THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

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A good Sunday to all. 

The evangelist John dedicates five chapters of his book to narrating the Last Supper. Some are surprised that the narrative of the institution of the Eucharist does not appear in these five chapters. John did not feel the need to include it because the three synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, had already mentioned it, and Paul also mentioned it in the letter to the Corinthians. 

Another reason is John’s objective: he aims to enlighten his Christian communities at the end of the first century about the meaning of the gesture they perform every week on the Lord’s Day—the breaking of the bread. Perhaps by then, this gesture had already become a rite that no longer truly reflected life. So, how does he offer this clarification? In two moments of his Gospel. 

One of them we all remember very well: during the Last Supper, instead of the institution of the Eucharist, the evangelist recounts Jesus’ gesture, the washing of the feet. The meaning is very clear. This is what the evangelist means: the rite of breaking bread and eating it must translate into a concrete life of love, a life at the service of others. 

If this does not happen, your rights may become hypocritical. Then, there is another occasion when John explains the meaning of the Eucharist. It is in chapter six, after the sign of sharing the loaves, when the evangelist presents a long discourse by Jesus that ends by clearly stating what it means to assimilate that bread. 

This long discourse that Jesus gives begins with a clarification because some misunderstood the sign; they thought they had to turn to God to fix their problem with wonders and miracles, the problem of our hunger… very real hunger, because the sign really aims to show this: how to satisfy people’s needs, very specific needs, needs for life. It’s not about turning to God for Him to do what we are supposed to do. 

And the gesture, the sign made by Jesus, meant precisely this: all the hunger in the world, all the needs of people, will be satisfied because God has prepared a beautiful home for his sons and daughters. … They will be satisfied when they accept the logic of love, sharing, and giving up all their available goods to give to the brothers and sisters. Then, not only will everyone’s hunger be satisfied, but their goods will also be in abundance. 

After clearing up this misunderstanding, Jesus introduces another kind of bread. It is no longer the physical bread that sustains life on earth, but in his speech he begins to speak of a bread that has come down from heaven to grant a different kind of life. In biological terms, life can be reduced to mere survival or existence, but a person needs another kind of life, and this life is given by bread that has come down from heaven. 

It may seem cryptic to those who hear it, but it will become clear—they will understand when Jesus continues his speech. He introduced himself as bread, symbolizing God’s wisdom, sent from heaven to enlighten and guide people toward a true human life. Without following this wisdom, they risk wandering down paths of death. In this discourse, Jesus describes himself as this bread—this wisdom that nourishes true life, the fullness of human life. A person is not truly alive merely by existing or possessing worldly goods; life must have meaning, a goal, a purpose. This marks the first part of the discourse. At this point, our text begins. 

Let’s listen: 

Jesus said to the Jews: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

I have often wondered what the disciples must have understood about Jesus’s gesture at the Last Supper. What had Jesus done? At one point during the meal, he took some bread and said, “This is me; take it and eat.” They probably didn’t understand much that night; it was later, when, obeying the Lord’s command, they continued to celebrate the breaking of bread every week, that they came to understand the gesture. 

They reflected, guided by the Spirit; they understood and internalized the content of that gesture and its implications, particularly the act of assimilating that bread. Decades of reflection have passed within Christian communities, and the evangelist John presents to us, through a discourse by Jesus, what these communities experienced, especially those in Asia Minor, where the son of Zebedee was. John was specifically a point of reference in Ephesus. In this discourse, John illustrates this maturation in the understanding of the gesture of breaking the bread. 

Today, we want to reflect on the final part of this discussion, which focuses specifically on the Eucharist. This will help us understand what we do today, every week, on the Lord’s Day. The presentation uses images and terms that can be a bit difficult because they reflect Semitic theological language, and we will try to understand them. Jesus says: “I am the living bread that has come down from heaven.” He has come down to this world from heaven, like bread; “Whoever eats this bread has eternal life, and the bread that I will give is my flesh.” 

These images must be clearly understood. The first thing we notice is the verb “to eat,” which appears 11 times in Jesus’ discourse. A bread that must be eaten needs to be assimilated. Then another verb appears four times—an even stronger one: not just to eat but to chew, crush, and assimilate even the crumbs. This very strong verb appears four times. Finally, another verb: to drink. 

These verbs may compel us to reevaluate certain Eucharistic devotions that once held meaning and value. However, if they do not truly reflect or express the Eucharist’s authentic significance, then all such devotions require reconsideration. Furthermore, if some devotions obscure the Eucharist’s true meaning—even if people are fond of them—they should be abandoned. 

Eating and drinking mean welcoming into our own lives what that flesh—that is, Christ—represents and making it part of who we are. But what is meant by ‘flesh’? When we talk about ‘flesh’, we immediately think of the physical aspect, like atoms or muscles. No. From a Semitic perspective, flesh is seen as the person in their fragility, precariousness, and weakness; and above all, the person is ‘flesh’ because they are mortal. That is, vulnerable, an ephemeral creature, especially destined to die. 

This food from heaven became flesh, and John says: he became one of us, with all our weaknesses and the frailties that belong to our human nature. The immortal became one of us, a mortal… and if Jesus had not died on the cross, he would have died of old age because he became flesh. 

As we said earlier, eating means welcoming and assimilating. But what is this bread that came down from heaven? It is the wisdom of God, the wisdom incarnated in Jesus. Here, we see the realization of an authentic man. If I want my life to be fully realized as God intended, I must assimilate that wisdom which became flesh, embodied in a person rather than in rules and regulations… No, it is that person who shows me what a successful man looks like — a man who follows the wisdom of God. 

Jesus presented himself as the bread that came down from heaven, like the wisdom everyone must understand to become a complete person. This portrayal of Jesus is scandalous for a Jew because, for a Jew, the Torah is the ultimate wisdom. To a Jew, if someone wants to be a fully developed person, they already have everything they need in the Torah.

Jesus says: The Torah was not enough; it was necessary to go further. Now, in front of you, you have God’s wisdom, which became flesh; assimilate this wisdom as bread for your life… it must become part of you. Let us remember Ezekiel, who, invited by God, ate that scroll — meaning Ezekiel needed to absorb God’s wisdom contained in the Torah before speaking to the people, even if the Torah was not yet all of God’s wisdom. Now, God’s wisdom is fully embodied in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth. Jews who hear this discourse of Jesus can only react. 

Let’s listen:

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “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. 

At this point, the Jews understood, and we also understood, that the bread that came down from heaven represented Jesus himself, his message, and his Gospel. This was a scandalous idea for the Jews, who reacted strongly. Jesus then goes further, saying, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” 

Right now, Jesus is not just talking about a doctrine or a message, but about real, tangible food, not metaphorical. The Jews are waiting for an explanation. Believing in Jesus means understanding the proposal he offers us… the man he is… and trusting my life to him, saying: ‘I want to live like you!’ Here, ‘believe’ becomes a gesture of commitment, a concrete action, a sign that clearly shows I want the person of Jesus to come into me. 

Here is the meaning of eating, of assimilating, of assuming, of putting within us the person of Jesus. And Jesus insists on this … “I assure you that it is necessary to eat the flesh of the Son of man.” In this verse, bread and wine are not explicitly named as the signs of this assimilation to the person of Jesus, but it is clearly implied what they represent: Bread is the complete story of the person of Jesus, who gave his life for others. 

This is what the bread that Jesus identifies himself with means: ‘this is what I am: bread.’ And then the wine: … blood, … blood for a Jew is life. Even today, as clearly expressed in the Torah, blood cannot be taken; it must be shed and returned to the ground, because it is life and life belongs to God. 

And here, Jesus says, “You have to drink my blood.” Drinking his blood means welcoming his life and spirit—that divine force that leads you to give yourself completely for love. When you eat that bread and drink from that cup, you choose to accept the whole story of Jesus’ life into your own. Jesus then uses a stronger verb—‘to chew’: who chews my flesh and drinks my blood. 

What does “to chew” mean? It means that when we chew, we really grind; it indicates that we must have a clear understanding of who Jesus is. Therefore, before making that gesture, we need to understand what the bread represents, because otherwise we are just performing a ritual without grasping its full meaning and the commitment it demands of us. At this point, it is important to move beyond a certain devotional and intimate language that distances us from the true essence of the Eucharist. 

Here we speak of welcoming that bread, which is Christ, and that wine, which is his blood and the life of Christ, into ourselves. So it’s about eating and drinking. This is the Eucharist … not something else. There is a certain devotional language that needs rethinking. It is that language that speaks of being close to the divine prisoner—comforting Jesus, who is alone in the tabernacle … (Excuse me for mentioning these things) … or even carrying him in triumph … keeping him company … No! The Eucharist is not meant to ‘retain’ Jesus, to keep him close to adore him … No! … 

What Jesus asks is: Are you here to receive my life into your own? He invites us to this gesture of eating, drinking, and absorbing. The Eucharist is exactly this. Let us try to review everything that could distract us from the Eucharist’s powerful meaning. 

Jesus continues: “He who chews my flesh (again, this verb ‘to chew’), he who drinks my blood, dwells in me and I in him.” This verb ‘to dwell’ (ménein) is very important in the Gospel according to John; it is the conjugal image of the Eucharist, this ‘dwelling’ in Christ. The Song of Songs recalls it. 

The evangelist John uses the same formula of the beloved with the husband: ‘My beloved is for me and I for him.’ This is the same formula adopted here. The Eucharistic banquet is the conjugal encounter with Christ. This is the most beautiful image we have. Whoever eats that bread responds to the marriage proposal that Christ makes to you: ‘Do you want to unite your life with mine? If you want to unite your life with mine, eat this bread, drink my life, represented by my blood, and then we will become a single person. We are united as husband and wife; we share the same life.’ 

And now, let’s see what happens to those who eat this bread and drink from this cup.

Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so 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.

Jesus gave an order: “Take and eat; take and drink.” What happens to those who obey this order? Those who extend their hand, who receive that bread … and drink that cup … receive life, says Jesus. Those who “chew” will live because of me. To understand this message, we can refer to the allegory of the vine and its branches: the same sap flows through both. 

The sap is the spirit, the divine life that Jesus inherently possesses. This divine life is now given to us when we receive it—when we eat that bread that is Jesus and drink from that cup. When this life flows through us, it bears fruit. The vine produces grapes, which turn into wine, a symbol of joy. The sign that we have embraced this life is producing joy for our brothers and sisters. Joy is the sign of the Spirit’s presence within us. 

Jesus concludes his speech by saying, “This is the bread come down from heaven, and it is not like the one your parents ate, and they died.” We have physical bread, the bread that sustains biological life. That life ends; it comes from the earth and returns to the earth. If it had not been given to us by the Father in heaven, through Christ, his own life, the divine life, our fate would be that of plants and animals—biological life ends. 

Let us understand that when we eat that bread and drink that cup, we receive the gift of divine life Jesus brought into the world. I wish you all a great Sunday and a wonderful week.