Franciscan Fractal: “Chew on This”
Contemplating today’s culture with the wisdom of St. Francis.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6: 35
When Jesus spoke the words “I am the bread of life,” he was speaking not only about the bread in front of him, but also everything else that is connected to the bread. And, what is connected? For St. Francis, it was the entire universe. The bread and wine together embody all of the universe in which every molecule participates in the essence of Christ, with long strings of attachment to all of nature.
Holy Eucharist is really a blueprint for life. The physical bread and wine are made from the elements of creation. This includes the sunlight from the sky, water from the rain, heat from fire that bakes the bread, all the way down to the germs that turn grapes into wine. That is why we can consider creation to be the body of Christ. When we participate in the Eucharist, we are taking in ALL the elements of creation – not just bread and wine.
The Eucharist is an encounter of the heart. We move beyond mere words or rational thought in the Eucharist, and go to that place where we don’t talk about the mystery anymore; we simply begin to chew on it. Jesus did not say, “Think about this” or “Stare at this” or even, “Worship this.” Instead, he said, “Eat this!” In other words, “Chew on it.”
St. Augustine preached we must feed the body of Christ to the people of God until they know that they are what they eat! We are the body of Christ, as is all of creation.
The Eucharist, however, is not only about the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, but also about changing us as people of God and how we experience the cosmos. A true believer in Christ is eating what he or she may be afraid to see and afraid to accept: The universe is the body of God, both in what it is made of and in its suffering.
Through sharing Christ’s body in the Eucharist, we need to fully appreciate that we are not only joined to God’s goodness, but also to God’s sadness and suffering. We are joined in the Eucharist to the God who suffers with us. When the presiding minister or priest lifts up the bread and the wine and says, “Through him, and with him, and in him,” we are recognizing that the only way to hold suffering spiritually, and not let it destroy us, is to recognize that we cannot do it alone. “Through him, and with him, and in him.”
Some Christian mystics even go so far as to say that individual suffering doesn’t exist at all — and that there is only one suffering. It is all the same, and it is of the suffering that God experiences. If you are suffering, take solace for you are experiencing the suffering of a God who is suffering with you. The image of Jesus on the cross somehow communicates that suffering. A crucified God is a dramatic symbol that God fully enters into suffering with us — much more than just for us, as we have been taught to believe.
Suffering, even unjust suffering (and all suffering is unjust on some level), is part of one Great Mystery of God. As a member of the body of Christ, consider a paradigm shift as you encounter suffering in your own life or in the lives of others. For me, I trust that a willingness to carry suffering — even a small portion — is a connection to God and somehow helps someone, and that matters in the great scheme of things.
What’s next? Take time this week to think about what the Eucharist means to you. Are you able to see the entire creation being offered up through Christ in the bread and wine? Are you able to see that the grace offered in the bread and cup also offers you a way to suffer with Christ? Once you have answered these questions, remember to continue to chew!
Prayers and Blessings,
Fr. John
This Fractal is a condensed version of my homily from August 11, 2024. A word of acknowledgment to the contributions of Richard Rohr.
