‘… the bread that I will give for the
life of the world is my flesh.”(John 6:51)
The Scripture
readings, above, are from the appointed
'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of
Ireland while hyper-links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © http://nrsvbibles.org
(Year B: 10th Sunday after Trinity, 8 August 2021)
If we were to summarise the Gospel message
and call to action of Jesus Christ with a Johannine emphasis (in the gospel of
John) we might focus on:
- Peace
- Bread
- Life
The story of the feeding of 5,000 followed by a long and rich conversation between Jesus and his closest disciples reveals a new understanding of God’s own life shared and continued through his people. At this point many (including the disciples) don’t get the message. They either seek a quick fix and spectacular solution to their immediate needs, or, they take offence at what they are hearing and seeing.
Jesus challenges us to hear again and seek
those goods to which the visible, the earthly and the fleshy point. However,
always rooted in this earth and reality Jesus and his word is no phantom or
non-material substance (John uses the term ‘sarx’
– flesh in ancient Greek and not body as the other evangelists do). In the course of his ministry he uses
materials such as water, bread, wine, oil and flesh to press home the deeper
reality of our communion with him and with one another and that the material,
of itself, is good. So, though many
might take exception or offence at the use of the word flesh both then and now,
this manner of speaking has the potential to shock us into a deeper realisation
that flesh is good and that in sharing the life of God with others we share -
spiritually – in the flesh. My Irish (Gaelic) version of the bible is even more
graphic and uses the word ‘feoil’ or
meat. No wonder the early Christians had some explaining to do in Rome before
being fed to the lions after accusations of cannibalism!
As in so many areas of belief and religious
practice, we do well to accept the truth behind what is happening without
trying to ‘scientifically’ explain the mechanics of what is happening. We are
best to leave that to God. The point of this discourse in chapter 6 and in the
liturgical and worshipping life of Christian communities is that God brings us
life – right in front of us and within us.
Our mission is to embrace such life and live such life to the full.
Are we really living off the Bread of
Life..?
In our lives where are the signs of new
life? What does it mean for us today to eat the ‘bread of life’ which comes
down from heaven? Where is this life visible in us, others, ourselves? What
sort of daily bread do we feed off? Are we genuinely bread for others or do we
seek to keep this bread for ourselves? Do we respond to the hunger for bread in
our world today? Millions, many of them children, go to bed (or no bed) hungry
every night and this doesn’t just happen in far off places and lands. As we
write and read these words hundreds if not thousands of refugees are packed
into open boats somewhere in the seas of the world.
How does the Eucharist connect us to others
including those ‘with no bread’? In our
communities, workplaces and homes are we living signs of hope, life and
blessing for others more than the opposite?
And what about Sundays..?
Sunday is a good occasion to re-connect with the local community in which we seek bread and life with others. It seems to me that a Sunday without such communion is less than the full celebration and actualisation of the resurrection. We have missed something if we do not, tougher with others, break bread – both the living word and the spiritual food of the eucharist– all in memory of, and in the current day living out of, the Lord’s death and resurrection.
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