Read John 6

Meditation: Why did Jesus offer himself as "food and drink"?
The Jews were scandalized and the disciples were divided when Jesus said
"unless
you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you." What
a hard saying, unless you understand who Jesus is and why he calls himself
the bread of life. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves
(John 6:3-13), when Jesus said the blessing, broke and distributed the
loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, is a sign that prefigured
the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper.
The Gospel of John has no account of the Last Supper meal (just the foot
washing ceremony and Jesus' farewell discourse). Instead, John quotes extensively
from Jesus' teaching on the bread of life.
In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in a thanksgiving sacrifice
as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator as the giver and sustainer
of life. Melchizedek, who was both a priest and king (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews
7:1-4), offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. His offering prefigured
the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king (Hebrews 7:26; 9:11;
10:12). The remembrance of the manna in the wilderness recalled to the
people of Israel that they live – not by earthly bread alone – but by the
bread of the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3). At the last supper when Jesus
blessed the cup of wine, he gave it to his disciples saying, "Drink
of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for
many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Jesus was pointing
to the sacrifice he was about to make on the cross, when he would shed
his blood for us – thus pouring himself out and giving himself to us –
as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the world. His death
on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal (passover) lamb whose
blood spared the Israelites from death in Egypt. Paul the Apostle tells
us that "Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians5:7).
Paul echoes the words of John the Baptist who called Jesus the "Lamb
of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus
made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing
to the Father. He "offered himself without blemish to God" (Hebrews
9:14) and "gave himself as a sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
Jesus chose the time of the Jewish Feast of Passover to fulfill what
he had announced at Capernaum – giving his disciples his body and his blood
as the true bread of heaven. Jesus' passing over to his Father by his death
and resurrection – the new passover – is anticipated in the Last Supper
and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfills the Jewish
Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory
of God's kingdom. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his
flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very
center of our being. That life which he offers is the very life of God
himself. Do you hunger for the bread of life?
"Lord Jesus, you nourish and sustain us with your very own presence
and life-giving word. You are the bread of life – the heavenly food that
sustains us now and that produces everlasting life within us. May I always
hunger for you and be satisfied in you alone."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings