[Propertalk] Gospel references for August 16, 2009, Part 4

Sun Aug 16 00:40:36 EDT 2009

John 6:54 (56-58) "The (person) gnawing on my flesh" John chose the verb "gnaw" to show the graphic nature of Jesus' statement. In the mind of the Christian, there is a direct connection between partaking in the very being of Christ and eternal life. They are one and the same.

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But it was not enough for the follower to simply take polite bites. He or she needed total involvement (hence the verb that meant "gnaw" or "chew"). The Christian should continuously gnaw on the living bread like a good barbequed pork rib. The act was to be messy. The act required total immersion, total concentration, total commitment. The act itself caused scandal.

http://www.word-sunday.com/Files/b/20-b/A-20-b.html

Larry Broding

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This is Jesus drawing lines, dividing his followers between those who are looking for a handout and those who will go the distance.

Quite literally, Jesus is telling us; "If you are not willing to share in my death and drink from my suffering then you should turn back now."

How do we introduce this type of commitment into our "social club congregations" today?  So many churches deny their role of ministering to the wounded and bleeding Jesus in the form of the outcast and needy.  After Jesus preached this message to the thousands, only the twelve remained, and even they were struggling with this statement.  Would we be counted among the twelve if we were challenged to take our faith beyond what is comfortable?

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It is sleep our enemy desires, dullness and comfort, he wants us contentedly slumbering in deep repose.  I believe we will be able to tell the time is near when those who shout; "Awake, awake the enemy is near," are drowned out by those who shout; "Shut up, we need our beauty sleep."

http://onefamilyoutreach.com/bible/John/jn_06_51-58.html

Jerry Goebel: 2003 © http://onefamilyoutreach.com

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Friend of mine who left the church as an adolescent and never returned traces his disillusionment to several incidents, including a memorable discussion about the Lord's Supper in his confirmation class. He asked his teacher how the sacrament was any different from the ritual cannibalism practiced in some tribes in which they eat the body of the departed leader in the belief that by doing so they will manifest the leader's powers. The teacher was obviously agitated by the question and responded, "What a disgusting suggestion! It has nothing to do with cannibalism. We're talking about a blessed sacrament, not some primitive ritual. It's completely different." The teacher refused to continue the discussion.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_n22_v111/ai_15699990/

Martin B. Copenhaver, 1994

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Check out the premise of the 'Nigerians' in the new sci fi movie, District 9!  They thought they could gain the powers of the alien 'prawns' if they could eat them.

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The participle in verse 54, trwvgwn, is almost shockingly graphic: it means to eat noisily, often used of animals ("gnaw," "nibble," "munch"). When used with reference to people, it often has the idea of enjoyment (Matt 24:38) and close comradeship. Some have thought it refers to a literal feeding, and thus to the Eucharist. But this does not follow: by anyone's definition there must be a symbolic element to the eating which Jesus speaks of in the discourse, and once this is admitted, it is better to understand it here, as in the previous references in the passage, to a personal receiving of (or appropriation of) Christ and his work.

http://bible.org/seriespage/exegetical-commentary-john-6

 W. Hall Harris III

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We are tempted to believe that this right now is all that is. We show that in our attempt to enjoy as much as possible while we are "alive." 
We attempt to remain young, because old means the end. Even in retirement complexes, those with canes, walkers, and wheelchairs don't want to be seen by those without these devices, because, well, they mean the lost of independence, and the end coming.

As we eat and drink Jesus in the Sacrament, I would hope that we enjoy life now because Jesus is with you every week. And the Blessed Sacrament received each week is to counter the world which says life with this religious claptrap isn't where life really is. We need to know that "to be" is only when Jesus is in us, and it is always "not to be" when Jesus is not in us.

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-8/060820-5-e.html

Walter W. Harms, retired pastor, Austin, TX

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What do people feel is the most important part of the worship service? In the recent past, when studies were made within the Lutheran church, 83% of Lutherans rated Holy Communion as the most important part of the worship service.  More important than preaching. More important than singing hymns and praise songs. More important than praying and the prayers of the church. 

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Some years ago, when I was giving Holy Communion to Edie Wills of our parish who was dying of cancer of the esophagus. She had a tracheotomy and could speak only with airy, whispered sounds.  I spoke to her the words of John 6: "Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood (will never die) but live forever."  She shot back at me from her hospital bed, "What did you say?" I replied, "I didn't say it but God's Word said it, "Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood will live forever." With her breathy voice, Edie whispered loudly and forcefully to me through her wind pipe and tracheotomy, "Give me some of that bread and wine." It was as if Edie had heard these words for the first time. The words penetrated her mind and she knew that she was eating soul food and drinking soul wine for all eternity.before her body died.

http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_holy_communion.htm

Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington

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The promise of this new world is set forth in the strongest possible terms when Jesus declares, "My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, not like your ancestors ate and still they died, because whoever eats this bread will live forever."

Can this be possible? One man set free is worth a thousand speeches. The first time I heard these words I was listening to the radio as I drove my car down a highway in Washington, D.C. I wanted to pull over and roll down my windows and shout to all who were passing by, "Did you hear that? Isn't that the truth? Isn't that the God-honest truth? One person set free is worth a thousand speeches?" 

http://day1.org/668-a_taste_of_freedom_food

The Rev. Dr. Harvard Stephens, Jr., dean of the chapel,  Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, 2000

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Communion with Christ means a restoration of the intimacy with God that brings fulfillment and satisfaction.  There is no life sustaining nourishment for the spirit to be had apart from the Lord.  "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever..."

http://www.lectionarysermons.com/aug20.00.htm

John Jewell, 2000

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One must not take this passage as a description of an actual dialogue between Jesus and some of those who followed him. Rather it doubtless refers to a difficulty in St. John's community over the Eucharist and the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, a difficulty which has plagued the Church through it's history, mostly because have tried to reduce mystery to prose, to explain the inexplicable. 

http://www.agreeley.com/hom09/aug16.htm

Andrew M. Greeley, 2009

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