Tension in the ranks – February 1, 2024
Today’s Readings: AM [Psalm 70], 71; PM Psalm 74
Gen. 23:1-20; Heb. 11:32-12:2; John 6:60-71
When many of Jesus’ disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ John 6:60
Do you remember struggling to understand a topic during your education? Geometry. Recitation from the prologue of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Historical assessment of varied governmental structures in Europe. Diagramming a sentence. Take your pick!
We read this week in John 6 of Jesus’ teachings about the bread of life. He tells them that “the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” All who hear this hunger for more, for they say, “Give us this bread always.” Jesus reveals more details as he says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Some in the crowd begin to grumble. They hear him say he is the bread of life and he has come down from heaven from God the Father, yet they know his mom and dad…they saw him grow up. They are confused and complaining. While many are Jews, not all are following what Jesus is saying. He is teaching in the way that rabbis teach, yet his content has shifted. While often the narrative of God’s care for those in the Exodus was for their daily survival, Jesus offers this angle: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.” He then counters, “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
Buttons are pushed further in this crowd gathered in a Capernaum synagogue, for the literal understanding of Jesus’ words is repulsive to the Jews. They would not begin to consume the blood of an animal and its flesh. That breaks the Jewish dietary codes. (Perhaps the intended audience of this gospel was not Jewish people, but other cultures who found this practice more normative.)
Resistance mounts among the Jews. Even the disciples name how difficult this teaching is. There is much complaining. Jesus says, “Does this offend you?” I imagine that grabs their attention, for it is in the nicks caused by pointed exchange that sting and bring us to greater awareness and reflection. He continues, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Jesus points to the power of the Divine over the trappings of human existence. He grounds his disciples in their foundation: God. He also acknowledges, “But among you there are some who do not believe…For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
The Good News of salvation is not easy news. We do not always believe. It is hard to comprehend. Some of us turn away. Some of us sit down and scratch our heads. God is with us in the walking away and in the wrestling. Just as Jesus kept teaching, the spirit of the Divine continues weaving us together in ways that we can experience God’s love and grace. It is not a direct path. And we will disagree and sometimes feel lost. None of our actions can separate us from the saving love of God.
-- Katherine+
Reflection and Challenge
Listen for where belief in God is hard today. Sit in prayer. Read the psalms appointed for today. Pray for the grace of God’s love to shine brightly in our world today.