Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-august-27-2024
John 6:52-69
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The last part of this reading was our lectionary text for worship Sunday. So looking at the whole reading together gives a chance to think about what Jesus said, as well as about how people responded to his words.
In the Aramaic language Jesus spoke, the word for bread meant spiritual nourishment as well as physical nourishment. And that’s probably what Jesus actually had in mind here. But as in so many cases, many of the people who heard him were confused. Some thought right away of the manna God had provided for their ancestors during their time in the wilderness. The Exodus was the formative experience of their people – they had gone into the desert as a mass of dusty slaves, but had come out as a distinctive people with laws and worship practices God had handed down to them. And it was the manna God had provided that sustained them during that formative time in their history.
But Jesus points out an important difference between that manna and himself: those who ate the manna would later die, but those who were nourished spiritually by the “living bread that came down from heaven” in the form of Jesus “will live forever.”
And Jesus goes on to say that it’s actually necessary to eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to share in the eternal life he is promising. For us, this passage obviously calls to mind the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. And we believe that the sacrament is very important, because it’s a useful and helpful practice of the life of faith. But we believe that the really necessary part is that we receive the “bread” of understanding and faith that comes from the teachings and the example of Jesus. And from his death on the cross, by which God demonstrated his great love for us, and his commitment to reconciling us to himself.
What Jesus says here reminds us that in his body and blood, God’s nature and love are most clearly shown. So by allowing that body to be broken and that blood to be shed, our new relationship with God was made possible.
Then we get people’s reaction to what Jesus said. I think Sunday I used the phrase “grossed out” to describe their reaction. That’s not really common theological jargon, but from this passage, people really do seem to have been grossed out by what Jesus said.
Those of us who have spent much time reading and thinking about the Bible probably don’t see how strange and disturbing many of the teachings of Jesus would have been to those who were hearing them for the first time. And the thing about eating his flesh and drinking his blood is a good example.
When we stop to think about the people who heard Jesus saying these things for the first time, it’s not surprising that they would have found them startling – even shocking. What Jesus said about eating his flesh and drinking his blood would have been like fingernails on a chalkboard. Almost all of those who were hearing this were Jews, and Jews were strictly forbidden to consume blood. So all this talk about eating flesh and drinking blood would have been more revolting to them than it would be to people today.
And apparently lots of people who heard Jesus say these things were shocked, too. According to this passage, a lot of the people who had been following Jesus just walked away.
But Jesus doesn’t seem to have been particularly surprised by their departure. In fact, John tells us that Jesus had predicted that some of those following him would turn away.
This passage makes it clear that the way of discipleship has never been easy, and it’s never been crystal-clear. Even those who heard Jesus speak in person struggled to wrap their minds around what he was talking about. Of course, if we’re really honest, even those of us who have been raised in the church sometimes struggle to understand Jesus clearly. And some people still give up in frustration.
But then Jesus turns to Peter and the other core disciples, and he asks if they’re going to leave, too. And Peter gives a great answer: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It wasn’t that Peter and the others understood everything Jesus said. They got confused, too. They misunderstood Jesus sometimes. But they could tell that Jesus was a one-of-a-kind voice through whom God was speaking into the world. And clinging to that one simple belief would get the first disciples through all kinds of mistakes later.
Many left Jesus. But a few stayed. And those who stayed were empowered by the Holy Spirit and their belief that Jesus was “the Holy One of God.” And they would go on to become the most powerful movement in human history.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for coming into the world as the bread of eternal life. We thank you also for that faithful remnant who knew that Jesus alone had the words to eternal life, and who stayed with him when others were walking away. Let their example inspire and empower us to follow in faithful discipleship. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
Recent Comments