SERMON FOR AUGUST 15, 2021                TEXT: JOHN 6:51-58

          According to the Gospel of John, in the night in which he was betrayed our Lord Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. John mentions that they also ate together, but the central event is the foot-washing, not the sharing of the Last Supper. In contrast, the meal is the focus in the synoptic gospels, while Matthew, Mark and Luke say nothing about a foot washing. Celebrating the Lord’s Supper became an essential part of Christian worship from the very beginning. Consequently, it is hard to imagine that John would make no reference to it. If he does, it is in the section we just heard from chapter six of his gospel. John follows his usual pattern here, beginning with a sign, followed by a discourse in which Jesus unpacks its significance for his hearers.

          Four weeks ago, we began our reading of John 6 with the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. In the following weeks we have heard Jesus explore the deeper meaning of that sign. First he compares two types of bread from heaven. There is the manna in the wilderness, sent by God to the Israelites to keep them from starvation. Then there is the the true bread from heaven given by Jesus’ Father to bring life to the world. The Lord talks about the first in the past tense and the second in the present: “Vey truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.” Then Jesus identifies himself with the latter: “I am the bread of life. Whoever believes in me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.”

          At this point he seems to be speaking metaphorically:    eating represents believing — consuming manna and receiving bodily sustenance is like having faith in Jesus and being nourished spiritually by his divine power. With this important difference:    Those who ate the manna in the wilderness ultimately died. Those who eat the bread that came down from heaven have eternal life. Jesus said to the crowd, “I am the bread of life Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.” The problem is their lack of faith.

          But as Jesus continues, he ups the ante and seems no longer to be speaking metaphorically. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven,” he says. “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh.” This is the language of sacrifice. Manna and bread give way to flesh and blood. “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” Note the verb tense again. Earlier the Lord proclaims, “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever” — a future tense. But now he speaks of eternal life in the present tense:    “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life . . . .” This is about the quality of our living here and now. The person Jesus will raise at the last is in the making moment by moment, one day at a time, until our last breath.                                                                            .

            In today’s gospel Jesus ends where he first began, with the image of eating bread: “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” His hearers do not know what to make of him. They are offended by his claim to come down from heaven; he is, after all, someone whose human descent and earthly parents are well known to them. Last week we heard them grumbling, “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’?” (John 6:42). They are scandalized by the graphic language of flesh and blood, which raises the disturbing specter of cannibalism. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52), they wonder. Even his supporters are troubled. “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (v.60), many of his disciples ask.

            You can’t blame them. We have centuries of experience with the Lord’s Supper and a huge body of teaching about it, and we still acknowledge it to be a mystery. Jesus’ original hearers had none of that. Moreover, when all is said and done, we don’t know for sure that John is actually talking about the sacrament. Sayings like “[M]y flesh is true food and my blood is true drinkl” certainly sound that way. Yet in the passage immediately following the one we read today, Jesus finishes his long reflection on the bread from heaven by telling his disciples, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” Spirit and life rather than flesh and blood. Jesus seems to be ending where he began, where eating is about having faith in him, being joined to him in a relationship of trust and love. The Gospel of John is like quicksilver for a preacher.

          This insight comes from the Bible scholar, Brian Peterson, and I find it helpful: [W]hile this part of chapter 6 brings to mind the Eucharist, it is not primarily about the Eucharist. It is primarily about Jesus himself as the food of eternal life from the Father. The Eucharist is life-giving because it draws us deeper into relationship with Jesus, so that we might ‘abide’ there.” Jesus draws us to himself; he takes us up into his life. The Savior gets under your skin and in your heart. You hear his voice in moments of uncertainty; you understand what is right and good in his eyes, and you find the strength to do it. And when you fail, you do not hide behind lies. You turn to him with confidence, seeking forgiveness, and you are never turned away. We thirst for the peace only Jesus can give; we hunger for the healing power of his love. Day by day, year by year, he blesses us with these gifts. Day by day, year by year, he works through us to bring light and life to the world. “This is indeed the will of my Father,” he tells us, “that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” Sisters and brothers, we are already on the rise! Amen.