In today's Gospel we continue reading passages where Jesus explains that He is the Bread of Life, and that to have life within us, we must "eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood." (Jn 6: 52- 59). It is interesting to note the reation of "the Jews." They quarrel among themselves and ask how that is possible. I say that is interesting because they are clearly taking what Jesus says literally, and they're troubled by it. Not surprising, I suppose, that they would be troubled. After all, what person gives his or her flesh to another person to eat? The idea invokes all sorts of gross, canabalistic images. Yuk! But it is worth noting that the Jews are taking the message just as Jesus intended-- literally. The hearers of Jesus' message aren't thinking He is talking in some sort of symbols or metaphors, or using exaggeration for effect. Had they been thinking that, they wouldn't have been so troubled. I presume in Jesus' time, as in our own, expressions like "I'd give my right arm for...." must have existed. No one thinks such an expression is intended literally. Those who talk that way are just making a point of how much they want the thing in question. But if one of the tests for whether speech is symbolic or literal is the impression created on the listener, then what Jesus is saying is certainly literal, since that's how the Jews understood it. They just couldn't figure out how that would work. We'll read more about that problem-- how does this actually work-- in tomorrow's Gospel, where some disciples say: "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" These days we get caught up in all sorts of symbolic actions. We communicate with emoji's. We join groups to demonstrate our virtue. We sign on-line petitions that we know will never amount to much, to make a symbolic statement. So we might be tempted to think that what Jesus did was fundamentally- symbolic as well. While there is lots of symbolism in the Gospels, at its core the Gospel story is about reality, not symbolism. Jesus actually was born, died and rose again. That's reality, not just symbolism. The Eucharist is reality as well.