We are in the midst of the "Bread of Life" discourse by the writer of the Gospel of John. Last week we heard about the Israelites who were grumbling about food and this week we hear the crowd murmuring about who Jesus says he is. Murmuring normally shows shortsightedness more than being stubborn. The Jews were murmuring because they didn't understand who Jesus was, they say: "Is this not... the son of Joseph?" They were having trouble understanding Jesus as more than they saw in front of them. Jesus, meanwhile, is trying to teach the crowd that he is the way to eternal life and that we can never attain eternal life on our own - it is always God's gift.
In the readings this Sunday we are reminded how persistent God is in bringing us to new and eternal life. We hear about Elijah in the first reading, who is completely worn out (we can all identify with that feeling!). God sends him an angel twice to feed him and send him to continue his journey to Horeb, "the mountain of God". In the Gospel Jesus continues to reveal himself as the bread sent by God to nourish them (and us) for the road to eternal life. Jesus gives his life so that we might have new life. We are surprised to find out that Jesus himself, is the "bread... from heaven," and that this is both the promise and fulfillment of the eternal life for which we all long. Jesus tells us he is "the living bread" and when we share in this Bread we "will live forever."
God shows his persistence in bringing us to new and eternal life by sending the Son who gives his life for us. But this is not without cost. The bread of life is the bread of self-sacrifice. To eat the bread of life is to eat the bread of suffering. When we encounter Jesus by eating the bread of life we take Jesus' life of self-giving. That is why the gospel is so difficult, and why the Jews are really murmuring. We, too, must die so that we might live forever.
adapted from "Living Liturgy", Liturgical Press, 2008
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