Lessons while at table

 

Luke 14:7-14 reads:⁷ When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. ⁸ ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹ and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹ For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
 
¹² He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
 
I could spend a lot of time commenting on the concept of “Table” as it appears in scripture.  The Bible uses the term over 150 times.  The beginning and ending of such a survey is what we now call The Lord’s Table.  By any estimation the table is a significant place.
 
So, Jesus has some practical advice regarding table behavior here.  We are free to take it at face value.  “This is how you act when someone invites you to their table.”  “This is how you conduct yourselves when you invite others to your own meal.”
 
At another level, Jesus extends rabbinical instruction for the living of our lives.   There are a couple of wrinkles in all this that I am trying to work out.  For instance, in the opening verse Luke states that Jesus “told them a parable.”  But literarily, there is no parable.  There is no “Who among you…” or “There was a certain man…”  the lack of proper identification does not negate the importance of these instructions.  But there is no way to construe these sayings as constituting parables.  I have found no reference work or listing of the parables of Jesus that includes this passage. 
 
In Luke 8:4-15 the gospel writer records the so-called Parable of the Sower.  When his disciples ask for the meaning, Jesus interprets it as an allegory: the seed has a particular meaning, as do the various kinds of soil and the weeds and the birds.  A parable makes a single point.  An allegory has multiple symbols within its narrative.  This is to say that upon occasion scripture may give a label such as “parable” (which sometimes merely indicates “story”) when the form is that of another kind of literature. 
 
So, to seek out the single thrust of a piece of illustrative material can sidetrack us in instances such as the text before us.
 
Another point with which I contend here is Jesus’ counsel in the first section.  He seems to be upholding humility: But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place…  That seems to be consistent instruction for those whom Jesus teaches elsewhere to be servants of one another or to carry no provisions for the road when his disciples embark on a missionary journey. 
 
But, look at what happens when Jesus finishes the thought: “…, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, Friend, move up higher” then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.  There is not much humility or servitude in that.  The motive for the instruction to go to the foot of the table is so that the host might extend an invitation to ascend to a position of greater honor.  There are some who interpret this to say that disciples should spend their lives humbling themselves and moving to the figurative foot of the table so that their exaltation might be their inclusion in heaven.  There may be some helpful advice there, but to offer it in this manner is a bit of a stretch.  If the point of all this is genuine humility, I would expect the person who sought the place of least honor to refuse the encouragement of the host.  “No, no, I am fine here.  Let your more important guests sit in the places of honor.”
 
I am not criticizing Luke – or Jesus!  I am confessing that I am grappling with this text, seeking to come to a satisfactory conclusion regarding the instruction.
 
I’ll have more to say later.
 
The Peace of the Lord be with you.

But, the Bible says...

 

Luke 13:10-17
 
¹⁰ On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.  ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”  ¹³ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. ¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”  ¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?  ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”  ¹⁷ When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
 
I could spend a lot of time reflecting on the modern world’s approach to the quasi-Sabbath.  Christians worship on Sunday, the “first day of the week,” the day in which Jesus rose from the tomb.  The historic church transferred a lot of Sabbath sentiment from the Old Testament to its current practice.  But, in the strictest sense, anyone who treats Saturday (the seventh day) as a regular day or a recreational day and then spends all day Sunday in church is still a Sabbath-breaker.  There is no way around it.  So, as I look at this passage from Luke as it informs our faith practice, the calendar considerations are inconsequential.
 
Some might say that Jesus coincidentally encountered this woman and healed her, and that Sabbath had nothing to do with it.  That is naïve.  The observation that the synagogue leader makes abut six days to work and the Sabbath to rest is spot-on.  If Jesus hadn’t come across this unfortunate woman, he would have found some other deed of mercy to perform.  He is obviously intentional in this work.  Luke prepares us for that in his opening words.  He begins, “On the Sabath…”  There is not reason to include that if it is not important to the narrative. 
 
And look at what Jesus does.  He addresses a woman, a stranger, in public, which in itself is counter to Jewish direction.  He touches her, which is again a taboo.  Then, he speaks his word of power and heals her.  This is not a tale about calendar.  It is a declaration that love trumps law. 
 
Yes, this healing act is intentional.  Yes, it is premeditated.  Yes, Jesus goes into this act with his eyes wide open, appreciating its consequences.
 
I see Bible-thumping conservatives cherry-picking from a handful of out-of-context verses and using those isolated lines to say, “Look at them (not us); they, THEY are sinners and enemies of God and people who have no place among us!”  At this point you can pick your cause, because haters use these passages like Legos, popping one cause out of the base and snapping another in place.
 
Jesus says, “No.”  This woman may not be a leader of the synagogue, but she is a daughter of Abraham.  That gives her a place in the realm of the redeemed, the community of those made whole by the grace of Jesus Christ.  Jesus held no truck with people who drew lines and erected fences.  He says to the children of Abraham – literal and spiritual – “I have a place for you.”
 
People counter, “Yeah, but… how about people who…?” and Jesus says, “Everybody.”  “But how about folks that…?” “Everybody.”  When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated.
 
Now, there are folks in today’s world who have built up a thick enough skin so that they are pretty difficult to humiliate.  They make an idol of their hate and intolerance.  Jesus caused this woman to stand up straight.  The first thing she did, the FIRST thing she did, was praise God.  I don’t know how anyone can make their hatred more important than that.
 
The peace of the Lord be with you.

Sometimes, we can't leave well enough alone

 Luke 10:25-37
²⁵ An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.^[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

 ²⁹ But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

I just can’t help loving this poor guy.  I’m not talking about the victim in the parable – or the Samaritan or the priest or the Levite or the innkeeper – but rather the “expert in the law” who set this whole thing up.
 
Now, please don’t think that the admonition for merciful living eludes me.  This is a marvelous parable.  But there is a kind of big-picture issue that I think speaks volumes to all of us who study and live out Bible truths.
 
This expert in the law asks Jesus how he might inherit eternal life.  Jesus knows that there are all kinds of sectarian answers to the question.  So, if only to see if he can be on the same page as the questioner, Jesus turns the question back to the expert and asks, “Well, what do you think?”
 
The expert quotes the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:5. This is the defining scripture passage for all Israel.  It would take way too much time to outline the significance of this verse here.  Suffice to say that this is a scripture portion which all practicing Jews would recognize.  The questioner then tacks on Leviticus 19:18b, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
 
To this Jesus replies, “Good job.  You hit the nail right on the head.  Live like this and you’ve got your bases covered.”
 
Here, the expert of the law should have thanked Jesus for his time and moved along.  But, BUT, the guy just can’t leave well enough alone.  He has to say a little more.  He has to push things a little farther.  He desires to “justify himself.”  He is looking for another “ataboy.”  He seems to want more affirmation from Jesus that he has gotten things right.
 
So, he pushes his luck.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.  Fine.  But just who exactly IS my neighbor?”
 
This is where that sectarian question kicks in.  Rabbis variously have said that “neighbor” means those who dwell in close proximity to you, as in “next-door neighbor, backdoor neighbor, down-the-street neighbor.”  Others would say those who live in your town or district.  A broader meaning includes those of one’s tribe, or even all Israel.”  So, the expert says in essence, “and who are the people whom I must love in order to inherit eternal life?”
 
The answer is in the parable that Jesus tells, and I am guessing that all this didn’t make our expert vary comfortable.  He is, after all, a person whose confederates have tended to be conservative, party-line toeing¸ traditional scribes or Pharisees.  People generally see this fellow as being in an adversarial relationship to Jesus.  So, a parable that elevates a Samaritan (historic opponents of Jerusalem Judaism) to a level of admiration, and then compels the expert to make such an admission, must be a bit uncomfortable for Jesus’ questioner.
 
It seems to be a common human trait that we can’t just leave well enough alone.  We push, we lean in, and the result is often that we abandon our comfort zone.  This expert in the law could have taken Jesus’ initial response, tipped his hat, and walked away.  But in order to try to turn the conversation back on himself, he gives Jesus the opportunity to tell him that he must live like the Samaritan in the parable.  It didn’t take long for a nice, safe answer to turn into a squirming, collar-tugging admission.
 
I think Luke must have this in mind as he tells the story.  There is a rather simple truth wrapped up in a larger observation on human nature.  It is not always possible to discern the ramifications of our words – or deeds.  A thoughtful approach to all that we do yields a more faithful outcome.
 
The peace of the Lord be with you.

 

 

 

 

 

Searching the scriptures

I have, for a long, long time now, participated in a weekly Bible study with other ministers with an aim toward enhancing our work as preachers.  I have been in groups that have met in various towns and in a number of churches.  In recent years I have been the convener of such a group.  We initially met in person, but of necessity moved to the Zoom platform, and that method of gathering continues to this day.

 The format of the various incarnations of this study has not varied much through the years.  We use the Revised Common Lectionary as a rule.  While we are open to studying any of the four lections before us, we usually gravitate toward the Gospel Lesson for the day.  We work a week out from our meeting day, so when we gather, we do not consider the readings for the upcoming Sunday, but rather we examine the lessons for the Sunday following.

 The intent is that we approach our designated reading “cold.”  This is the first reading of the text as we prepare to preach.  It is what Fred Craddock called “the first naïve encounter with the text.”  We ask questions, make speculations, and bounce ideas off one another.  I have found this practice to be tremendously helpful in preparing for my weekly journey into the pulpit.  More often than not, my sermon introduction grows out of this give-and-take with other pulpiteers.

 Sometimes, though, one (or more) of our participants will say something like, “Well, I was looking at this study Bible or that commentary, and this resource says…”  This always amuses me.  And I think it is representative not only of ministers, but of students of the Bible who function at any level of sophistication.

 What I mean by that is that frequently we hurry to sources, to “authorities” or “experts” and entreat them to tell us what the bible means.  We are timid in making our own approach.  If we pass the task of interpretation off to someone else, we never fully answer the question, “What does this reading say to me?”

 Now, don’t hear me saying that commentaries and lexicons and study Bibles and Bible atlases don’t have their place.  I would be lost without my books!  But I believe that pulling a volume off the shelf has its place in our process of “Searching the Scriptures.”  Do it too early, and the personal element gets lost.  Do it too late, and we can fall in love with our own impressions, even if they are at odds with the intent of the scriptures.

 When we engage the Bible for our own benefit and spiritual growth, I encourage everyone to read the selection.  Read it out loud.  Read it from more than one translation (and let me emphasize “translation” here).  Ask questions.  Go through the process of what I call “Slamming the doors and kicking the tires.”  This is the Word of God; it can stand up to that.  And it is not irreverent to say, “I am not sure about that!  But, how about…?  So, does that really mean that…?”  The closer we draw to the text the more it lives in us.  Then, if we wish to consult someone who has spent much more time than we in the examination of the text, we do not slavishly bend ourselves to the words of some published author.  Instead, we use that person’s expertise as another tool in our toolbox. 

 Then, THEN, we appropriate scriptural truth as our own.

A teachable moment

Most of us can remember all too well a lesson learned from the School of Hard Knocks.  We touched a hot stove or went sliding across an icy parking lot and we came to understand the need for caution in certain situations.  There are some things we don’t learn no matter how much correcting we receive.  Until we have the experience of discomfort the learning does not fully take root.  We may not enjoy it.  We might not like it.  But the barked shins and skinned knees of our lives teach us how to live.  Learning can come even out of a setting of the unpleasant.

Jesus understood that.  Jesus told a lot of parables and many of them have positive and uplifting details.  We read of the Lost Sheep or the Mustard Seed and these parables provide comfort as they proclaim the mercy of God.  But Jesus also looked at the world around him and said that there are Kingdom lessons that we can learn even from less-than-ideal circumstances.  Consider the parable of the Treasure in the Field.  A man is walking through a field that is not his own when he discovers a treasure.  So, he goes and buys the field from its owner, never disclosing the fortune it contains to its owner.  The lesson that we learn, of course, is that we should pursue the Kingdom of God with all the resources that are at our disposal.  All analogies fall apart under scrutiny, so we understand that the Kingdom of God is not something that we can hoard or take away from someone else by deceit.  The purchaser’s behavior may be less than ethical.  But his resolve is something that can teach us.

Recently both in worship and in Pickwick Church’s Men’s Bible Study we considered Luke 16:1-15, the parable of The Dishonest Steward.  In it the principal character is an administrator of a rich man’s estate.  He embezzles money and his master finds him out.  In an effort to recruit allies for himself he has each of his master’s debtors fraudulently alter their accounts so as to reduce their debt and ingratiate himself to the debtors.  In so securing cronies for his post-employment life, he actually receives praise from his defrauded master.  It is not that the rich man is happy that the steward robbed him.  But he has a grudging respect for the cunning of the steward.  It is as if he says, “Well played,” even in defeat. 

Jesus does not recommend the steward as a model for business practices.  But he does observe that the practitioners of worldly business pursue their goals with much more energy than he sees in religious people as they pursue the Kingdom of God.  The people of the world who long for worldly treasure frequently throw the entirety of their being into their pursuit.  Jesus tells disciples that our working for the things of the Kingdom shouldn’t cause us to act timidly or with restraint.  If we find worth in Kingdom stuff then It is appropriate that we throw all of our vigor into the achieving of our goal.

Jesus would never encourage us to be dishonest in any endeavor.  But he teaches that we have a lot of tools at our disposal – righteous, moral tools – and he encourages us to use every single one in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Means of Grace: Searching the Scriptures

 In speaking of the Means of Grace – those gifts of God by which the Lord draws us closer to God’s Spirit – one that comes to mind quickly is reading the Bible.  It is through Bible study that we most clearly come to an understanding of the revelation of God.  I would make a few observations on that thought, however.

 Cracking the Bible open at random and scanning a few verses is not the most productive approach to this discipline.  Sometimes that approach can do more harm than good.  The church and its members have made huge errors by cherry-picking a handful of isolated Bible verses and then hanging their entire theology or practice on that small sampling. I have said it before, but when people ask me what the biblical position on a topic might be, I tell them to start with Genesis 1:1 -- “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” -- and conclude with Revelation 22:20-21 -- Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.”  The biblical position (if there is one) is between those verses.  A lesser sampling leaves some important stuff out.

 It is important that we study our Bible with a sense of intentionality and purpose.  It is also good to get some guidance from those who know the Bible better than we do.  When Josh Pastner was men’s basketball coach at The University of Memphis, he used to say, “Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Perfect practice makes perfect.”  His point was that a player can shoot a thousand free throws and do so with the wrong technique, the player’s skills don’t get any better.  But, if that player practices under the guidance and direction of a competent coach who analyzes and corrects the player’s form, that player stands a chance of becoming a pretty good free-throw shooter.

 You notice that the description of this Means of Grace above is “Searching the Scriptures.”  It is not merely, “read your Bible.”  This is again John Wesley’s term.  To search carries with it both a sense of intentionality and a suggestion of organization.  Jesus spoke in Luke 15 of a woman who had lost one of ten silver coins.  He observes, ‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?’  His description carries with it a sense of the methodical.  She didn’t look on topo of the refrigerator and then behind the bedroom dresser before looking in the dog’s bed.  She moved carefully and systematically until she found her coin.  To speak of “searching” the scriptures carries with it a sense of preparation and studiousness that random thumbing through the volume cannot accomplish.  Wesley also uses the word scriptures.  “Scripture” is any groups collection of holy or revealed or definitive writings.  Most world religions have a set of scriptures.  Whether they go by the name The Sutras or the Vedas or the Quran or The Tanach or The Holy Bible, these various volumes contain the important ideas – and for some, the words of God – that these people value.  I think “Searching the (Christian) Scriptures has more gravity than a casual reference to “reading our Bibles.”

 Our Articles of Religion of The Methodist Church reads, “Article V — Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation:  The Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation;” 

 John Wesley described himself, saying, “as I want to know one thing, —the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri! -- (a man of one book).

 By being people of this book, we come to know God.

 

 

I’ve got a secret

 In the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), this year concentrates its attention on the gospel readings from the Book of Mark.  There are several themes and devices that we find in Mark more than in any other gospel.  For example, the word “immediately” occurs in this gospel 41 times.  There is a sense of urgency as Jesus moves from place to place.

 Another idea unique to this gospel is how Jesus will perform a mighty act or issue some marvelous revelation and then caution those who are present not to tell anyone about it.  That seems counter to what we think about in terms of witnessing or testimony.  You would think that as Jesus moves about and does these marvelous things that he would want the report – the good news – to be spread to as many people as possible.  But Jesus taught counter to this.  In biblical studies scholars call this idea “the Messianic Secret.”  The concept has evolved since it was first put forth in 1901.  But at its core the concept carries with it the notion that Jesus does not want news about him to spread because he is a miracle-worker.  He rejects the idea that everyone will think of him as a sideshow or as a short-cut to healing and feeding.    Jesus ever desires that people come to him not in search of personal gain, but in a quest for spiritual truth and the knowledge of God.

 Sadly, some who have not spent a lot of time with this gospel try to explain Jesus’ attitude as a kind of “reverse psychology.”  Their position is that if Jesus tells them not to do something, their human nature dictates that they go and do it.  There are certainly instances of this behavior occurring – Mark 7:36 and 8:30 being examples.  But there is never a report of this psychological mumbo-jumbo being at the heart of Christ’s motivation.  Jesus’ miracle-workings grow out of his being the Christ of God.  But miracle-worker is not who Jesus is.  Jesus’ task is never to serve the desires of people.  It is to point the way to God.

 Two thousand years later some folks still haven’t learned this lesson.  They view Jesus as a leveler of scores and a provider of wants.  They speak of Jesus as a nationalistic Christ who favors one nation over another, or who elevates a particular ideology over the rest.  “Personal Lord and Savior” gets corrupted into “supporter of what I think.”

 Mark’s Gospel concerns itself with answering the question, “Who is Jesus?”  Is he the Christ?  Yes.  Is he the Son of God?  Yes.  Is he the deliverer of humankind?  You bet.  Is Jesus one whose mission is to be exclusive and to favor only a few of those whom God created?

 Not so much.

A Bible reading with some size

In a previous post, I observed that we are currently involved in the Revised Common Lectionary’s (RCL) Cycle B.  This year’s Gospel lessons come primarily from the Book of Mark.  But, in the month of August, the RCL directs us instead to the Gospel of John.  Again as I pointed out earlier, the Fourth Evangelist has no yearly cycle of his own.  Instead, the Lectionary scatters selections from John throughout the three-year rotation.  When it does so the RCL tends to employ the John readings over several consecutive Sundays.  The Lectionary avoids having isolated readings from John appear from time-to-time.  Instead, these larger blocks of material give the church an opportunity to consider a larger sweep of ideas over several weeks’ time.

 The format of the RCL is to give the church suggestions for manageable selections of scripture for consideration in Sunday worship.  While there are exceptions, the Gospel lessons don’t usually run more than about twenty verses per week.  When we consider the Fourth Gospel, we find that it resists this carving up into segments.  Chapter six moves around the Sea of Galilee geographically.  But, as a narrative, it is one long piece that requires our consideration. 

The entirety of the chapter is seventy-one verses in length.  That alone makes it prohibitive as a single reading.  (Besides everything else, “Let us stand for the reading of the Gospel,” would be met with more than a little grumbling over a lesson of this magnitude.)  Chapter six is not one long miracle story or parable.  It begins with the feeding of the five thousand and the narrative of Jesus walking on water.  Following these stories there are a series of questions to which Jesus offers replies.  These responses provide a kind of commentary on the opening action.  These reflections take up the remainder of the chapter.

The basics of bread
As we move from week to week, we find an ongoing theme throughout the chapter. That is the appearance of bread. Jesus multiplies the fish and bread in order to feed five thousand men, in addition to any family members they may have brought along. Jesus spends no little time talking about the importance of physical nourishment. We need “our daily bread.”

Bread as the Word of God
But Jesus’ observations do not end there. He goes on to make a transition in referencing bread not only as a staple of our diet, but he also refers to bread that nourishes beyond the meal table. He speaks of “the bread of life” as being the teaching of God. God’s instruction preserves our spirits in the same way that table bread preserves our bodies. Jesus is a master of taking well-recognized objects and using them to teach truths about the Kingdom of God. At various places in John’s Gospel. Jesus talks of birth, water, bread, vines, sheep, shepherds, and gates to help you and me comprehend something of the nature of God’s Kingdom. So, when Jesus moves his conversation from the bread that we make with our own hands to the bread that comes down from heaven he challenges us to use our understanding of the former to incorporate the truths of the latter into our spirituality.

Bread as the Body of Christ
That would be a good lesson in and of itself. John could have shut the teaching down there and we would have an enormous truth to ponder.  But Jesus does not leave things there.  He re-interprets “bread” yet again.  This time he gives it a Eucharistic understanding.  “Eucharistic” or “Eucharist” refers to Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, or whatever title you may use to describe the Sacrament of the Table.  There is no account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in John’s Upper Room story.  Jesus washes the disciples’ feet.  He identifies Judas as his betrayer – if only obliquely.  He predicts Peter’s three-fold denial.  He offers a long farewell discourse before praying his high priestly prayer.  But words about bread and wine and “Do this in remembrance of me” are nowhere to be found. 

 That’s because Jesus has already done it.  He has done it in chapter six.  While much of the Jewish community has made its way to Jerusalem to observe the Passover, in this chapter Jesus is in Galilee, and there he offers his own meal to the people.  Look at the language: Jesus took the food, blessed the food, gave the food.  This is Communion language.  Even if it does not appear in the context of the Upper Room, the language is the same: 

“In the night in which he was betrayed

Jesus took bread,

and when he had given thanks,

he broke it,

gave it to his disciples,

and said ‘Take, eat. 

This is my body which is given for you. 

Do this in remembrance of me.’

Likewise, after supper

he took the cup,

 and when he had given thanks

he gave it to his disciples,

saying, ‘this is my blood of the New Covenant,

poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

Do this as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me.’ ”

 

The last portion of chapter six interprets bread, which Jesus has already cast in terms of physical nourishment and the Word of God, as the Eucharistic body of Jesus. 

 This all happens pretty fast.  True, the chapter is over seventy verses in length.  But looking at where the discussion of bread started and then contemplating where it ended, that is a lot of ground covered pretty quickly. 

 Jesus’ teaching does not receive universal acceptance.  In fact, talk of eating Jesus’ body prompts a large number of people to withdraw from Jesus.  Jesus is OK with that.  He has drawn a bold line in the sand and understands that just everybody is not ready to cross over to his side.

 Even though we take five weeks to move from the feeding of the multitude to the desertion of the crowds there is plenty to digest on the way (no pun intended…).  I fear that often our consideration of the Bible takes the form of single verses or even fragments of scripture.  While there are certain nuggets of truth that are worthy of our study, it is more often the case that we require a knowledge of what has gone before and what comes after – the context – before we can achieve any real comprehension of scriptural teaching.  John six is a text with some size.  It has length and breadth.  It has layers of meaning.  Even in a month we will not discover all the layers of meaning that this chapter holds.  But we can give it our all.  The word of God deserves nothing less.