Jesus’ Body and Blood are one with the divine I AM
Gospel reading for July 28, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus is the Bread from Heaven who gives life to the world. For the next five weeks, we will reflect on this theme as found in the Gospel of John chapter 6 since these are the Gospel readings that the church proclaims at Sunday Mass through the end of August. Jesus communicates his own experience of God, his own divine life – the life of heaven – to all who believe in him and ingest his life as bread and wine. We begin with the story of the multiplication of the loaves.
A large group of people gathers in front of Jesus. And Jesus wonders aloud, though he knows what he will do, to the disciples, about feeding all these people: "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" The disciples focus on limits, on what they can buy to feed the people or what little food they have collected. Jesus wants to draw them, and us, beyond our limited perception to know with the knowledge of God. Jesus will give them, and us, eternal life – the divine mode of living and knowing, if they open to him in faith. But this opening requires transcending our limited knowing.
Jesus says to the disciples: “Have the people recline.” This is a communal meal. Jesus wants to eat with the people. “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.” Jesus refers the situation to God. Jesus thanks God and abundance follows. Opening one’s spirit to the Divine Spirit makes miracles. Faith, exercised in prayer, is the key to receiving the gift of God. And all the people “had their fill.” Even more, there was a lot of food left over. This incredible abundance signifies the gratuity and infinity of God. This connects to the next story in John chapter 6.
Immediately after this incident of the gratuitous overflow of food, there is the story of Jesus walking on water, specifically the Sea of Galilee. The disciples cross the Sea of Galilee to reach Capernaum, and they see Jesus coming to them on the water. They grow afraid, but Jesus says to them: “I AM. Do not be afraid.” Jesus proclaims the divine name, God’s name. Jesus identifies himself with God. And, classically, Jesus tells them to let go of fear. Jesus is saying, God is here, now, with us, within us, and one with us as God is one with Jesus. This deep divine knowledge frees us from fear, from all that would limit our mode of knowing, from all that imprisons us.
Jesus reveals his true identity amidst the storm. Jesus is intimately connected to the divine I AM, the God who revealed the divine self to be YHWH. God is That Which Is even as God is mystery beyond being. The revelation of the divine I AM is crucial. For, the bread of life is the great I AM of God in the flesh of Jesus. Thus, when we eat Jesus Christ’s Body and drink his Blood, we ingest the divine I AM to awaken to the same I AM in ourselves.
This is crucial for understanding our own identity. We are free when we realize we are one with the Great I AM. When we ask, “Who am I?” we respond with, “I am simple presence, pure being, and nondual love.” Our I am is one with the Great I AM. Therefore, let us sink into silence and simply trust in God’s presence within us. Take a moment to breathe deeply. Breathe in and repeat, “I AM.” Breathe out and repeat, “I AM.” Breathe in, breathe out, and accept That Which Is.
After Jesus multiplies the bread and fish, the crowd, utterly amazed, wants to seize him and make him king! He withdraws into solitude to escape this conventional way of thinking. The people misunderstand his identity. They want a king of might who will assert Israel’s strength and lead the nation to victory, or, at least, rescue them from their problems. But Jesus is a suffering servant - a crucified king. He gives himself to us as bread and wine. We must be wary of trying to turn Jesus into something he is not. Do we try to make Jesus into what our egos want? That is, do we attempt to make Jesus a muscular savior who will vindicate us and wipe out our enemies? If we do, we are acting like those Christians who fought in the crusades, condemned at the inquisition, instilled a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, or called for war based on the apocalyptic visions of maniacs. Seizing Jesus is a violation of faith, which allows God to be God and not who we think or even want God to be. It is to forget our connection to the I AM and ignore Jesus as the Bread from Heaven.