John 6:52Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Jews at that time received no benefit from what was said. But we now truly enjoy this blessing. Therefore we must know the wonder of these mysteries, what it consists in, why it was given, and what benefit comes from it.

"We are one body," it is said, "and members of His Flesh and of His bones" (Eph 4:4; 5:30). Let the initiated attend to these words.

Therefore, so that we may be members of Christ's Flesh not only by love, but in very deed, let us partake of this Flesh.

This takes place through the food which Christ has given, in order to express His great love for us. For this reason He mingled Himself with us and blended His Body into us.

He did this so that we might become one thing, like a body joined to its head. This is the sign of the strongest love.

Job also indicated this when he spoke of his household, who loved him so intensely that they wished to be joined to his flesh. "Who would give us to be filled with his flesh?" (Job 31:31).

They spoke thus to express their great love for him. Christ acted for the same purpose. To bring us into greater fellowship with Himself and to show His love for us, He gave to those who desire Him not only to see Him.

He gave them also to touch Him, to eat Him, to touch His Flesh with their teeth, to be united with Him, and to satisfy every desire with Him.

Let us depart from this table like lions breathing fire, terrible to the devil, mindful of our Head and of the love He has shown us.

Parents often hand their children over to others to be nursed. But I, says the Savior, do not do this. I nourish you with My own Flesh.

I offer Myself to you, desiring that you all be noble, and giving you good hopes for the future. He who gave Himself to you here will do so much more there.

I willed to be your brother. For your sake I shared in flesh and blood. Again I give you this Flesh and Blood, through which I became akin to you.

This Blood gives us a blooming and royal appearance. It produces indescribable beauty. It does not allow the nobility of the soul to wither, for it continually waters and nourishes it.

Our blood, formed from food, does not become blood immediately, but first becomes something else. This Blood is not so. It immediately waters the soul and gives it a certain great power.

This Blood, when worthily received, drives demons away and banishes them far from us. It calls angels and the Master of angels to us.

Demons flee from where they see the Master's Blood, and angels gather there. When this Blood was poured out on the Cross, it washed the whole world.

Blessed Paul philosophized much about this Blood in the Epistle to the Hebrews. This Blood cleansed the inaccessible place and the Holy of Holies.

If its type had such power in the Hebrew temple and in Egypt, when the doorposts were anointed with blood, how much more does the truth itself have power?

This Blood sanctified the golden altar. Without it the high priest did not dare to enter the inaccessible place. This Blood appointed the priest.

In figures it washed away sins. If it had such power in figures, and if death so feared the shadow, tell me, can it fail to fear the truth itself?

This Blood is the salvation of our souls. By it the soul is washed. By it the soul is adorned. By it the soul is set aflame.

It makes our soul purer than gold. This Blood was poured out and made heaven accessible to us.

Truly fearful are the mysteries of the Church. Truly fearful is the altar. From paradise a fountain went forth, pouring out visible rivers.

From this table comes a fountain that brings forth spiritual rivers. Beside this fountain are planted not barren willows, but trees reaching to heaven itself, bearing fruit always ripe and never fading.

If anyone is tormented by heat, let him go to this fountain and cool his burning. This fountain destroys drought and refreshes everything burned, burned not by the sun, but by the devil's fiery darts.

Its beginning is from above, and its source is there also. From there it is supplied with water. This fountain has many streams, which the Comforter brings forth.

The Son is mediator in this, not cutting a channel for them with a spade, but opening our disposition within us. This fountain is a fountain of light, pouring out rays of truth.

The heavenly powers also gather to it, to behold the beauty of its streams. They see more clearly the power of the gifts set before us and their unapproachable radiance.

If it were possible for someone to place his hand or tongue into molten gold, they would at once become golden. The mysteries set before us work the same effect, and far more, upon the soul.

This river boils and rushes more fiercely than fire, yet it does not burn. It only purifies everything it touches.

Long ago this Blood was prefigured on the altars, in the sacrifices prescribed by the Law. It is the price of the world. By it Christ purchased the Church.

By it He adorned her entirely. A man who buys servants gives gold for them, and then, if he wishes to adorn them, adorns them with gold.

So also Christ purchased us with Blood and adorned us with Blood. Those who partake of this Blood stand together with angels, archangels, and the powers above.

They are clothed in the royal garment of Christ and have spiritual weapons. Yet in saying this I have not said anything great. They are clothed in the King Himself.

As great and wondrous as this mystery is, so also it is true that if you approach it with purity, you approach for salvation. But if with an evil conscience, you approach for punishment and torment.

For it is said, "He who eats and drinks" the Lord "unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself" (1 Cor 11:29).

If those who defile the royal purple are punished in the same way as those who tear it, why is it surprising if those who receive the Body with an impure thought suffer the same punishment as those who pierced it with nails?

See what fearful punishment Paul indicates when he says, "Anyone who rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

"Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, and counted the Blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified an unholy thing?" (Heb 10:28-29).

Let us then, beloved, be attentive to ourselves while enjoying such good things. If a desire arises in us to say something shameful, or if we notice anger or any other passion mastering us, let us consider what we have been counted worthy to receive.

Let us consider what Spirit we have received. Such a thought will bridle our irrational passions. How long will we remain attached to present things?

How long will we not rise up? How long will we be negligent of our salvation? Let us consider what God has counted us worthy of.

Let us give thanks and glorify Him, not by faith only, but also by our deeds. Then we may be counted worthy of the future good things, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

It is fitting to "seek by seeking." That is, by applying the most intense zeal to this, one must not turn aside anywhere into empty thoughts.

The more difficult an obstacle proves to be, the sharper the mind must be there. One must seize what is hidden from our understanding with a stronger exertion of the will.

But the uneducated and undisciplined mind, when something escapes it, shows complete contempt for it through unbelief or doubt.

It turns away from what is above it as though from something counterfeit and false. Through ignorant audacity it reaches the extreme of contempt.

Indeed, to be unwilling to yield to anything, and to think that nothing is greater than oneself, is this not exactly what we have just said?

If we look closely at the essence of the matter, we will find the Jews to have fallen into this condition.

They ought to have received the Savior's words immediately, since they had already seen many wondrous manifestations of His Divine power and unconquerable authority over all things.

Concerning what was inaccessible to their understanding, they should have inquired and asked Him for instruction about whatever might cause them difficulty.

Again they foolishly say this "How?" about God, as though not knowing that such speech is filled with every blasphemy.

For the power to accomplish all things without hindrance belongs to God. But they were soulish, as blessed Paul says (1 Cor 2:14).

They did not receive the things that are of the Spirit of God. So this holy mystery appears to them as foolishness.

Therefore, drawing profit from this, and correcting our own life by the things through which others fall, we must have unquestioning faith when receiving the Divine mysteries.

We must not set this "How?" against anything communicated to us. This is a Jewish word, and for that reason it becomes the cause of extreme punishment.

So also the ruler of the Jewish assembly, Nicodemus, asked, "How can these things be?" (Jn 3:9), when he was listening to Divine words.

He was rightly mocked when he heard, "You are the teacher of Israel, and do you not know this?" (Jn 3:10).

Therefore, becoming more skilled in acquiring what is profitable, even through the foolishness of others, let us refuse to say this "How?" about anything God does.

Rather, let us hasten to dedicate to Him the knowledge of the way of our deeds (Prov 21:29).

Indeed, no one knows what God is by nature. Yet a man receives justification by believing "that He exists and that He becomes the rewarder of those who seek Him" (Heb 11:6).

In exactly the same way, he does not know how God accomplishes anything in each matter.

But if he entrusts the outcome of the matter to faith and acknowledges God's omnipotence over all, he will receive no small reward for such a good disposition.

Desiring precisely this disposition in us, the Master of all Himself says through the prophet Isaiah,

"For My counsels are not as your counsels, nor are your ways as My ways, says the Lord.

But as heaven is distant from earth, so are My ways distant from your ways, and your thoughts from My thought" (Is 55:8-9).

But will He who so far surpasses you in wisdom and power not be able to act wondrously and be above your understanding?

I allow myself to bring forward yet another argument about this, one that seems to me not without value.

Those who in this life practice what is called mechanical art often promise to accomplish something great. Before people see it, the manner of its accomplishment is hidden from the minds of the hearers.

But when we see the skill that belongs to them, then even before the very experience we accept their promise by faith, no longer daring to resist them.

How then, one may ask, are those not justly guilty of a terrible offense who dare to dishonor by distrust God, the supreme Craftsman of all?

They do not refuse to say "How?" about what He accomplishes, although they acknowledge Him as the giver of every wisdom.

They also learn from all Holy Scripture His omnipotence.

But if you persist, O Jew, in saying this "How?" I too will point out your ignorance, imitating you.

How did you come out of Egypt? Tell me, how was Moses' rod changed into a serpent?

How was his hand stricken with leprosy and then restored again, as it is written? How did water pass into the nature of blood?

How did you pass through the midst of the sea as on dry land (Heb 11:29)?

How, through wood, was the bitter water of Marah changed into sweet water? How was water given to you from the rocky depths?

How did manna come down for your sake? How did the Jordan stand still?

Or how was the unbreakable wall of Jericho shaken down by a shout alone?

This very "How?" will not leave you. For you will be found to have already marveled at many miracles.

If you apply this "How?" to them, you will have to disbelieve all Divine Scripture completely.

You will have to distort all the words of the holy prophets, and before all others the sacred books of your own Moses.

Therefore they ought instead to have believed Christ and immediately submitted to His words. They should have hastened to learn the manner of the blessing.

They should not have insulted Him by rashly saying, "How can this Man give us His Flesh to eat?" For they also say "this Man" with contempt.

This word again points to their similar arrogance.

Thus the faithful who live should live no longer their own fleshly life, but the life of Christ, who died and rose for them. Therefore, what constitutes that life, namely divine Communion, must of necessity also be constant. “Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor 5:15).

When He gave them bread, He said: “Take, eat; this is My body.” And taking the cup, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt 26:26-28 and parallels). Finally, this Mystery is fully explained for the disciples, and through them for all Christians, by the Lord’s suffering, death, and resurrection. “You will understand afterward,” the Lord said to Simon Peter, who did not wish to let Him wash his feet (Jn 13:7). In the present teaching, the Lord first of all requires unconditional faith from those who hear. What does it matter that you do not understand now? First believe: “You will understand afterward.” We recall the beautiful and moving expression of Abraham in Gen 22:14, in the account of Isaac’s sacrifice. “Jehovah-jireh,” “the Lord will provide,” Abraham says to his son when Isaac asks him, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham also gave this place the name Jehovah-jireh, which later was called Moriah, the provision of Jehovah. This is Mount Moriah, that is, Mount Zion, on which the temple of Jerusalem stood. It was an Old Testament image of the inspired temple of the Lord’s body. “The Lord will provide” is an expression of faith. “You will understand afterward,” says the Lord. You will understand when, in the acceptable time, the Lord enlightens your understanding by the Holy Spirit. Those “whom the Father has chosen” (Jn 6:37, 44) believed, and only later understood. This happened when great sorrow, great joy, and great love for the Lord prepared their souls to receive the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. When the Spirit of Truth came, He guided them into all truth (Jn 16:13). The Lord joins eternal life and the believer’s resurrection on the last day to the bread of life, received in the form of His flesh and blood. This eternal life is “abiding in God”: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” Thus the fruits of partaking of Christ’s flesh and blood for the believer consist in his full, grace-filled communion with God incarnate. This union is the cause of eternal life and eternal joy. “Your heart will rejoice” (Jn 16:22). “And this joy will be full” (Jn 17:13).