August 2000

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst (Jn. 6:35).

In his Gospel John narrates that Jesus went to Capernaum after the multiplication of the loaves, and there, in his discourse on the bread of life, among other things, he said: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (Jn. 6:27).
For those who were listening to him it was evident that he was speaking of the manna and the expectations for a “second” manna which would come down from heaven during the Messianic times.
Shortly afterwards, in that same discourse, Jesus presents himself to the crowd, which has not yet understood, as the true bread come down from heaven which must be accepted through faith:

«I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.»

Jesus already sees himself as bread. This then is the ultimate purpose of his life on earth. To become bread in order to be eaten. To become bread in order to communicate his life to us, to transform us into himself. So far the spiritual significance of these words, with its references to the Old Testament, is clear. But the discourse becomes mysterious and difficult when further ahead, Jesus says of himself: “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world'' (Jn. 6:51), and “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you” (Jn. 6:53).
It's the announcement of the Eucharist which scandalizes and distances many disciples. Yet this is Jesus' greatest gift to humanity: this intimate union with him present in the sacrament of the Eucharist which satisfies body and soul and gives the fullness of joy.
When we are nourished by this bread, we no longer hunger, in the sense that our every desire for love and truth is satisfied by the One who is Love itself, Truth itself.

«I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.»

It is true, this bread nourishes us with him even here on earth, but it is given to us in order that we in turn satisfy the spiritual and material hunger of the people around us.
Christ is proclaimed to the world not so much through the Eucharist, but through the lives of Christians nourished by the Eucharist and by the Word. They preach the Gospel with their lives and words, thereby bringing the presence of Christ in the midst of men and women.
The life of the Christian community, thanks to the Eucharist, becomes the life of Jesus, therefore, a life capable of giving love, the life of God to others.

«I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.»

By using the metaphor of bread, Jesus teaches us the most authentic, the most “Christian” way to love our neighbor.
What does loving really mean?
Loving means “making ourselves one” with everyone, making ourselves one in what others want, in the smallest and most insignificant things, in things that might not be very important to us but in which they are interested.
Jesus gave us a stupendous example of this way of loving by making himself “bread” for us. He makes himself “bread” in order to enter within everyone, to make himself edible, to make himself one with everyone, to serve, to love everyone.
So we too should make ourselves one to the point of allowing ourselves to be “eaten”.
This is love, making ourselves one in a way that makes others feel nourished by our love, comforted, uplifted, understood.

Chiara Lubich