The Living Bread of Life is the Incarnated Wisdom-Word, the Supernatural and Spiritual Bread – Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Following Jesus’ miraculous feeding of a large crowd of at least 5,000 out of five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:1-15), Jesus feeds them with the Word, making it a discourse about the living bread of life (John 6:26-58). Through this discourse, Jesus progressively reveals the Christological truth that he is the bread of life (John 6:35, 48), in fact, the living bread of life, which is his flesh for the life of the world  (John 6:51), upon calling them to work for the food that endures for eternal life, only given by him (John 6:27). At first, they asked Jesus to give them this food, which is the bread of God that gives life to the world (John 6:33-34). But, when they realized that Jesus, whom they kept fanatically following ever since being fed, was the son of Joseph, they grumbled how he could say that he is the bread of life from heaven (John 6:41-42). Their recognition of Jesus as the son of Joseph prevented them from believing that he is the very bread that they asked for.

Jesus continued on with his discourse, addressing his consubstantial union with the Father, to help them understand why he is the bread of life from heaven, as the bread given by God is also from heaven, juxtaposing the bread of life from heaven to manna from heaven, but differentiating in terms of the enduring quality for eternal life (John 6:43-50).

So Jeus makes his Christological identification further from being the bread of life from heaven:

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 (John 6:51).

Here, Jesus reveals clearly that the bread, which they asked for (John 6:27), the bread of life from heaven (John 6:35, 48), is his living flesh (σάρξ /sarx), rather than κρέας/kreas, which is dead meat, of Jesus himself. In response, they complained how in the world he, the son of Joseph, would give them his flesh to eat (John 6:52).

Apparently, they were disgustedly horrified, as they seemed to think that Jesus was promoting cannibalism, which is associated with a terrifying curse (i.e. Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Jeremiah 19:9; Lamentations 2:20). But Jesus did not seem to care, as the truth matters more than what they felt about the revelation of the truth. So, he said further:

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 (John 6:53-58).

With the above words, Jesus was not reiterating what he said before but expounding on the Christological truth progressively revealed in this discourse.

Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal (John 6:26-27).

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day (John 6:35-40).

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 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 (John 6:47-51).

Now, the focal theme is the living flesh of Jesus, rather than bread, because the substance of the living bread of life is the living flesh of life. The crowd must have wondered how it would be possible the flesh of Jesus to be the bread of life from heaven. But those who follow St. Thomas Aquinas’ logical explanation of transubstantiation (Summar Theologiae, IIIa-q75), the truth is that the living flesh of Jesus is present in the species of bread, which the Holy Spirit is infused through epiklesis.  In reference to St. Ambrose’s work on the Sacraments (De Sacram, IV), Aquinas juxtaposes the supernaturality of the transubstantiation by the power of the Holy Spirit to the Blessed Virgin conceiving the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. And later in the discourse, Jesus indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit in his living flesh as the living bread of life, stating:

It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life (John 6:63).

Jesus is not addressing his biologically living flesh, as it per se does not lead to eternal life, just as manna did not, though it was also from heaven, sent by God the Father. What Jesus means by the living bread of life, his living flesh to be eaten for eternal life, is made living and life-giving because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. And it is the presence of the Holy Spirit to make the living bread of life supernatural to be transubstantiated to the living flesh of the incarnated Christ, Jesus. So, St. Ephrem calls the living bread of life “spiritual bread” with supernatural power to take us to heavenly paradise:

Matza is a symbol of the bread of life; those of old ate the new mystery.

Moses disclosed the symbol of the One who renews all and gave it to gluttons who craved flesh.

Meat from the earth weighed them down –heir mind stooped to greed.

The earthly ones ate heavenly manna (Exodus 16 etc.) They became dust on the earth through their sins

Spiritual bread flew lightly away

The Gentiles soared up and settled in the midst of Paradise.

Matza’s nature is heavy

Symbolising the People that cannot fly.

Elijah ate from the pitcher and jug (1 Kings 17.14) the light symbol that flew through the air

It was not a Daughter of Jacob who provided the symbol: Elijah ate it through that Daughter of the Gentiles (i.e. the widow of Zarephath)

If the mere symbol of Christ’s bread made Elijah fly like that (2 Kings 2.11)

How much more may it transport Gentiles to Eden? (Hymn on Unleavened Bread XVII, 5-17).

 As it was the Holy Spirit to have drawn Simeon to Jesus (Luke 2:25-28), we know that we can be brought to him by the Holy Spirit. Because the living bread of life is the spiritual bread, rather than mere bread made from wheat, it brings us in Christ. And Jesus makes this truth clear:

 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 (John 6:56-57).

 Now we understand that eating the living flesh in the spiritual bread, called, the living bread of life, will bring us in Christ, as he in us, to have eternal life, since he is the way to the Father, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). So, by eating the living bread of life, we are in Christ, and him in us, as he is in the Father, and He in him (John 14:20; 17:20-23). And this way, we shall remain to be fruitful branches of the true vine for the glory of God (John 15:4-8). In essence, Jesus is offering himself to save us into the glory of God by being the living bread of life, which St. Ephrem calls “spiritual bread” and St. Thomas Aquinas regards as “supernatural bread”.

As I said earlier, Jesus has been feeding the crowd with his Word, through his bread of life discourse, through which he progressively reveals the Christological truth that he is the living bread of life to be eaten for eternal life. And this is the spiritual and supernatural bread, as it is the incarnated Christ himself. Therefore, it is inexhaustible. This one body of Christ can feed countless people. Thus, its effect is incomparably greater than multiplying five loaves and two fish to feed the crowd of at least 5,000.

In the First Reading (Proverbs 9:1-6), we see wisdom hosting a great banquet with bread and wine. What does it mean that wisdom feeds us abundantly?

Here, wisdom is the Christ (i.e. Proverbs 8:22-31). And he is also the Word (John 1:1). This Christological truth of Jesus shows that the incarnated Christ is feeing the crowd with himself as the Wisdom-Word, through his spoken words, out of his mouth, because humans cannot live with bread per se (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). In essence, he is feeding with his living flesh, which is the spiritual bread, as St. Ephrem puts it, for it is the Holy Spirit to make the bread life-giving, and the words spoken by him is the Spirit to give life (John 6:63).

Christ the eternal Wisdom and the Word feeds us so that we may leave a foolish sinful life and seek wisdom to live a life in the Spirit, echoed in the Second Reading (Ephesians 5:15-20). So, Jesus, as the Wisdom, calling us to eat his living flesh and to drink his blood:

Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding (Proverbs 9:5-6).

The wise and those who are becoming wise shall taste and see the goodness of the Lord in the living bread of life as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm with gladness and joy (Psalm34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7). But the fool do not as they only eat ordinary bread, which does not give life, and die.