Radical Trust

A Reflection on the Gospel for June 11th, 2023:
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

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John
6.51-59

Jesus said to the people: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The people then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them 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 abides in me, and I in them.

“Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

Jesus uses many metaphors throughout the Gospels to teach the disciples about His nature, His desire for us as children of God, and His relationship with the Father. Earlier in the Gospel of John, He refers to himself  as the “door” (John 10:7), and the “true vine” (John 15:1). However, in today’s Gospel reading, which is part of what is referred to as the “Bread of Life Discourse,” He is emphatically not being metaphorical but literal: He is the living bread, His flesh is “true food” and his blood “true drink.”

The disciples heard an exceptionally radical teaching, indeed, in the synagogue that day. Imagine the wide-eyed disbelief, immediate confusion, and subsequent chatter among them as they tried to process what Jesus was saying. Many probably waited for Him to reveal the hidden metaphor, only to be further agitated when He doubled down and emphasized the literal reality of this teaching, causing many disciples to turn away from following Him. 

The Twelve who did remain with Jesus after this radical teaching required an equal dose of radical trust. And that got me thinking, “Do I have radical trust in Jesus?”

I came from the Anglican tradition. I converted to the Catholic faith in my early forties but, up until that time, I was an Anglican in name only, and I did not practise my faith. It seemed irrelevant, archaic, and confusing, and I was largely disinterested -– a very lukewarm Christian. It took a long time for me simply to understand the concept of the Living Jesus in the Eucharist, let alone embrace it. But slowly -– very slowly -– it finally made sense. It took time, patience, and God’s grace to transition this teaching from my head to my heart. 

Spending time with today’s Gospel, however, has made me turn inward; if I profess to understand and proclaim the Living Jesus in the Eucharist, do my actions reflect it when I approach the Eucharist? Is my heart full of and for Jesus?

My husband is a deacon, and so he has had the privilege of distributing Communion hundreds of times. Sometimes, after Mass, he will mention how moved he can be when someone approaches the altar in deep humility and reverence for what or, more precisely, Who they are about to receive. Somehow this stings a bit because, if I’m honest, I’ve let the Eucharist become a part of the Mass and not the summit of the Mass: Jesus present, body, blood, soul, and divinity. And, so, I need to repent.

Dear Jesus, I love you. I am sorry for the times when I have been complacent and distracted during Communion. Help me to reorient my heart so that I can receive You fully in the Eucharist as the centre and Lord of my life. Please help me to radically trust in You, so that I may become the disciple you have created me to be. Amen.  



Patty Viscount

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