jesus through their own knowledge rather than through Our Lord’s knowledge—through what he has revealed about himself.
All of this helps to explain why these critics “miss” Jesus: only Jesus can enable us to understand Jesus. Only those who contemplate Jesus through what he reveals will understand who he really is. All those who try to understand Jesus through themselves will “miss” who Jesus is.
Today, many people esteem Jesus as a significant teacher or even a legitimate prophet of sorts. Few would claim that Jesus wasn’t a great figure. Many of these same people, however, deny that Jesus Christ is Lord—or that Jesus is the Savior of the world who is really present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Like the critics of Jesus in today’s gospel, we often reduce the reality and significance of Jesus to our own preconceptions (he was only a “great prophet” or a “wise teacher”—not the Savior of the world). Such a reductive approach to Jesus inevitably causes us to miss who Jesus truly is: the Savior of the world.
No one can discover the meaning of Jesus through things other than Jesus. No one can verify his real presence in the Eucharist outside of his words about the Eucharist. The only reason that we know that Jesus is truly present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—in the Eucharist is because Jesus himself told us that he is so present. And this is the best—the only saving!—reason: to believe something because of Jesus (not because of our preconceptions).
All true disciples of Jesus rejoice in the Eucharist. Why? Because Jesus himself told us about himself and about the Eucharist.
