| John 6:35, 41-51 "What's For Dinner?" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 12 August 2006 | |
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As you may know because of local newspaper coverage, our Bishop, Rhymes H. Moncure Jr. is recovering from the surgical removal of a tumor at the base of his brain stem. What you may not know is that on Friday, there was a major post-operative complication. Bishop Moncure experienced substantial bleeding from the surgery site and had to undergo an emergency second corrective surgery. Our bishop has been unconscious since this event. I’m going to ask for a moment of silence and invite you to pray for our Bishop Rhymes Moncure Jr. and his wife Jewel as doctors continue to try to save his life. This morning’s Lectionary reading comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 6:35, 41-51. I invite you to stand as you are able and listen for the Good News. 35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42They 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”?’ 43Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It 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. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I 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.’ Prayer: O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord you are our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Those of you who cornered my eight-year-old son Chris last week, to congratulate him on his bird and cactus joke, need to know you’re fueling a fire that could get us all burned! The other night, in preparation for “Last Comic Standing 2,” Chris tried out new material on his daddy. His latest? Two muffins are baking in an oven. One says to the other, “Boy it sure is hot in here…” To which the other replies, “Wow, a talking muffin!” ….Granted its a lot funnier coming from an eight year old! We’ve been talking about “Living Bread.” That the Church is the Community of the Bread broken, the Wine poured and this Communion table, our place of remembering. I want to pick up where we left off and wrestle with Jesus’ claim to be the “living bread.” What does this mean? No question, some thought Jesus was implying cannibalism. Others merely thought him crazy. And still others, that Jesus was speaking metaphorically. Many in the church today would probably agree with a metaphorical take on Jesus’ use of the words flesh and blood. Admittedly, some of us are turned off by Jesus’ words and dismiss his terminology as irrelevant and reflective of a now defunct temple sacrificial system. Here’s the problem: A purely metaphorical take of Jesus’ words denies the literalness with which he speaks. After all, if you accept in some form the belief that Jesus died for humanity, then his reference to his “flesh being given for the world,” is certainly literal and prophetic. And his claim to have “come down from heaven” certainly jives with the Gospel’s proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God. So mere metaphor falls short of interpreting the meaning behind Jesus’ words, “I am the bread of life.” So what is Jesus saying? Ego eimi dzo-ay' artos. Biblical scholars pretty much agree that Jesus uses the words “Ego eimi” or “I am” to associate himself with the God of Exodus. “Whom shall I say sent me?” Moshe asks the burning bush…The answer? “I am…” (Exodus 3) In using “Ego eimi” Jesus identifies himself with the God of Israel’s salvation. Ego eimi zoe (dzo-ay') artos. In NT Greek, zoe is a feminine noun translated as “life.” Specifically “zoe” means absolute fullness and genuineness of life. Artos, is the masculine noun for bread, literally flour mixed with water and baked. There are few things more basic to human survival then flour and water. But it’s the baking process that makes the bread palatable. Ego eimi dzo-ay' artos, I am living bread. It’s a verbal picture Jesus’ hearers ought to understand though it attempts to take them to a place they are unwilling to go! In the words of the Shema, “Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one…” When Jesus claims, “The Father and I are one,” (in John 10:30) Jesus appears to contradict this “one” God claim. After all, one-plus-one equals two. Even if one-plus-one could equal one, it seems inconceivable for the creator of the cosmos to be contained by human flesh. I think a key to understanding Jesus’ claim is found in the use of the word gongyzo “grumble” or “complain” in the NRSV. 41 Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ The word gongyzo is being used a narrative tool to connect the crowd’s grumbling in our text with the grumbling of Israel during its wilderness wanderings on their way to the Promised Land. In effect Jesus is saying, “The bread I gave you on the other side of the Sea (of Galilee) was table food. What I offer you now on this side of the sea is absolute fullness and genuineness of life; a way out of both enslavement and wilderness and into the Promised land. Like flour and water, mixed together and baked, I take what life dishes out and make it palatable. What I offer you is “me,” body and soul. I am the bread your soul hungers for. Well, Jesus’ hearers aren’t convinced. Verse 42 “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”?” Want a modern translation of their response? “Aren’t you the runny nose kid who used to zip around the neighborhood in loose diapers? Why, we know your mom, and your dad! There’s nothing special about you but an overly developed sense of self-importance! Jesus’ claim that eternal life comes by eating his flesh and drinking his blood finally drives off the bulk of followers so that by verse 67 Jesus asks the 12, “Do you also wish to go away?” Flesh eaters! Is that what we are? Not if the flesh Jesus is talking about is a different kind of flesh. I was in Destin on vacation when I learned that an Asian-American actor named Mako, had passed away from cancer. Mako built a career in theatre arts and the motion picture industry. This is back when racism was openly rampant in Hollywood and directors would rarely consider casting a minority in the part of a doctor or lawyer or even a homemaker. Mako was one of the first Asian-American actors to be cast in parts traditionally were reserved only for Caucasians. Mako earned an Oscar nomination for “The Sand Pebbles” in which he played opposite Steve McQueen. His most recent films include, “Seven Years in Tibet,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Memoirs of a Geisha.” Then, of course, there were the two Conan the Barbarian movies…Booyah! Mako co-founded my mother’s theatre group, East-West Players. Along with Pat Morita and a handful of others Asian actors, Mako found his way across the racial barriers that refused them access to stage and screen. I remember Mako as kind and generous. And after he “made it” in Hollywood, he invested himself in mentoring the other actors and actresses of the theatre group. When my mom called to tell me Mako had died, despite her grief, there was joy in her voice as she talked about the man who had contributed so much to her life and the lives of others. Like the homeless person who is handed a four-course meal, and runs back to the shelter with it so others may share in the feast, Mako offered himself up as living bread for the hunger of others. To feast on Jesus is to consume or more correctly, to be consumed by divine love, heart and soul. And as we feast on Jesus, we become a community of the bread broken, the wine poured. This church is a holy church, set aside for God and God’s mission. I think sometimes we forget that! As a community of the Bread Broken, the wine poured we spend way too much energy pursuing personal agenda. We too easily disbelieve what we do not understand. We get caught up in petty stuff and miss the larger, more sacred moving of the Spirit. We spend way too much time in the church arguing positions instead of listening to one another. I like the way the Message version of the Bible translates verses 43-44, Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me-that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End. This week I received an unsolicited visit from the Gideons. The Gideons are well known for the Bibles that are placed in hotels and the New Testaments they hand out to military and students. I’ve been asked to identify some men who might be willing to attend a dinner at next month to learn about the Gideons and if you’re interested in attending this meal, please let me know after worship. While I don’t see it as my role to build the Gideon organization, I can respect the work they do in getting the Bible out into the hands of others. There is living bread in here (holding up Bible)….But more importantly, there is living bread out there (pointing to congregation). We are Living Bread! God speaks through us as the church. This morning God spoke through the church in the baptism of little Melana, naming her as a daughter of God. We live out our identity as a community of the bread broken, the wine poured by praying for her and volunteering as her Sunday School teachers; when we present her with her own Bible and teach its stories; when we serve as her confirmation mentor and teachers, and volunteer as her youth workers and choir directors. How do I know this? Because you and I have promised to do so and God will hold us to our Covenant! I’ve watched this church do all of these things in my own children’s lives. And I will never dismiss or diminish your ministry to my family and me. By your caring you have been Living Bread to my children. And in every expression of kindness God renews the claim spoken to them at their baptisms, “You are my child, whom I love and with you I am well pleased.” You have validated their sacred worth to God. And I will never, ever be able to repay you for what you have done and continue to do for them. This is our identity as a community of the bread broken, the wine poured. We proclaim the spiritual truth that all are beloved children of God and of sacred worth. The sacred worth of all people is affirmed in Jesus’ use of the word, “whoever…” Vs. 35 Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will never be thirsty Vs. 47 whoever believes has eternal life. Vs. 51 Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever “Whoever comes to this table,” Jesus is saying, “is family and shares in the meal.” The Lord’s Table is the great equalizer. We look across to see who is on the other side and recognize them all as brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s a part of what I mean when I refer to this table as our place of remembering. How can we be blessed as “peacemakers” if we gossip about others in the church? How can we hasten the coming of the Kingdom of God if we can’t sit down and find common ground to talk about the war in the Middle East? And in the mean time, since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Hezbollah of Lebanon, its been reported that approximately 1000 Lebanese have died, one third of them reportedly children under 12, and the number of Israeli deaths is almost 100. For heaven’s sake, we should be pleading for PEACE! Why? Because all are children of God and of sacred worth! By our silence we deny our identity as the community of the bread broken, the wine poured. Jesus said, “Ego eimi dzo-ay' artos, “I am Living Bread…” What I offer you is absolute fullness and genuineness of life. What I offer you is “me,” (body and soul). I am the bread your soul hungers for. Like flour and water, mixed together and baked, I make life palatable and full of meaning and joy. Until we can be the bread broken for each other, we cannot be that bread for the world. Pray with me: By your Spirit, Almighty God, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Amen. |
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