Cannibalism, Communion, or Something Else?

John 6 51-58

August 16, 2015

I can hear the disciples now.

Jesus, you’re losing them.

You almost had them, but

now with all this talk about

eating your flesh and blood

you’re losing them.

I think when we hear these words from Jesus we go directly

to communion and the 2000 years of

doctrine that has gone with communion.

But this was not written today.

There was no communion when Jesus said this.

There was no doctrine.

John’s gospel doesn’t even have

a last supper/first institution of communion in it.

So how did the people understand this?

What was Jesus talking about?

I would say it’s obvious that

Jesus isn’t talking about

literally eating his flesh, tucking in

and eating and arm or a leg.

Even people who take the bible literally

don’t think that.

But what I think he’s is saying

is don’t just be an observer of Jesus.

Don’t just see Jesus, don’t just sit on the sidelines

when it comes to Jesus..

Don’t just be impressed by the miracles,

don’t just appreciate his life and sayings.

Don’t just politely call yourselves Christian

Don’t just think about or talk about Jesus

life given on the cross for us.

Eat it. Eat the whole thing

Eat it. Consume it. Chew on it.

Ingest it. Make it a part of you.

The word Jesus actually uses for eat

literally means “to gnaw”.

To gnaw, gnaw on his flesh.

Not just to nibble or to taste, but to gnaw on it.

Jesus doesn’t just want followers who want things

like bread or blessings or whatever we’re after these days.

Jesus is not a vending machine,

put a prayer in, get your request out.

Jesus wants each of us to take in all of him.

To understand how he gave his life for us.

To live in thanks for it, appreciate it

to know that this is how much God has loved us.

Then live our lives in sacrifice for God and others.

We come to the table to eat together every week,

not just to fulfill a ritual that the synod office tells us to.

We come to the table because

this is where Jesus becomes a part of us.

I read a story about a group of people that were

being held as political prisoners during the rise of communism.

The prisoners were not supposed to practice

any religious services.

The Breaking of the Bread, Sieger Koder

But the Christian prisoners wanted to have communion,

so the non-Christians offered to talk among themselves

while the Christians had a service

so that the guards wouldn’t be able to hear what was going on.

They had no bread and no wine and no other food or drink.

So they acted as if they did.

The leader among them said the words

and broke an imaginary piece of bread,

each person took a piece and shared it around to the next person.

They each then took a sip of wine from an imaginary cup.

And when it was over, they thanked God for what they had.

And when the service was over

the non-Christians said that understood

what Christianity and the Eucharist was for the first time.

They understood that it wasn’t just bread

they were eating, it was God.

Jesus wants God and God’s love for us

to be our food, what nourishes us

and what we live on together.

And that is why we eat at this table

every time we join as a community on Sunday.
That is why we invite everyone

regardless of age, denomination or background.

Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done.

  

This is where we find God and Jesus.

This is where we find Jesus sacrifice,

where God’s love fills us and nourishes us

where Jesus teachings and actions

Where we consume it, ingest it,

digest it, it becomes a part of us

it flows through our bodies and our digestive systems

into every cell and molecule,

until it becomes part of who we are.

And then we give it back to the world

Jesus is the bread of life.

Not just to be looked at,

or studied, or honored, or praised.

Jesus means to be gnawed on, and consumed.

Jesus wants us to eat his flesh,

so that we might live.