Homily

This Sunday Gospel brings us back to the synagogue of Capernaum where Jesus is speaking at length about the bread of life. Jesus, referring to the bible passage on the manna sent from heaven to the people of Israel in the desert, applies to himself the content of the Bible message by saying: "I am the bread come down from heaven." Hearing these words, those who are present start murmuring. A similar scene happened at the beginning of Jesus’ public life when he first preached. Hearing that statement those who were present asked themselves how he could affirm that he was coming down from heaven. Isn’t he from Nazareth? Many know his parents; they even remember their names. It is not possible for him to come from high. And yet, the scandal of that time and now, actually of all history, is that a weak and frail man, in no way well known in his origin, could come from heaven. It was and still is unthinkable that this man from Nazareth could be the Son of God on earth. It is difficult, if not impossible for human logic, to think that heaven may show itself on the earth. And what is said of Jesus should be applied also to his visible body that is the Church. How is it possible that a poor Christian community equipped only of fragile sacramental signs and of a little book like the scriptures, may be an instrument of salvation? And yet, the heart of Christian faith is hidden in this mystery: the infinite chooses the finite in order to show himself; the Word that created the world chooses human words to manifest itself; the One who created everything becomes "real" presence in some bread and some wine; the Lord of heaven and earth makes himself present there where two or three people gather in his name.
This is why still today the "murmurings" of Nazareth, of Capernaum and of many other cities continue. Thus, this choice of God, before being an incomprehensible mystery for our reason, is an unfathomable mystery of love: men and women do not need superhuman efforts anymore in order to understand something of heaven, they do not need to make extraordinary deeds to reach the Lord; they do not need learned and distant mediators to be able to communicate with God. Everyone, small and great , wise and ignorant, rich and poor, saints and sinners, we can all get close to God through Jesus’ body and words; that is, of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth’s son. The apostle John writes, "No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known" (Jn 1:18). Therefore if we want to see God’s face, we should look at the Son’s features; if we desire to understand better God’s actions we should look at the Son’s deeds; if we want to listen to God we should listen to the Gospel. We will hear Jesus’ consoling words to Philip, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9).
"I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die." The problem of these words for us, differently from the people from Capernaum, maybe starts from our complacent way of listening to them, in which we risk not recognizing immediately their blasting strength. Their content is clear: Jesus is the salvation of the people of Israel as well as the manna was in the desert. This mystery - I repeat - before surprising us on a rational and logical basis - should amaze us because of its love. Who, but God, could ever have invented such a great mystery of love as to become present to those whom he loves through the gift of Jesus, of his body, of his Gospel? Truly it is an unfathomable mystery of love! It is undoubtedly inconceivable for a human mind. Yes, no human being could have dared so much. Only the unbelievable love of God for men and women was able to invent and make real the gift of his Son as bread of eternal life. Jesus does not stop repeating it, and he adds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." What was granted to Moses happens even more often with Jesus. Those who link themselves with Jesus (those who eat his flesh) have eternal life. The Gospel does not say they "will have" but rather "have" eternal life from now, that is, they receive the gift of a life that does not end; in the fourth Gospel "eternal life" is a synonym of "divine life." The dominant tone in Jesus’ speech wants to lead human beings to encounter him, be united to him, so that they may become one thing with him, so that they can live a life without limit, without borders, even time-related borders. Thus we can fully understand the highest exhortation that the apostle Paul addresses to the Ephesians: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Eph 5:1-2).
Truly the "bread that came down from heaven" sustains the life of the church as well as the life of each single believer. John Paul II, in his last encyclical about the Eucharist states: "The Eucharist, as Christ's saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history"(n.9). Elijah’s story already prefigured this mystery. The prophet, persecuted by the queen Jezebel, was forced to flee. After an exhausting escape, he slumped to the ground, tired and sad and only desired death. While his reserves of strength, mostly the spiritual ones, were failing, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, wakened him from his torpor and said to him: "Get up and eat!" Elijah saw nearby his head a cake and ate it. But then he laid down again. The angel had to come back to arouse him again, as if to signify the need of always being called by the angel and of continuing to receive nourishment from the "bread of life." In short, no one can feel self-sufficient and everyone is always in need of nourishment. The Bible author concludes: "then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God" (1 Kings 19:8). The prophet walked the way of the people of Israel, crossing the entire desert until the mount where Moses met God. It is the image of the pilgrimage of each Christian community and of each believer. The Lord Jesus, living bread come down from heaven, becomes our food to sustain us on our path towards the mount of the encounter with God.