In the Gospel reading, Jesus says that he is giving his flesh to save the world and the Jews react negatively. They misinterpret and misunderstand the language of Christ. They think that he is introducing cannibalism. The early Christians were, among other things, being accused of eating human flesh and drinking human blood. Since the Jews and the pagans could not understand the Holy Eucharist, they invented the notion that the Christians were cannibals.
Reason and human intelligence cannot entirely grasp matters on faith. There needs an illumination from God on things that have their origins from above, on things of the spirit. When Jesus speaks about bread, he is not talking about pandesal. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for our daily bread. Certainly God provides our daily sustenance, but it is not sufficient for a Christian. Our spirit needs to be sustained as well.
“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The bread of God is the Word of God which we must listen to or read about in the Scriptures. It is also the Eucharist – the body and blood offered by Christ to fulfill the will of the Father. And the Father’s will is none other than our redemption.
During Holy Communion, when we say Amen, we are signifying our readiness to do God’s will in our lives even if it entails sacrifices. This is possible if we believe in the goodness and love of God who is our Father.