As is typical in the writings of St John, this week’s Gospel can be read on two levels. The words spoken by Jesus would have been shocking to those who heard them. For the Jewish people, to eat flesh and drink blood was unthinkable; it was abhorrent. Jewish dietary laws forbade the eating of flesh with its blood in it. Blood was the symbol of the life of the creature. At the end of the flood story in Genesis, God gives to humans all the plants and animals of the earth as food for them, ‘with this exception: you must not eat flesh with life, that is to say blood, in it’ (Genesis 9:4). Now here is Jesus saying that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have life. In the continuation of this gospel passage, many turn away from Jesus at hearing him say this. Jesus then asks the disciples if they too will leave him. Peter answers on their behalf with a wonderful acclamation of faith: ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

The giving of Jesus’ flesh and blood for the life of the world is a reference to the salvific nature of his death and the inauguration of a new covenant through his sacrifice. In the Old Testament, a sacrifice was not complete unless it was also eaten; the Eucharist is our participation in Calvary, where we truly consume the once-for-all sacrifice under the species of bread and wine. Under that veil, Christ is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.