STUDY GUIDE Session 7 Brant Pitre Nil Stat: Dr. Joseph E. Burns, Censor Deputatus Imprimatur: Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, S.T.L. Archbishop of Denver, May, 2015. Copyright © 2015 Augustine Institute. All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in articles and critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, printed or electronic, without the prior permission of the publisher. Some Scripture verses contained herein are from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1965, 1966 by the Division of Christian Educators of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America, copyright ©1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modification from the Editio Typica copyright ©1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Writers: Aurora Cerulli, Ashley Crane, Kate Flannery, Kris Gray, Jill Kotrba, Therese Obagi Media: Steve Flanigan, Jon Ervin, Justin Leddick, Kevin Mallory, Ted Mast, John Schmidt Print Production/Graphic Design: Justin Deister, Ann Diaz, Brenda Kraft, Jane Myers, Devin Schadt Augustine Institute 6160 South Syracuse Way, Suite 310 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Information: 303-937-4420 FORMED.org AugustineInstitute.org Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-0-9862288-1-0 O PENING P RAYER O Lord, I believe and profeß that you are truly Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the fi rst. Accept me as a partaker of your mystical supper, O Son of God, for I will not reveal your mystery to your enemies, nor will I give you a kiß as did Judas, but like the thief I confeß to you: Remember me, O Lord, when you shall come into your kingdom. Remember me, O Master, when you shall come into your kingdom. Remember me, O Holy One, when you shall come into your kingdom. May the partaking of your holy mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of my soul and body. O Lord, I also believe and profeß that this, which I am about to receive, is truly your most precious body and your life-giving blood, which , I pray, make me worthy to receive for the remiß ion of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen. O God, be merciful to me a sinner. O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me. O Lord, forgive me for I have sinned without number. —a prayer from the Byzantine liturgy that is recited before receiving the Euch arist INTRODUCTION Has anyone ever told you, “You are what you eat”? Th is litt le tidbit of popular wisdom reminds us to avoid junk food and ch oose healthier options. Eat healthy food to become healthy —it makes perfect sense. Th is truism, however, applies not only to natural food, but to supernatural food as well. St. Cyril of Alexandria said, “When we ingest the Euch arist in reality we are ingesting the Godhead…. Because his Body and Blood are diff used through our members, we become partakers of the divine nature.” In this seß ion we will delve into Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse in John 6. Th e miraculous multiplication of loaves caught the att ention of those in the crowd and they came back in hopes of receiving more, but many were not ready for the startling promise that Jesus was about to make. Jesus teach ing in the Synagogue / HIP / Art Resource, NY 127 C ONNECT 1. Do you remember the fi rst time you heard (or read) Jesus’ words in John 6? What was your reaction? 2. What is the fi rst thing you do when someone says something that you fi nd hard to believe? How does your relationship with the person aff ect your reaction? D ISCUSS PART 1—FAITH IN CHRIST’S DIVINITY Watch the teach ing. Th e following is a brief outline of the topics covered in the video teach ing. I. Context for Bread of Life discourse A. Crowd initially comes back for more earthly bread B. Jesus connects the gift of bread with his identity as priest (marked by a seal) C. Jews ask for a sign: give us manna always/forever (greater than Moses) II. Two parts to structure of Bread of Life discourse A. Part 1: John 6:35–47 B. Part 2: John 6:48–58 C. Both begin with “I am the bread of life” (parts go together, but distinct) 128 Bread of Life Discourse: John 6 and the Real Presence III. Bread of Life Discourse—Part 1 A. Jesus emphasizes belief (pisteuo), faith (pistis) B. Jews understand, but murmur against claim that Jesus came down from heaven C. Manna is metaphor for Jesus’ divinity (from heaven) IV. Claim of Jesus’ divinity A. Focus of fi rst part of Bread of Life discourse is about faith in Christ’s divinity B. Foundational to belief in the Euch arist, because no man has power to ch ange bread and wine into his fl esh and blood C. Have to proclaim divinity of Jesus Christ; can’t presume D. Faith is neceß ary for receiving eternal life D ISCUSS 1. What is something that you heard for the fi rst time, or that was an “aha moment” for you, in Dr. Pitre’s teach ing? 2. According to Dr. Pitre, what is the focus of this fi rst part of the Bread of Life discourse? What does Jesus mean when he claims to have come down from heaven? How is this made clear in the text? 3. Why is the claim of Jesus’ divinity so important to our understanding of the Euch arist? What danger do we run if we miß this focus of the fi rst part of the Bread of Life discourse? Dr. Pitre commented that we cannot presume that people around us understand Jesus Christ as divine. If you encountered someone who didn’t think Jesus was divine, what questions or topics might you use to get them to start thinking about Jesus’ divinity? 129 Bread of Life Discourse: John 6 and the Real Presence PART 2—EAT MY FLESH Watch the teach ing. Th e following is a brief outline of the topics covered in the video teach ing. I. Bread of Life Discourse—Part 2 A. Emphasis on the bread of life B. Manna is a type of the Euch arist C. Eat manna but died; eat new bread and do not die II. Jews understand the shift from faith to eating (esthio) A. Murmur again—how can it be? B. Jesus doesn’t back down C. Jesus re-emphasizes eating with verb for ch ewing/gnawing trogo( ) D. Discourse takes place in synagogue at Capernaum III. Reaction of the disciples A.“Th is is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” B. Now disciples murmur; and many disciples leave C. And Jesus lets them go; Jesus is willing to lose his disciples over this D. “Lord, to whom shall we go?”—Peter makes a reasonable act of faith E. “You are the holy one of God”—Psalms call high priest “holy one of God” F. Contrast of Judas’ lack of faith with Peter’s faith, even when he doesn’t understand D ISCUSS 4. What is something that you heard for the fi rst time, or that was an “aha moment” for you, in Dr. Pitre’s teach ing? 5. Why do some of the disciples leave? How might this relate to Judas? What would you say to someone who was tempted to leave the Church because he or she struggled with a diffi cult teach ing? 130 Bread of Life Discourse: John 6 and the Real Presence PART 3—SPIRIT AND LIFE Watch the teach ing. Th e following is a brief outline of the topics covered in the video teach ing. I. “My words are spirit and life… the fl esh is of no avail” II. Th ree contextual keys for understanding Jesus’words A. Mystery of Jesus’ divinity 1. Discourse comes aft er Jesus walked on water—major theophany 2. “I am” (“Ego eimi”), God’s words on Mount Sinai B. Jesus doesn’t say that his fl esh is useleß 1. “Th e fl esh” describes the fallen world (see also John 8:15) 2. “Spirit” means something more real than this world; not metaphorical C. What if you saw the Son of Man ascending? 1. Th e Euch arist is the resurrected/glorifi ed body of Christ, not his dead body 2. Th erefore not cannibalism III. Th e Euch arist and the Croß are stumbling block s A. Th e same mystery B. Faith in the Euch arist is a grace from God D ISCUSS 6. What is something that you heard for the fi rst time, or that was an “aha moment” for you, in Dr. Pitre’s teach ing? 7. According to Dr. Pitre and based on the context of this paß age, what is meant by “the fl esh” and what is meant by “the spirit” in verse 63? What wider impact might this understanding have on your understanding of your faith? 8. Th e Catech ism says that the Euch arist and the Croß are the same mystery, and that both are stumbling block s (CCC 1336).