Today's Scripture Readings
1 Kings 19:4-8 (NRSV)
Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
Psalm 34:1-8 (NRSV)
Ephesians 4:25-5:9 (NRSV)
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 6:35, 41-51 (NRSV)
Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 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 forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
Blog Reflection
These Scriptures that we are presented with present some problems in between the good stuff. Not the least of them is the "Jesus only" suggested that brings about a sour odor of antisemitism. The common thread of the idea that Christianity supercedes all other religious traditions continues to this day from the earliest writings of the Christian religion.
As Christians, we also have one very important truth with regards to our own faith. That which we believe and profess originates with the Jewish faith. Rather than suggest that we are the "correct" religion, a better way to interpret Jesus in this Gospel reading from John is to know that He is from the beginning, is now, and every shall be. We pray these words in the Gloria Patri all the time and they tell us that what we proclaim as Christians is true form our history and leads us on into the next great revelation about God. The Holy Spirit continues to guide us into all truth (see John 16:13). That truth within the context of an interfaith attitude is that Jesus for Christians is a beginning point from which we can trust in God that every religious tradition is expressed by people who are honestly devoted to make the world a better place to live by loving others.
In this Gospel reading today, Jesus invites us to something deeper than a quick fix ideology. He wants those who wish to draw closer to God through Him to ponder how much deeper and closer we are willing to let God get to us. As Christians, we tend to do a lot of good talking and arguing about theological points of view. As Jesus unwraps this mystery of the Eucharist in John 6, He is telling us that a relationship with God through Jesus becomes the substance of life that feeds us and the world around us.
Father David Sellery in Speaking to the Soul wrote,
In this week’s gospel, Christ invites us to consume his love, to make it the bone and fiber of our being, to keep coming back for more, to purge the toxins of sin and fill ourselves with joy. No wonder his listeners are stunned. Jesus is telling us that our relationship with God has been completely transformed… from one of distant, awe-filled reverence to one of intimate, unconditional love. In our sins, in our doubts, Jesus invites us to taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Now God has a human face. He is approachable. His love is consumable… ours for the taking.
From the loaves and fishes right through this ongoing discourse on the Bread of Life, the Sixth Chapter of John has a common theme: Trust in God. He loves you and will provide for you… not with the bread you want… not those tempting confections of self-indulgence… but with the Bread you need… the saving grace of our redemption. Come to the table of plenty.
Among the challenges for us, is to be careful of making (or masking) our table of plenty into a table for privileged gluttony with barriers all over it. The Holy Communion in which the Presence of God dwells to feed and nourish any and all who come; is not the appropriate occasion to hold exclusive private meals. The Sacrament has been used by other branches of our Christian faith to be part of political protests on any number of issues including but not limited to women's reproductive health rights and marriage equality for LGBT people. I for one, take issue with the whole "all baptized Christians may receive the Holy Communion with us." Will there come a time when even The Episcopal Church will have its own discussion about "baptismal papers please" to receive the Holy Eucharist?
The latest issue around the authentic worship of God, comes by way of the insane religious liberty argument. Fr. Andrew Gerns shared an article in The Episcopal Cafe about religious liberty. It is worth clicking on the link to read.
Jesus invites all of us today to do the work of ministry for a table of plenty without barriers. A table where there are no barriers set up to keep those who would like to get closer to Jesus though the ministry of the Church, in a communal way the feeds them with God's abundant grace. They want to know that God is with them in their moments of difficulty and tragedy. They also want to know for themselves if God is really interested in drawing closer to them. The Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood is a beautiful and holy way for God to come close to us, as we draw closer to God. Through The Holy Communion we can also receive the grace and strength to draw closer to each other, and others beyond our doors so that the Reign of God is welcomed among the oppressed and afflicted.
May each of us play our part to make the table of plenty a living reality of faith without barriers to bring healing and reconciliation to a hurting world.
Amen.
Prayer
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always
those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without
you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 14. The Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).
God our Father, whose Son our Lord Jesus Christ in a
wonderful Sacrament has left us a memorial of his passion:
Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of his Body and
Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit
of his redemption; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect on the Holy Eucharist. The Book of Common Prayer, p. 252).
Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Poor and Neglected. The Book of Common Prayer, p. 826).
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