Commentary on the Gospel of
Yet again we contemplate that Jesus is the bread of life. Our Bible is replete with metaphors and images, and therefore often grossly misunderstood. Today’s Gospel is a case in point. Jesus is speaking at one level and the Jews are hearing him at another level. Hence the question: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata once instructed her Sisters: “Let the people eat you up!” She was encouraging them to be totally given as Jesus was. The people are the body of Christ. Let’s eat and be eaten. Jesus’ promise is to raise us up on the last day. This is significant.
Many of us expect to be perfect Christians right from our baptism. Sanctity is something we grow into. We reach it fully only on ‘the last day’. The Father draws us towards it and we chase it all our lives. The baptism of Philip is our subject in the first reading. We note the working of the Spirit as he/she orchestrates the whole drama. Philip was used by the Spirit to prepare the Ethiopian before his baptism; and he faded into insignificance after it. Let us long to be such humble agents of grace.
