Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.” (John 6: 60) 

The lines in the gospel reading today about many of Jesus’ disciples having trouble accepting his words about being the bread of eternal life – and some actually leaving him because of this teaching – reflect both an actual division among Jesus’ followers in his day as well as one in the emerging Johannine Christian community. Belief in how Christ is really present in the Eucharist has always been a decisive one for Christians.

Earlier in his life, Brant Pitre, a professor of sacred scripture at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, faced a similar situation: a challenge from a Protestant clergyperson on the Roman Catholic belief in the Real Presence. Part of his response has emerged years later in his book: The Jewish Roots of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection (Doubleday, 2011).

In the book Pitre talks about how Jesus’ Passion is a unique fulfillment of the daily Jewish sacrifice known as the tamid (“perpetual offering”) as well as the weekly day of Sabbath rest and worship. Pitre also places the Eucharist in the context of the Jewish liturgical year, the Exodus, and Passover to describe, in the words of Bible Today reviewer Father Donald Senior, C.P., how “the Eucharist as celebrated in Catholic tradition has profound biblical roots.”