"If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you will have no life in you."
In chapter 6, St John gives an extensive teaching on the Eucharist which many of Jesus’ followers found hard to accept. He was inviting them to participate in a mystery which they were unable or unwilling to understand. He made clear what he meant at the Last Supper when he commanded his disciples to love one another (John 13:34), giving them an example by washing their feet. The following day he would show the full extent of his love by dying on the cross.
The Eucharist is the fruit of that sacrifice. It is at the centre of our faith and binds us together as a community. His image of the vine (John 15:1-9) illustrates the fact that we must be connected to Jesus like the branches of the vine; and this is what the Eucharist does.
The Last Supper discourses speak constantly about love. The Father and the Son love one another and that love must be replicated in the Christian community. Jesus commanded His apostles to “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19).
The members of the infant Christian church broke bread together (Acts 2:46). Remembering Jesus in this way makes him a living presence in his Body, the Church. He said to John, exiled on Patmos: “I am the living one; I was dead and now look, I am alive for ever and ever” (Rev. 1:18).