Would you believe that in the early days of Christianity, one of the reasons for the persecution of Christians was because "they practice cannibalism?" How did that come about? It was because of the Eucharistic celebrations. In the Eucharist, the Christians "eat the Body of Christ and drink his Blood."
Do we in fact eat the Body of Christ and drink his blood when we celebrate the Eucharist? Or are we making believe that the piece of host we eat, and the grape wine we drink is Jesus? Or as some Protestants believe, it is just a symbol or reminder?
In the early days of Christianity the two parts of the Mass were called: the "Missa catechumenorum" (Mass of the catechumen or learners), and the "Missa fidelium" (Mass of the faithful). At the end of the first part of the Mass, all who were not yet baptized had to leave. Only the faithful remained to celebrate the Eucharist. There were rumors that Christians ate flesh and drank blood during this secret part of their worship. Hence, the people hostile to the early Christians claim that Christians were cannibals.
The central act of Christian worship, the Eucharist, brings God's gift of Jesus Christ to us in the appearance of bread and wine. The setting for today's Gospel is the words of Jesus: "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. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day." (John 6: 53- 54)
The Gospel records the response of the disciples to these words of Jesus. They murmured, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" No wonder the early Romans, together with others throughout the centuries, have been scandalized by these words about eating flesh and drinking blood. These words may seem primitive and gross, almost barbaric to our scientific age. Certainly they appear to be offensive to our reason and intellect.
Maybe these words of Jesus are so familiar to us that we have taken them for granted. But for missionaries in the non-Christian countries, especially where there are Muslims, the talk of a God who comes to us humans through the body and blood of Christ is incomprehensible. Lots of patient explaining is needed. "This teaching is difficult," as the disciples of Jesus complained.
It is important then to keep in mind that in Holy Communion we are not eating a biological dead body of Christ, or drinking blood taken from the dead body of Christ. In Holy Communion we receive the living, risen and glorified Lord into ourselves thereby, instead of assimilating Christ into our body, we are assimilated into his Risen Life.
God uses ordinary things of life in coming to us personally, to renew and strengthen us, assuring us of forgiveness and salvation. Christ is with us in all of life. "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them." (John 6:56)
When the disciples complained about this difficult saying, Jesus asked if they were scandalized. Not all the followers of Jesus could accept his words. Some turned away and left him.
Only the twelve disciples seemed faithful. In this setting Simon Peter speaks for the group when they are given the choice between deserting their Lord or not. Peter makes a confession of faith: "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
This difficult chapter of John's Gospel points to an essential truth about Christian faith and life sometimes misunderstood, especially by people outside of the community of believers.
Being a Christian is not primarily subscribing to a set of commandments, rules and regulations, nor is it agreeing with certain teachings. Being a Christian is a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, which leads to discipleship. When Jesus asked the twelve if they also wanted to leave him, Peter responded with conviction - they will follow him.
There are people who love to discuss religion. They can argue theological points for hours. All this is safe and perhaps informative, but it can be done with no personal commitment. God can be kept at a distance through it all. It's one thing to know about Jesus. It's something else to know Jesus Christ.
College theology professors may have no involvement whatsoever in the life of the Church. They may know almost everything about theology but not believe in Christ and his Church personally. When a pastor naively expressed surprise that theological professors in a European university never went to church, the response was, "Why? Theology has nothing to do with the Church."
During our pilgrimage to the Holy Land some years ago, our tourist guide was an excellent storyteller. He spoke like a biblical scholar. He could explain the history of the important places in the context of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, even a Hollywood version. But he remained a Jew. With all that knowledge, he did not become a Christian. It was just a job.
In today's reading, the disciples were disturbed, because they had to make a decision, a commitment to follow Jesus with all the uncertainty and risk involved. It would be tempting to play it safe and not stake your life on this Jesus - who might or might not be the Messiah. But Jesus made it plain that a radical, personal commitment is the proper response to the graciousness of God, who comes to love us and save us.
Faith is the word, which best describes our response to the God, who enters the world fully and completely in Jesus, in order to love us and forgive us.
And for what? That we might share in the gift of life eternal. Faith is not mere intellectual assent, a vague kind of agreement that something is true. It is staking our life on God's promise. It affects every area of our being.
My father used to say that he had all the opportunities of having several wives and cheating in business. But when he became a Catholic, he had to give up all the opportunities.
There's an old story, which dramatically illustrates authentic faith. A tightrope walker in New York City wanted to show his skills in dramatic fashion. He devised a plan to walk on a tightrope from the 60th floor of a skyscraper on one side of a downtown Manhattan street to the 60th floor of the building across the street. A group of people was watching him as he prepared for the stunt.
One spectator asked a friend, "Do you believe he'll make it?" The other replied, "Of course I believe he'll make it. He's the best. He's the best tightrope walker in the world." Now that's one kind of faith.
Then the first person asked his friend, "Would you ride piggy-back when he walks across the wire?" Now that's another kind of faith. That puts things in a totally different perspective!
Here is faith that involves risking your whole life. It's what we sometimes call "a leap of faith." Biblical faith is like this. It's staking your whole life on the promise of Jesus Christ. The disciples were called to make this kind of decision. So are we.
Christian faith is difficult because it calls on us to give up our independence and trust totally in God.
However, we would like to have the blessing of God in our homes and in our shops, but at the same time we have Buddha as a back up. That's why we place the statue of Buddha beside the St. Niño, and we consult feng sui just in case the blessing of God doesn't work. We like to have God in our lives, but on our own terms. We'd rather run things our own way as the song of Frank Sinatra goes: "I did it my way," but we also want to have God available for emergencies.
There are parts of our lives we'd like to hide from God. For some people the Church is fine unless it interferes with their daily life. There are attractive alternatives seeking our commitment - money, success, popularity, power, sex, and more.
Yet the God who comes to us in Jesus Christ calls us to total commitment. Only when Christ is number one in our lives will all the other blessings of life find their proper place. Christian faith touches every aspect of life. Like the twelve disciples, we are called to follow Jesus totally and without reservation.
God is gracious to you and me, coming to us in Jesus Christ to love us and forgive us as we are and where we are. We are assured of His unfailing love and strength for each day.
As the gracious God comes to us in this Eucharist, let us, like Israel of old, respond, "Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God." Amen.