Standing before a Sign

Among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants have different practices regarding the Lord's Supper. Catholics believe that the bread is the real body of Jesus. Thus, in the first few decades of missionary works anywhere in the world, from ancient Rome to Qing China, Catholics were accused of practising cannibalism.

Catholics follow the gospel teaching to use unleavened bread to celebrate the Lord's Supper, i.e. Mass. Eastern Orthodox does not use unleavened bread as Holy Communion. Protestants go even further to deny the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Communion. They make use of Jesus' words: This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19) and insist that the bread is only a remembrance, only a sign and not a real presence.

Signs signify something. For example, red lights signify 'stop' and swastika signifies luck etc. However, there is a special kind of signs which signify themselves. They are called real signs. For example, our body, which is visible, is a sign of the invisible person 'I'. But I am embedded in my body. Without my body, I do not exist anymore. So, my body is a real sign of the person 'I'. With this understanding, Catholics insist that the unleavened bread is a real sign of the body of Jesus. It is Jesus himself. Put it in a different way, the Holy Communion is another incarnation of Jesus, the Son of God, in yet another sign.

Today, the gospel reading continues to tell us what happened after the 5 loaves 2 fish miracle. A miracle is a sign pointing to a transcendental presence, God intervening once more in human history. This miracle recalls what God did to the hungry Israelites in the wilderness. They had consumed all their food which they had brought out of Egypt and they were in the danger of starvation. So, God rained down manna from heaven everyday, except on Sabbath, to feed them for the next 40 years until they entered the Promised Land. This much the Jews knew but they could not know that the manna in the wilderness was only a pre-figure of the sacrament of the Eucharist in the future. In the gospel reading today, we hear what Jesus tried to explain to them. Jesus is the true Manna.

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst (John 6:35).

When the Jews had eaten enough, they wanted to make Jesus king to guarantee that they would be well fed (John 6:15). The next day, they came to Jesus and of course, Jesus knew their intention. So Jesus taught them not to labour for food that would perish.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal (John 6:26-27).

The Jews did not understand the true meaning of the miracle. They were physically satisfied but did not go one step further to discover the spiritual meaning which a miracle is supposed to convey. I suspect that the Jews even didn't know that they were fed in a miracle. They had eaten but did not know where the food came from. Had they known, they would not have challenged Jesus to work a feeding miracle again to persuade them to believe in him.

So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform?
Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" (John 6:30-31)

Here lies the paradox of a miracle!!
In order to see a sign as a miracle, people need to have faith first, not the other way round. The Jews had put the cart before a horse. They wanted to see a miracle before they believed in Jesus. They were surely scientists but they would be disappointed because science could not capture God.

Through the eye of faith, a sign is not just a sign, but a miracle. Without faith, a miracle is only an ordinary sign and nothing more.

Fr. Milanese did a good demonstration in his homily this morning in explaining the meaning of signs. He pointed at the huge exalted crucifix hanging behind the altar and asked what Christians and non-believers would see.

As for a non-believer, he would only see a wooden bearded man whose hands are raised. Behind him is a wooden cross. For a Christian, he would see the once dead but now risen Lord, his Saviour. The crucifix is a miracle, a victory of life defeating death and an ammunition during exorcism. Therefore, with the eye of faith, we see not just a sign, but a miracle. Without faith, the wooden object is at most a piece of art work.

Fr. Benedict Lam, while he was our parish priest, told us a personal story about his father. It was a miracle. When the Japanese invaded their village, his father was rounded up together with the others to march toward the forced labour camps from where very few would return. Suddenly, he discovered that his shoelaces were loosened. So he bent down to tie them up. When he stood up again, the column of forced labourors had long gone. For him, it was not luck. He thanked God. It was a miracle that he could cheat death ...

Standing before a sign, it takes faith to see a miracle. Holding in your palm a piece of wafer, it takes faith to see the body of Christ and his great love of humanity. Swallowing the piece of wafer, you don't need faith any more to feel the intimate union Jesus wishes you to partake. Faith is a supernatural gift from God. Let us pray that this gift is worthily received.

Dear Lord, with a faith as meagre as a mustard seed, You promise us to move mountains. I pray that this faith may grow day by day so that we may more easily meet You wherever we go. Amen.