Unless the Father Draws Us

 

John 6:44-51

My Flesh for the Life of the World

⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

 

Jesus continues his elaboration on the Bread of Life, the amazing gift that feeds us on our journey and brings us into the closest union with him possible until we pass on to Eternal Life. He repeats, like a good teacher, for this is a difficult lesson to comprehend:  his Flesh becomes our Food!  It is not just a memorial action, but one that makes his Body and Blood present under the appearances for bread and wine so that we might actually ingest it. A great gift that is available weekly, if not daily. May the Father draw us more frequently to this meal and may we be graced to accept his invitation.

Bro. Rene