The Eucharist Through the Eyes of John 6

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The Eucharist Through the Eyes of John 6

• Rev. Mr. John Mayo
• December 7, 2008

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Review What is a Sacrament?

• A sacrament is a visible sign of invisible grace
  instituted by Christ in order to give grace.

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• Review Sacraments of Initiation

• There are 3 Sacraments of Initiation
• Baptism
• The gateway to the Christian life.
• Forgiveness of sins, including original sin.
• Indelible Mark
• Passport to Eternal Life
• Confirmation
• One is sealed with the Holy Spirit- a mark upon
  them.
• Unites closer to Christ
• Increase in the Spirit
• Strength to spread and defend the faith
• Eucharist

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Eucharist and John 6

• What does John 6 have to do with the Eucharist?
• 3 elements
• Feeding of the Multitude
• Walking on the Sea and Quieting of the Storm
• Bread of Life Discourse
• It is this chapter, especially in the Bread of
  Life Discourse, where our Lord promises to
  institute the Eucharist.
• As catechumens- those preparing to partake in the
  Eucharist at Easter- it is beneficial to look at
  this passage today as we look at the Eucharist.

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Layout of John 6

• Feeding of the Multitude
• Walking on the Sea and Quieting of the Storm
• Bread of Life Discourse
• Question One Rabbi, when did you come here?
• Question Two What must we do, to be doing the
  works of God?
• Question Three Then what sign do you do, that
  we may see, and believe you? What work do you
  perform?
• Lord, give us this bread always.
• Question Four Is not this Jesus, the son of
  Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does
  he now say, I have come down from heaven?
• I am the bread of life
• Question Five How can this man give us his
  flesh to eat?
• Question Six This is a hard saying who can
  listen to it?
• Question Seven Jesus said to the twelve, Do you
  also wish to go away?

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John 61-15
After this Jesus went to the other side of the
Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberi-as. 2
And a multitude followed him, because they saw
the signs which he did on those who were
diseased. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and
there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the
Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5
Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a
multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to
Philip, How are we to buy bread, so that these
people may eat? 6 This he said to test him, for
he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip
answered him, Two hundred denarii would not buy
enough bread for each of them to get a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peters
brother, said to him, 9 There is a lad here who
has five barley loaves and two fish but what are
they among so many? 10 Jesus said, Make the
people sit down. Now there was much grass in the
place so the men sat down, in number about five
thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and
when he had given thanks, he distributed them to
those who were seated so also the fish, as much
as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their
fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the
fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.
13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve
baskets with fragments from the five barley
loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the
people saw the sign which he had done, they said,
This is indeed the prophet who is to come into
the world! Perceiving then that they were about
to come and take him by force to make him king,
Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
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John 61-15

• Initial scene
• Christ had just healed a paralytic and answered
  questions about this action.
• Chapter 5 ends with Him discussing Moses with the
  Jews
• Now, notice Christs actions in Ch. 6
• Crosses the Sea of Galilee
• Multitude following
• Goes up a mountain with apostles
• Passover near
• Need food
• Sound like anyone from the Old Testament???

45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the
Father it is Moses who accuses you, on whom you
set your hope. 46 If you believed Moses, you
would believe me, for he wrote of me. 47 But if
you do not believe his writings, how will you
believe my words?
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MOSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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John 61-15

• Lets analyze the rest of this passage with Ps. 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want 2
he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads
me beside still waters 3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his
names sake. 4 Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil
for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff, they
comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies thou anointest my
head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the
LORD for ever.
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John 61-15

• What can be said about this passage?
• Christ is prominently featured as the good
  shepherd, in the tradition of Moses
• However, He as the new Moses is above the Moses
  in the Old Testament.
• Compare Ex. 164 to Jn. 611
• This is what the crowd realized the
  Eschatological hope of Israel.
• So what they do seems to make sense
• However, their faith is not mature- Christ
  withdraws.
• Message for us In the face of the greatest of
  needs, there stands Christ.

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Jn. 616-24
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to
the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across
the sea to Caperna-um. It was now dark, and Jesus
had not yet come to them. 18 The sea rose because
a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed
about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking
on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They
were frightened, 20 but he said to them, It is
I do not be afraid. 21 Then they were glad to
take him into the boat, and immediately the boat
was at the land to which they were going. John
622   On the next day the people who remained on
the other side of the sea saw that there had been
only one boat there, and that Jesus had not
entered the boat with his disciples, but that his
disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, boats
from Tiberi-as came near the place where they ate
the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So
when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor
his disciples, they themselves got into the boats
and went to Caperna-um, seeking Jesus.
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Jn. 616-24

• Here, St. John gives his definitive argument for
  Christs superiority to Moses
• Ex. 1416 vs. Jn. 619
• Moses needed God to move the waters for him
  Christ walks upon them by Himself.
• Christ is more than a prophet, but God Himself.
• Christ is the Good Shepherd
• People still motivated by an imperfect faith.

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Jn. 625-27 (Question 1)
John 625   When they found him on the other side
of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did
you come here? 26 Jesus answered them, Truly,
truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you
saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the
loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to
eternal life, which the Son of man will give to
you for on him has God the Father set his seal.
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Jn. 625-27

• Crowd-gt Like a teenager
• Oh, hi Mom I didnt know you were going to be
  here.
• Christ-gt Like a parent. He knows why they are
  there.
• Meals on wheels.
• Begins to teach them the real meaning of the
  sign.
• Moving them from the Old Covenant to the New
  Covenant

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Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for
the food which endures to eternal life, which the
Son of man will give to you for on him has God
the Father set his seal.

• What have we seen so far?
• Moses-gt Man whom God set His seal on.
• Passover
• Manna in the Desert
• Christ-gt God Himself.
• At the Passover time, He gives bread to the
  hungry crowd
• Prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread
  of the Eucharist.
• This bread is something more
• Food for the Soul

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Jn. 6 28-29 (Question 2)
28 Then they said to him, What must we do, to be
doing the works of God? 29 Jesus answered them,
This is the work of God, that you believe in him
whom he has sent.

• Crowd Ok, so what is the work of God? What is
  this different kind of labor?
• Still an imperfect faith
• Christ No, no, no! You do not need to do any
  exterior work. The work you must do is to believe
  in Christ.
• Also gives reason why the Church does not allow
  anyone to receive the Eucharist.

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Jn 630-33
30 So they said to him, Then what sign do you
do, that we may see, and believe you? What work
do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in
the wilderness as it is written, He gave them
bread from heaven to eat. 32 Jesus then said
to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not
Moses who gave you the bread from heaven my
Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33
For the bread of God is that which comes down
from heaven, and gives life to the world.

• Crowd Encore, Encore!!!
• More imperfect faith
• Christ This is only an image of what God will
  truly give to the world.
• Bread the Father gives to the world- Christ

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Lord, give us this bread always.
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Jn. 635-7
John 635   Jesus said to them, I am the bread
of life he who comes to me shall not hunger, and
he who believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But
I said to you that you have seen me and yet do
not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me
will come to me and him who comes to me I will
not cast out.
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I am the bread of life

• Christ is present in many things truly and really
  
• Only in the Eucharist is He substantially present
  
• Substance- What a thing is, thingness
• Accident- Size, color, shape, etc.
• How does this happen? Transubstantiation
• Trans- across
• Substance- substances
• The substance of the bread is changed into the
  substance of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity
  of Christ, while the accidents.
• Cannot see with our eyes-gt Must sees with the
  eyes of faith

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Fruit of the Eucharist

• When we receive the Eucharist, we are actually
  communing with Christ
• We also bring ourselves into communion with the
  Body of Christ
• A note of caution
• We are not worthy
• We must discern within ourselves

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Jn. 638-40
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my
own will, but the will of him who sent me 39
and this is the will of him who sent me, that I
should lose nothing of all that he has given me,
but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is
the will of my Father, that every one who sees
the Son and believes in him should have eternal
life and I will raise him up at the last day.
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1. Everything is returned to the Father

• Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of
  the Holy Spirit, all Glory is Yours, Almighty
  Father, forever and ever.
• The believer is to do only what the Father wants
  and to return to Him all praise that he or she
  may receive.

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2. Instituted by Christ by the Fathers Will
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3. The Last Day

• Those things pertaining to the Last Day, we refer
  to as Eschatology.
• Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 20 A significant
  consequence of the eschatological tension
  inherent in the Eucharist is also the fact that
  it spurs us on our journey through history and
  plants a seed of living hope in our daily
  commitment to the work before us.
• In the Eucharist we receive not only food for
  that day, but we also prepare for our journey to
  heaven.
• Eucharist is a fortaste of heaven.

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Jn. 641-44 (Question 4)
John 641   The Jews then murmured at him,
because he said, I am the bread which came down
from heaven. 42 They said, Is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we
know? How does he now say, I have come down from
heaven? 43 Jesus answered them, Do not murmur
among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me
unless the Father who sent me draws him and I
will raise him up at the last day.

• Crowd Incredulity!
• We are not supposed to know where the Messiah
  came from, but we know where Jesus came from.
• Christ Not so fast.
• Affirms that He is in a filial relationship with
  the Father.
• And I will raise Him-gt Who can do this?

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Jn. 645-47
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall
all be taught by God. Every one who has heard
and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not
that any one has seen the Father except him who
is from God he has seen the Father. 47 Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal
life.

• More proof
• They shall be taught by God who is teaching
  them now?
• Do not be unbelieving, but believe.

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Jn. 648-52
48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate
the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50
This is the bread which comes down from heaven,
that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am
the living bread which came down from heaven if
any one eats of this bread, he will live for
ever and the bread which I shall give for the
life of the world is my flesh.
I am- recalls the burning bush. What we are
seeing-gt Old is revealed in the New Manna in
the Desert-gt Ate and Died Manna of Christ-gt Eat
and Live
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Exodus Event

• The Exodus event foreshadows the actions of
  Christ
• Exodus liberates people from slavery in Egypt
• Christ liberates people from the slavery of sin
• Both times- new freedom
• Distinctive of the Passover? Sacrificing of a
  Lamb
• Distinctive of the Last Supper? Sacrifice of
  Christ Himself

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Eucharist as Sacrifice

• Christ truly sacrificed Himself
• In the Liturgy, we remember the events of
  salvation
• But not as history!
• The liturgy is a memorial in the sense that they
  become present in the here and now.
• Outgrowth of the Old Testament understanding of
  the Exodus event.
• Key Christ is NOT sacrificed again!
• Rather, it is an appropriation of those graces
  won by Christ upon that particular moment in
  time.
• In the Old Testament- separate priest and victim
• Christ acts as both priest and victim

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Eucharist as Sacrifice

• Notice that in this picture, it is not just the
  priest or the priest and Christ.
• Communion of Saints also present
• In the Mass, Heaven literally comes to earth
• The Mass can be offered for those who have died.

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Eucharist as Sacrifice

• For us
• Forgives venial sins
• Prayers for those who have died
• Fulfill Christs injunction to Do this in memory
  of me.

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Jn. 652-59 (Question 5)
52   The Jews then disputed among themselves,
saying, How can this man give us his flesh to
eat? 53 So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of man and drink his blood, you have no life in
you 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my
blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh
and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who eats me will
live because of me. 58 This is the bread which
came down from heaven, not such as the fathers
ate and died he who eats this bread will live
for ever. 59 This he said in the synagogue, as
he taught at Caperna-um.
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Practical Considerations

• 1. Cannibalism
• 2. Eats my flesh and drinks my blood
• Christ is wholly present under both forms of
  bread and wine
• Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when
  it is distributed under both kinds.

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Eucharist Source and Summit of the Christian Life
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Jn. 660-64 (Question 6)
John 660   Many of his disciples, when they
heard it, said, This is a hard saying who can
listen to it? 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself
that his disciples murmured at it, said to them,
Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if
you were to see the Son of man ascending where he
was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life,
the flesh is of no avail the words that I have
spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there
are some of you that do not believe. For Jesus
knew from the first who those were that did not
believe, and who it was that would betray him.
65 And he said, This is why I told you that no
one can come to me unless it is granted him by
the Father.
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Jn. 665-69
John 666   After this many of his disciples drew
back and no longer went about with him. 67 Jesus
said to the twelve, Do you also wish to go
away? 68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to
whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life 69 and we have believed, and have come to
know, that you are the Holy One of God.
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