I am the bread of life

TUESDAY 28 APRIL (Jn 6,30-35)

In the Old Testament, eating was spiritual. People were invited to eat Wisdom and the Word: “Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: “Let whoever is simple turn in here; to him who lacks understanding, I say, 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”” (Pr 9,1-6). “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life” (Is 55,1-3). They ate through listening and transformed what was heard into life.

Ezekiel is a prophet of the Lord. The Lord asks him to eat the scroll of his Word. He eats the scroll, transforms the Word of God into his life and announces it as his life so that it becomes the life of the people: “Son of man open your mouth and eat what I shall give you. It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me, in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me. It was covered with writing front and back, and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe! He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat. Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your brow as stubborn as theirs, like diamond, harder than flint. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. Son of man, he said to me, take into your heart all my words that I speak to you; hear them well. Now go to the exiles, to your countrymen, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God! – whether they heed or resist!” ” (Ez 2,8-3,11). The Apostle Paul also eats the book: “Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.” I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings”” (Rev 10,8-11). Whoever wants to proclaim the Word of God must eat the Word that he will have to proclaim. He must make it his life and blood. The same thing applies to every disciple of Christ Jesus.

So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

Who wants to make Christ Jesus be known to men must eat Him as Bread of Word, truth and light. He must make the Word of Jesus the only Word of his life. The Word is eaten spiritually. The mission is also to show Him alive. Who wants to show Jesus alive, must really and not only spiritually eat of Him, Bread turned into flesh and Wine transformed into blood. Real flesh and wine, real eating and drinking. We eat Christ, we live for Christ and we show Christ. One does not really eat Christ, he does not show Christ in his reality. We eat Him, to conform ourselves to Him. While we conform to Him, we manifest Him live. The manifestation of Him is the way for faith in Him.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints make us eat Christ in purity of faith, truth and light.