In this concise Gospel of only eight verses, Jesus repeats his message eight times: He who eats my flesh will live forever. This repetition creates a responsory cadence, a divine back-and-forth wave, in the style of John advancing in concentric ascending circles. It’s like throwing a pebble into the water and watching the circles grow larger and larger.
Do you imagine the Son of God, who sees deep into the hearts and can feel the voids, worries, and brokenness of those who approach him? In the style of an experienced doctor, he urges them to stop putting their faith in things that don’t nourish or save.
He transitions from being the living bread to a more profound image: his flesh, emphatically declaring that he holds the secret that can alter the route, meaning, and essence of life.
He uses the image of “eating my flesh,” a problematic concept in their religious context, yet it’s a stark urgency to wounded people before they lose their lives; Jesus sees a field with many wounded to whom the leaders don’t help but submerge in despair because the message these people hear is that they are not worthy.
Jesus doesn’t merely suggest; he insists eight times, urging them to ‘eat my flesh,’ not just to survive but to truly live. We would not use the metaphor of “eating Christ,” but still, we recognize some truths are hard to “swallow.”
He who eats my flesh has eternal life. Digest Christ’s flesh, and be Christ-like today!