εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)
“to announce the Good News of victory in battle”
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat (φάγητε, phagete) the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on (τρώγων, trogon) me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats (τρώγων, trogon) this bread will live forever.”
θεωρέω (theoreo)
(“to perceive, discover, ponder a deeper meaning”)
Do not eat or eat? The question is simple and the response is a common sense, emphatic declaration: ‘Yes otherwise, we die!’ But to gain a bit more insight on this question, we must turn our attention to Genesis 3. Why ... given that Proverbs, not Genesis is the First Reading this Sunday? Part of the answer lies with the Evangelist, Saint John himself. The Gospel that bears his name opens, “In the beginning,” a clear signal that as far as he is concerned, the saving, sacred written record of Jesus that is about to unfold is a New Creation. Much in the Gospel according to Saint John presents a New Creation and this is important for us this Sunday because in the Creation account, eating plays a significant (quite an understatement) role in humanity’s relationship with God and the world.
In keeping the question, ‘Do not eat or eat?,’ before us this Sunday, it is clear in the Creation acccount that humanity is not given carte blanche. Humanity, in the Garden and prior to sin, does not have liberty to do whatever fancies their likes. Boundaries are placed on what humanity can and can not do as well as consume in the Garden. The question of what to eat becomes important because we learn through Eve’s dialogue with the Snake that the Creator has imposed at least 1 restriction on food and Eve (along with Adam for that matter), while she may not know the exact reason why the food is prohibited, she knows that it is forbidden to eat.
This food prohibition is not whimsical nor capricious on the part of God nor are any of the episodes of this Sacred Account of the Beginnings to be casually declared ‘just a story’ that can be dismissed because ‘we know better.’ We don’t. There is much bound with the fruit and the entire Garden experience that is crucial for grasping what it means to be created in the “image and likeness of God.” Being created “in the image and likeness of God” has implications not only for the rest of Creation, but for the relationship of God of humanity.
Hence we were told not to eat of a particular food in the Garden. So long as humanity did the work entrusted to us by the Creator and did not eat of a particular fruit, Genesis contends that Divine Harmony - Original Justice - flourished. But when humanity choose to grasp or grab (as opposed to receive graciously) for that which Divinity forbade, life took a noticeable turn, to say the least and the relationship that humanity enjoyed with God changed utterly. That which was forbidden (for our own good) was grasped, grabbed, taken and consumed. Adam, Eve and the whole of humanity were filled with shame and alienated from the Loving God because the command “Do not eat!” was ignored.
Out of love, the Creator sounded the ‘first Gospel (known by the Fathers of the Church as the Protoevangelium, [Genesis 3:15])’ and promised healing. Since the wound and the rupture were so grave, healing would take time because the human heart, caught in the addiction of selfishness and doing things ‘my way,’ takes (and continues to take) a long time to heal and to be re-fashioned. It is interesting to note that as Salvation History unfolds, food plays a significant role in God healing humanity’s relationship with Him - the covenant meals, the hospitality meals, the Passover, the Messianic Banquet envisioned by Isaiah, the meal prepared by Wisdom as we hear in the First Reading and ultimately the Last Supper: food plays a role in the healing and transforming humanity’s self-inflicted separation and alienation.
This brings us to the Person, Jesus. In the Garden, humanity was instructed ‘not to eat of a particular food.’ Now, Jesus commands the consumption of a particular food: HIMSELF! Because humanity ingested that which was not of the Creator’s Will, humanity is now commanded to consume the Body and Blood of Christ that He - JESUS! - says is true food and true drink. The path from the rupture of the Garden to new life as children of God requires the consumption of His Body and His Blood. Hence it is no longer “Do not eat” but “Eat!”
But this raises another question, “What kind of eating does Jesus mean?” It is an important question because the Evangelist John employs two distinct Greek verbs in this Sunday’s proclamation - and both of them are translated into English as “to eat.” In the first part of this Sunday’s pericope, the Greek verb ἐσθίω (esthio) is used. This verb has been used in proclamations of the “Bread of Life” discourse on previous Sundays. ἐσθίω (esthio) refers to a physical act of eating and it is the verb used to translate the Hebrew אָכַל (ʾakal) that appears in Genesis 3. אָכַל (ʾakal), while its primary meaning and principle usage is the physical act of ‘food into mouth,’ it can refer – on occasion – to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating’ that is akin to ‘taking in a lesson or a message.’ The Greek ἐσθίω (esthio) functions in a similar way. Most of the time, ἐσθίω (esthio) refers to the physical act of eating but on occasion can refer to a metaphoric or poetic ‘eating.’
But then there is matter of the other verb in Greek that is translated into English “to eat,” the Greek verb τρώγω (trogo). Interestingly, in antiquity this verb did not specifically refer to the action of eating but rather how one ate: gnawing and chewing … and the gnawing and chewing were often accompanied by guttural sounds and monosyllabic grunts and groans. In other words, τρώγω (trogo) describes an exceptionally graphic action, often used to depict how animals and barbarians ate, not the way our moms and dads taught us to eat and behave at the supper table! τρώγω (trogo) functions here TO REMOVE any hint or suggestion that Jesus is speaking about a metaphoric, poetic or solely spiritual eating. The action is quite physical. The action is quite messy – AND – it points directly to the Cross. The only way that anyone can consume the flesh and blood of a living being is for that living being to be dead. Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a specific way: τρώγω (trogo) is a declaration of giving Himself completely in fidelity to the Father’s Will that results in His Sacrifice on the Cross that we may live fully.
Thus the “do not eat” of Genesis is replaced by Jesus’ command “to eat” and “to eat” in a very particular way: τρώγω (trogo). Biblically, this is a significant Sacred Text in the Church’s teaching of Jesus’ Real Presence. At the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Hippo some 1600 years ago, Saint Augustine addressed the newly Baptized and Confirmed prior to the reception of Holy Communion for the first time, “Become Who you consume.” In the Garden, our nature ingested a poison; our nature welcomed sin into our very being – not just into our spiritual nature, our physical nature as well. We are in need of an antidote for the ingested poison: spiritually and physically (sacramentally). No wonder that Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Gregory of Nyssa referred to the Holy Eucharist as a Sacred Drug! Saint Ignatius wrote of the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality” and Saint Gregory wrote of the Eucharist as the antidote for poison of sin swirling around in our souls and bodies.
Graciously coming before our Lord, receiving (not taking) with hearts open to His Real Presence is our healing and our strength for the journey - a healing that we can receive no where else and from no one else.
