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Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood
Where We Are
Alleluia! Friday of the Third Week of Easter brings us to the most provocative passage in the Bread of Life discourse. Jesus's claims now become shockingly literal: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." The crowd recoils. This is the moment of decision in John 6. In Acts, we witness the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus. The man who held the cloaks at Stephen's stoning is knocked to the ground by the Risen Christ. Both readings confront us: Will you accept what Jesus offers?
The Word
In Acts, Saul is on his way to Damascus, breathing threats against the disciples. A light from heaven flashes around him. He falls to the ground and hears, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" The answer: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." The Lord sends Ananias, saying, "This man is a chosen instrument of mine." Scales fall from Saul's eyes. He is baptized and immediately begins proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. In John's Gospel, Jesus declares, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up 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."
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Reflect
This is the passage that divides. It divided the crowd in Capernaum. It has divided Christians ever since.
Jesus uses the most physical, visceral language possible. The Greek word John uses for "eat" (trogein) does not mean a polite nibbling; it means to gnaw, to chew. Jesus is not speaking in metaphor, or if he is, he is doing everything possible to prevent his listeners from interpreting it that way. "My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." The repetition and intensification leave no room for a purely symbolic reading.
The Catholic Church has always understood these words as the foundation of Eucharistic faith: in the Mass, bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Christ. This is not magic; it is the deepest intimacy God offers. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him." The Eucharist is mutual indwelling, a union between Christ and the believer that echoes the union between the Father and the Son.
Paul's conversion on the Damascus road mirrors this intensity. Saul encounters the Risen Christ in a way that overturns his entire world. He is blinded so that he might truly see. The voice says, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Christ identifies himself with his Church so completely that to persecute believers is to persecute him. This is the same mystical union Jesus describes in John 6: his life in us, our life in him, one body.
Ananias's obedience is remarkable. He is asked to lay hands on the man who came to arrest him. Only the Risen Christ could ask this, and only the Holy Spirit could make it possible.
Living It
Today, approach the Eucharist (or the thought of it, if you cannot receive today) with the seriousness of John 6. This is not routine. This is the flesh and blood of the Son of God, offered so that you might have life within you. If you receive Communion this week, do so slowly and deliberately. Let the words echo: "My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." If you have been resistant to some aspect of God's call, like Saul on the road, consider that the very thing you are fighting against might be the Risen Christ himself. Ask God to remove the scales from your eyes.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, your words are hard, and many walk away. But we will not walk away. Your flesh is true food. Your blood is true drink. We eat and we believe. Remove the scales from our eyes, as you removed them from Saul's. Unite us to yourself so deeply that your life flows through us, and we remain in you, and you in us. Feed us with the bread of eternal life. Alleluia. Amen.
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