Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST - 2.6.02 Dt 8,2-3.14-16; 1 Cor 10,16-17; Jn 6,51-58 Bread on the table Bread in the Bible is a polyvalent symbol: it was made from wheat or barley grains: wheat-bread was the bread of the rich as it was worth twice as much as the barley-bread, the only bread the poor could afford. It was baked leavened or unleavened (matsah); and was produced in many shapes: flat cake or wafer; hard biscuit or cake, disc-shaped or round, or even a circular loaf with hole in centre, flat or raised in the shape of humans or of animals... Baking was mainly the work of women, though the bread for cultic usage was made by priests, Lev 24,5. (Today the Jewish families take great care in preparing the special unleavened bread for Passover, which is called ‘Matsah shel Mitzvah’: it means ‘bread of the Covenant’& from it, at the Seder Meal, people are allowed to eat only a small morsel each, the size of an olive) . Bread carries the general meaning of food, since bread was the basic part of a meal & to eat bread meant to share a meal. At the same time bread pointed to many religious connotations. From the earliest times -in Holy Land & in the countries nearby-, bread was considered basic nourishment and basic diet for the preservation of life: Adam himself (in Gen. 3,19) was ordered: ‘By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread’. To have food on the table was symbol of security and serenity in all that was relevant in life. The very process of bread-making: production - distribution - preparation - consumption... was part & parcel of an ancient civilization and of God’s blessings. At special times it was eaten to recall tragic events, contrasts and hardships, endured during previous centuries. On such memories, the Bible uses expressions like "bread: of adversity (Is. 30,20) - of tears (Ps, 80,5) - of mourners (Hos.9,4) - of idleness (Prov 20,17) - of wickedness (Prov 4,17)" - of deception (Prov 20,19) - staff of bread (Ps.105,16)". Bread is solid food (lelem): people must share it with the hungry (Isa 58,7), and never must they ‘eat one another as if it’s bread’. (Ps. 14,4). A Theology of bread includes the above concepts and moves towards bread as gift of God. Originally, the Bread of Presence were the twelve loaves of unleavened bread, that were displayed in the Sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem, just in front of the curtain which hid from view the Holy of Holies, where Yahweh’s own presence was located. These 12 loaves were meant to be a remembrance of the ‘Manna’ eaten in the desert and a symbol of the first covenant between God and his people (Lev 24, 5-9). In this context, the Bible talks about "bread: of blessing - of deliverance - of the Covenant - & of the Presence - the saving bread - the bread from heaven". At special festivals, people donated loaves of Unleavened Bread as offerings & sacrifices, or as First Fruits to God. Out of this rich background, John’s Gospel and the New Testament articulate & develop the doctrine of ‘bread of life’. In life, there is more than bodily food: ‘Not by bread alone’... said Jesus (Mt 4,3). In our Eucharist, Bread & wine signify the Real Presence of Jesus our Risen Lord: body, blood, soul & divinity (1Cor 11,23+). At Mass, we receive the ‘bread of life’, eat it as food & are nourished by Him. Today’s Gospel insists that this bread comes down from heaven & gives life to the world; - it has more power than the Manna given to the ancestors in the desert. It’s a God-given bread that nourishes & takes us into eternal life. In religious language, to eat is the same as "to receive in oneself". Catholics use unleavened bread, to link with Jesus who used unleavened bread (Matsah) at Last Supper & to relate to the Jewish "Bread of the Presence" in the Temple. ______________________________________ |
