The discourse of Jesus leads to the revelation that He is the Bread of life. The Jews, whom Jesus addresses, cannot accept His claim that he has come from God and began to grumble about him. Like the people who hardened their hearts against God and Moses in the desert, the Jews become more closed in their unbelief. Last Sunday, the Gospel was ending with these words from Jesus: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty!" (Jn. 6:35). Today Jesus continues:“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever”.

After reminding the crowd the big mistake of their search (they are not looking for the One who gives the bread, but simply the bread), the Lord shows the people the narrow door that moves us from paganism to the life of faith: it is no longer a matter of believing in a God who solves our problems, but entering into a relationship that allows us to feel the challenge of life in a different way, involving us personally. Jesus is asking for a relationship with him, a deep, vital relationship. Jesus’ invitation goes to the heart of each one of us: do I know how to look for a bread that satisfies my true life, the fulfillment of a need for life that is not satiated by things? Jesus proposes to us the relationship with him as the only possibility to satisfy our need for Life. He is the bread that came down from heaven, the only one who can satisfy man.

The problem the Jews have with the idea of flesh becoming bread is basically the same as their problem with the idea of the Word becoming man. To them God is too great to become so small, so ordinary. They cannot imagine why God almighty would choose to “come down from heaven”, become human and be born like any person, to be “the bread of life”. Jesus did not remain up there on high to be ‘on top’ of people. He offers himself as living bread that comes down from heaven, becoming food for the so many human hungers.

Every time we approach the celebration of the Eucharist, we should be mindful of how much this challenges us personally to the point of being able to say in our turn, as Jesus’ disciples and as Church (Body of Christ), "my flesh for the life of the world"! This is the path that is demanded of Elijah, invited to cross the desert where he is called to purify his way of thinking and presenting God, whom he defended with the extermination of the prophets of Baal, but whom he still fails to witness with the gift of his own life. The Lord continues to nurture the prophet so that he may walk through life (forty days and forty nights) and grow, not forgetting that "the journey is too long for you" (1 Kings 19:7).

The Eucharist is our food for the journey. God sends manna to Moses and the people in the desert when they have no food to sustain them. God provides a hearth cake and a jug of water for the discouraged prophet Elijah and so to make able his journey. Jesus multiplies five barley loaves to feed the 5,000 who have walked up the mountain to hear him speak, so that – fed in body and soul – they may have strength to go back down the mountain carrying his message.

Today, there is still an urgent need for people who would receive and take the Eucharist as it is offered: as the Bread of Life. For us, as for Elijah, the message is the same: “Get up and eat; you have a long way to go.”