Joke: Joe and Bill met on a street corner. When Joe said he sure was glad to see his friend, Bill answered, “How can you see me when I’m not here? I’ll bet u $10; I can prove it.” “You’re going to bet me $10 you’re not here? Okay, it’s a bet. Go ahead and prove it.” “Am I in Chicago?” “Nope.” “Am I in New York?” Joe answered emphatically, “No.” “Well, if I’m not in Chicago and I’m not in New York that means I’m in some other place, right?” “That’s right.” “Well, if I’m in some other place, I cannot be here. I’ll take that $10.” “How can I give you money if you’re not here?”

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the last two weekends’ Gospel on the Bread of Life Discourse that Saint John beautifully wrote down for us. We have learned from chapter six, the Jews came to Jesus not because of the sign that Jesus performed to feed five thousand men not counting women and children, but because they were fed. In today’s Gospel, Jesus said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” which caused the Jews to question, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Regardless of what Jesus did to them, they only saw him as a man of his human origin. To their hardened hearts to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and God himself, Jesus responded saying, “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.” By pointing out how the Lord fed the Jews quarreling hungry in the desert, Jesus reminded them that he was the Bread that came down from heaven to satisfy the hunger for eternal life. Jesus identified himself as the Bread of Life that came down from heaven and whoever ate this bread will live forever. Eating bread for our physical beings is understandable, but eating the flesh of Christ how can that be? What does it mean to eat the Body of Christ? To be fed by the Bread of Life for eternal life?

Medical News Today in 2020 reported an article, How long can you survive without food? According to this article, “Without them [eating meats], [our body] will start to break down its own tissue to use as food. Starvation affects all of the body's systems and processes. It is difficult to determine how long someone can go without food, but experts believe that it is between one and two months. Doctors strongly advise against starvation diets.” What about any type of meat? Can we live without eating any meat or products of animal such as milk and cheese? Or can we live by eating meat alone? The answer is yes, but it would be better if we could balance a mixture of meat and vegetables for health and well-being. Since eating is a part of our human natural need and God created all these animals and plants for us to dominate, we ought to use all of what God gave it to us. How importance it is to eat either with meat or without meat to sustain our physical body. Jesus, the Son of God and God himself saw how important it is that he comes to us in our human flesh and gives that flesh in the Most Holy Eucharist to nurture us for eternal life. As we eat any food that will be digested into small particles and transformed into blood to nurture our physical body, the Bread of Life, the Most Holy Eucharist that we receive at Mass will be broken down into particles to transform into blood to nurture our soul for eternal life. Just as blood, is the life stream for the human body, so the blood of Christ is the life stream for our soul. Just as food and drink become the bloodstream to nurture our physical body, so the Body and Blood of Christ in the most Holy Eucharist become the bloodstream to nurture our soul. Have you believed in this Bread of Life, the Most Holy Eucharist?

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds the Ephesians community and to every one of us saying, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.” What is the day of redemption if it’s not the day the Lord Jesus Christ offered himself up on the cross for the sake of our salvation? We should not doubt but believe and come to this Bread of Life more often to avoid “any bitterness,” Saint Paul says, “fury, anger, shouting, and reviling, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” If we truly believe in Christ and come to the Bread of Life, he will help us to overcome what is called bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling, along with all malice. And of course, when we are kind to one another, compassionate, and forgiving one another as God has forgiven us in Christ, the Bread of Life will sustain us for eternal life. In other words, when we learn to be kind to one another, compassionate, and forgive one another, we truly practice one of the two great commandments that the Lord Jesus taught us, “To love God and to love one another.” So, what is it to do with the Bread of Life, and how would we consume the Bread of Life for eternal life?

The Bread of Life gives us eternal life, and to come to the Bread of Life requires us first and foremost to believe in the Bread of Life, the Most Holy Eucharist. It is not to believe alone, but to take an active act by coming to receive the Body and the Blood of Divinity, Christ himself in the Most Holy Eucharist. The question is, are we worthy to receive Christ into our lives? None of us is worthy, but in actively coming to receive Christ, he will help us to become more like him just as one holy saint used to say that we become what we eat. None of us is worthy to come to receive Christ into our lives that is why before we even come up for Communion, we ask God to forgive us many times. Right from the beginning of the Mass, we say together the penitential act, to confess our sins to the Almighty God, and the priest even gives us the absolution saying, “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” In the Our Father, we ask God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Not finished, when the priest breaks the host and places that little bit of the host into the chalice saying, “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it,” we all say, “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us,” not once but three times. Before we come up to receive Communion, we even say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” The acknowledgment of unworthiness to receive Christ. Why do we do all these if it’s not that we believe in the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in the bread and the wine after the consecration? What should we do and how should we prepare to receive Christ, the Bread of Life for eternal life? The decision is yours.