Living in a world where many gospel passages have become part of our collective knowledge, we often forget the underlying absurdities at the heart of their messages. In my faith life, I’ve found it incredibly helpful to be reminded of the shocking nature of Jesus’s life. The gospel is, and should be, a scandal to the world.

Imagine the indescribable scandal for those who first heard these words: “I am the bread of life…whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” Who is this man to think he can speak in such a way? He is either a fool, a blasphemer, or he is God. Peter speaks for us in the following verses, proclaiming: “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

But what type of all-knowing god, creator, and animator of the very universe enters into the world as a defenseless and utterly dependent newborn baby? What all-powerful god would choose to spend their earthly time among sinners, the poor, and the destitute? And what Lord would submit himself to worldly powers and allow himself to be tortured and crucified for the sake of others?

This is the same God who today loves us and forgives us despite our many failings—who extends mercy beyond the limits of human capacity—who casts down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the lowly—who commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. And despite our human weakness, this same God continues to offer himself to us as the same Bread of Life in the Eucharist. If the gospel is a scandal to the world, it would do us good to be scandalized more often.