Notice: The Fairfax County Jail (Adult Detention Center-ADC) needs a Catholic male and female volunteer to serve one Saturday/month.
Gina and I have been doing this for many years. Either one of us can answer any questions about it. Let me know if you are interested.
Remember, when the Apostles asked about heaven, Jesus said, “I was in prison and you visited me.”
Reminder: The notes/recaps from our meetings will be posted on our Catholic Catacombs website usually within 24 hours. Please visit https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog where you will also find the previous Bible Study notes.
Remember: In God coming here as Jesus, we get to relate to Him more personally. This is one reason The Chosen is highly recommended. Create a weekly get-together to watch each episode, you won’t regret it. The 2nd season is over so it’s a good time to catch up. Both seasons can be viewed at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
Bible Study Format Question. We discussed alternating topics on the different weeks of the month, such as W1 - Gospel readings, W2 - Bible timeline reading, W3 - a topic of choice, and W4 – open mic or week off. Taylor is sending everyone a survey – please give us your feedback!
Year B (Mark), 21stSunday in Ordinary Time This coming Sunday is the Conclusion of John 6 (verses 51-69)
Gospel of John 6 Context: It is interesting that we reviewed “All Things Mary” last week and now we are finishing John 6…. Q: Why? What connection can be made between John and Mary? Remember, from the cross Jesus instructed John to look after Mary, after which Mary was under John’s protection.
As time passed, it became more and more dangerous for Christians in Jerusalem under Herod Agrippa I. Everyone knew that Christ’s inner circle consisted of Peter, James, and John. They finally had gone after James and captured Peter. John would have been next on the list.
Tradition tells us that the Jews also sought to kill or disgrace the Mother of Christ. So John took Mary and relocated to Ephesus sometime shortly after the martyrdom of James (A.D. 43 or 44).
Q: What did Mary and John have in common?
Jesus. Time together. Both present at the cross. Both present with Christ for the 40 days after his Resurrection and the Pentecost. Tradition tells us both were contemplative types. Mary was quiet and often reflected deeply (pondered); we can tell John was a deep thinker as reflected in his writings. Mary would have been with (or in close contact with) John from the Resurrection of her Son until her own passing, probably 25 years or so later (her Assumption is dated anywhere from AD 53-63).
Can you imagine the conversations they had? It is easy to see how this relationship could have given John the confidence and insight to write what he did.
Previous to today’s sermon in John 6, Jesus had fed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, and had walked on the sea. Now he is back in Capernaum where this sermon is taking place in front of the people in the synagogue, which we can assume was filled. You may recall last week Jesus explained, “He who believes in me will have eternal life,” and “I AM the bread that came down from Heaven.” They ask Jesus what they need to do to get this bread. Jesus says God wants them to believe in the Son of Man whom God sent to save them.
Remember, Jesus’ first goal was to reveal his divinity, because if they didn’t believe in who he was, they were not going to believe what he was going to tell them next.
At the end of our last reading, Jesus finally tells them: “The bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” This is where we pick up today.
Q: In John 6, Jesus goes out of his way to state multiple times that we have to eat his flesh and drink his blood. This is unlike the three, earlier Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Why?
There are many things in John that aren’t in the Synoptic Gospels. One reason is that John wrote his Gospel later and did not see any reason to repeat many of the same things. He also had more time to reflect, to collaborate with Mary, and to see over time what needed explaining. He did that in spades. In the prologue of Thomas Aquinas’ commentary on the Gospel of John, Thomas adds there was yet another reason for John’s Gospel. After the first three Gospels had been written, heresies had arisen challenging the divinity of Christ, which would turn Christianity into a pagan religion and the Eucharist to meaningless symbolism (see Ebion and Cerinthus). John, who had experienced the truth of Christ’s divinity himself, then wrote his Gospel at the request of the faithful. This particular sermon is specifically dedicated to emphasize the truth of the Jesus’ real presence in the bread and wine he will unveil in the Eucharist. It was the only point of the sermon.
Gospel of John 6 (51-59, 60-63, 66-69)
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.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, 53: “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. 54: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55: For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. 56: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. 57: 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. 58: This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink (John 6:55)
Jesus has shifted from his sermon from believing in who he is to eating and drinking his body and blood, which will be enacted at the Last Supper. The people in his audience understand what he is saying, but they want to understand how, and why. Who can blame them?
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. That is why I have said to the Israelites, ‘You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.’” - Leviticus 17:11,14
The Torah is clear: Blood represents life and is for only for atonement. (But then, isn’t this Jesus, the Lamb of God?)
(Atonement: comes from Latin “at one + ment,” meaning to make whole; to make amends; reparation for a wrong or injury.)
Q: Jesus knew Scripture! Yet he is telling them they have to drink his blood, and eat his flesh. Why? First, Jesus is not talking about natural flesh and blood which passes away. He is talking about his supernatural flesh and blood, which is Trinitarian. He is trying to get his audience to lift up their eyes to the supernatural end that he is trying to bring them. This life – our life on earth – is dead without him. The life Jesus is speaking of (Hebrew: zoen) refers to the life of the age to come, where there will be the resurrection of our bodies, not just our souls. Which is why Jesus then says (v54), “and I will raise you up on the last day!” Second, the OT Passover sacrifice was not considered complete until the Israelites had eaten the lamb. New Covenant: “Behold the Lamb of God,” right? …his sacrifice not only takes away the sins of the world but brings us into communion with God in a way that would have been unimaginable under previous Covenants. Jesus established the Eucharist this way so that his saving act on the cross would be perpetually present for us. Third, remember that sacraments are where heaven and earth meet; where grace and our lives intersect; just as God and humanity intersect in Jesus becoming man. Our physical dimension being married to our spiritual faith is what it means to be human, and if this wasn’t important, then the incarnation wouldn’t have been necessary. This Trinitarian food is not only for our forever-healing and growth but the union with God is just the beginning of our eternal relationship that will end up in glorified bodies. Jesus is describing the realism of his body and blood (real presence) in the bread and wine. He simply cannot offer us anything closer or more intimate than himself in the Eucharist.
Q: Jesus says (v56), “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.” This is important. What does it mean?
Abide (live, remain in) means this glorified food is not only going to sustain us but will effect a mystical union whereby we can abide in him, but he will abide in us. Therefore, it’s a mutual exchange. It’s a communion – in reality, not metaphorically.
Abide in Me and I in you
I want to pause here to mention that you may occasionally run into people who will say, “Jesus was a great guy and a really wise man, but he wasn’t God.” You should see by now that this is utter nonsense. Either Jesus is who he said he is, or he was a liar, or he was a lunatic. You have to choose one of these three. C.S.Lewis makes this same argument in “Mere Christianity.”
Okay, let’s finish John 6:60-69!
60 Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard – who can accept it?” 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, 62 “Does this shock you? 63 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 64 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. 65 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe, and who would betray him.) As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. And he said, “This is why I told you that no man can come to me unless it is granted to him by my Father.” 66 After this, many disciples drew back and walked with him no longer. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” 68-9 Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
Q: Does Scripture really say “real” food and “real” drink? Yes. Some translations say “true drink and true food” and some say “my flesh is food, indeed!” But the word in Greek is alethes, which translates as “real” and “true.”
But we already know the Jesus’ audience knows this is what he means, don’t we – simply by watching them recoil from his statements? They knew!
Q: What is the importance of this the people responding, “This saying is hard – who can accept it?”
1) Do you think they would object if Jesus was speaking metaphorically? They are having difficulty precisely because he is not speaking metaphorically or symbolically. What they fail to believe is that Jesus is God and therefore he is referring to something supernatural, not natural. It is why the Eucharist is referred to as super-substantial, and why the change to the bread and wine is called transubstantiation. It is also why, in the Our Father, Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread” – daily isn’t because Jesus was being redundant; the word epiousion means complete, forever, supersubstantial. 2) We also know that the Jews are thinking that Jesus is asking them to break the laws in the Torah – the Old Testament Covenant – against drinking blood. Just on that point alone, make no mistake: when Jesus asks us to consume his glorified body and blood, he is absolutely intending for New Covenant believers to be cut off from the Old Covenant. After his Resurrection and Ascension, the Old Covenant will be fulfilled and transformed. All the purification and sacrificial rites will be fulfilled once and for all. Only the moral law will remain in the New Covenant, which will be internalized and offered to the rest of the world.
Q: What does Jesus saying, “Does this shock you?” mean to you? It means Jesus knows they are taking offense at his words. This is usually when Jesus would explain what he meant. Instead he says…
Q: “What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” What does Jesus mean by this?
Yes, Jesus is referring to his Ascension, which they wouldn’t know because it hasn’t happened yet, although they will in time. For the moment, he is referring them to Daniel’s vision, which they would know, and asking them if that would be enough proof for them:
“As the vision during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven one like the Son of Man.”- Daniel 7:13
His disciples would remember John 6:62 at is Ascension
Now Jesus says something that is often misinterpreted by non-Catholics (and not understood by Catholics). This one verse alone will be used to say that Jesus has been speaking metaphorically all along and therefore the rest of John 6 should be ignored.
“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.”
We will explain what this means, but it must be pointed out that whenever anyone focuses on one verse in order to make a point, or a single passage to achieve a conclusion, that is the definition of taking something out of context. Catholic exegesis requires that we take the entire context into account as well as the rest of scripture before determining its meaning.
Q: What does Jesus mean when he says the “flesh is of no avail”?
Jesus is not talking about his flesh. Five times before this he says his flesh is real. The word for flesh – sarx – is referring to the flesh of man = mankind. Man cannot work out his own salvation. It will be in our glorified bodies/flesh – because of Jesus Christ – that we will attain heaven. This is why Jesus is emphasizing the importance of our union with his own glorified flesh.
Paul uses ‘flesh’ in the same way – for fallen man: “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit is contrary to the flesh.” - Gal 5:17.
Q: So, what does Jesus mean when he says, “It is the spirit that gives life”?
Spirit (“pneuma”) does not mean metaphor. God is “spirit” and God is not a metaphor. In this sense, yes the spirit is even more real than flesh, because God is spirit and so are we - eternally. But when Jesus says the spirit gives life, he means the Holy Spirit gives life, and he is particularly referring to his body in the resurrection. That is also why, in the Mass, the priest calls down the Holy Spirit to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of the risen Christ.
Moreover, since this is Trinitarian Food being given to us under the auspices of the Holy Spirit that means there is a supernatural unity involved. The Holy Spirit is the Love of God and the Unity of the Trinity. So each time we share in the Eucharist, then everyone else in our church, and in our state, and in our country, and in every country in the world is sharing in the same Eucharist, and we are united to them!
It’s why we call it Communion
Let’s exegesis/exegesize/explain 64-66: But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe, and who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no man can come to me unless it is granted to him by my Father.” As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
Q: What meant by “Jesus knew from the beginning”?
From the beginning of each person’s discipleship, Jesus knew whether their faith was fertile ground, or whether his words were falling on rocky ground.
Q: Who did Jesus know was going to betray him?
Judas. It is said that this was the likely beginning of Judas’ turning against Jesus, which was hardened later when Jesus informed the Apostles that he would be killed.
Q: When does the Father grant us the ability to come to Him?
God gives all humans faith but humans often cling tightly to this gift and only use it when they are in control or have very little at risk, or to lose. We must be willing to go out on a limb with our faith to let God in. When we use our faith this way – which is the reason it was given to us – then God begins granting us access to everything the Trinity has to offer.
Q: “After this, many disciples drew back and walked with him no longer.” What is the chapter and verse number of this passage?
6:66. The devil won this round. For now!
Q: When people left in disbelief, did Jesus change his approach? Did he say, “Ho, wait, you didn’t understand me correctly!” ?
Not in the least. In fact, Jesus drew a line in the sand by asking his Apostles, “Do you also want to leave?”
Q: What did Peter’s response mean? We can see that Peter didn’t get it either, at least not yet. What he did get was the first part of Jesus’ sermon – who Jesus was. Peter had enough faith to accept that. And if Jesus is from God, well, where else would you rather be (even if the boat goes down)? At this point, Peter throws caution to the wind and basically says, “We’re in! We’ll have to find out later whatever the heck he means!” It was in the Last Supper and after the Resurrection that Peter and the Apostles came to understand everything.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for the blessing of reading your word together.
We ask that these words of life, truth and hope would continue to impact us in the week ahead.
May your love and grace follow each of us as we return to our daily lives, refreshed and blessed by you.
We ask all this in your name.
Trinitarian Communion Prayer
Father, thank you for loving us into existence, and for coming back for us when we turned our backs on you.
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming here and walking in our shoes; for showing us the way; for paying our way;
for leaving yourself behind; and for sending your Holy Spirit to help us the rest of the way.
Holy Spirit, fill every space inside of us; leave no room for our selfishness to act.
In all our encounters, enable us to see with your eyes, hear with your ears,
and speak with your words.
Amen.
And Taylor’s closing devotion…
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