“Difficult Teaching”

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
August 23rd 2009
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Difficult Teaching”
Psalm 84; John 6:56-69

Hearing Jesus words: “Eat my flesh,” reminds me of the movie Alive. That film is a dramatic depiction of a real life plane crash in the Andes Mountains. Beyond the edge of desperation and facing starvation the survivors come to a horrifying realization. In order to survive they must eat the flesh of those who had died. Fortunately Jesus is not calling his follower to become cannibals.
While we can laugh at how ridiculous the idea of thinking Jesus is calling us to eat real flesh, there was a time when such myths were prevalent. It was an ancient version of the current and vibrant myths surrounding the conversations about health insurance reform. Outside the ancient Christian community people heard that Christians ate the flesh of a first born child at events called love feasts. Just imagine the sort of outrage this would have caused at those ancient town hall meetings. Fortunately, reason and fact finally won the day and Christianity was no longer suspected of cannibalism.
So if this is not a call to cannibalism, what does it mean when Jesus says: “Eat my flesh?” Well, despite our focus this month on communion Jesus is not preparing us to practice communion. Jesus is not setting the foundation for sacramental theology. Instead, the call to eat the flesh should be heard in the same vein as when Jesus says: “Pick up your cross, and follow me.” In other words, to eat the flesh of Jesus is to participate in his death to the world. It was not primarily a negative command but a positive one. Jesus is saying: “Follow in the way of living that I have shown.” This call to eat the flesh is a call to participation in the body of Christ. It is a call to be the witnesses of Jesus in the world, to a new way of living.
So far this makes sense or at least it sounds churchy enough to leave me wondering: “What is so offensive about Jesus’ words?” If we cannot find a way to be offended by Jesus at this point, we are not hearing him clearly. The reason I say this has everything to do with who gets offended at Jesus’ words. This encounter is not with the religious leadership but with his disciples. The people who are offended by this call to follow are those who have been with him since the beginning. They have decided that his call to follow is simply too difficult and they leave. So, why is this offensive? Let me see if I can find a way to offend our sensibilities.
I think that the offence in this passage comes for those who are comfortable with Jesus. They know what to expect and have figured it all out. Their working assumption is that the call to be continually converted to the life of faith is meant for other people. The offensiveness in this passage is that Jesus’ call to participate in the life of faith calls into question: All our political assumptions, our values, our theological certainties, our religious customs, our relationships, and our assumptions about the current arrangement of society and life. Living the life of faith is about how we live each day. What Jesus is challenging our tendency to place this stuff into a nice controlled religious box we visit at the proper times and seasons. Can you begin to see why they might have gotten offended at Jesus?
He invites his followers to take up his mantle. Eating his flesh means a willingness to act in similar ways. This way of life was, and is, rather radical. Jesus spoke truth to power. Jesus healed people without asking if they had health insurance. Jesus fed the poor instead of ignoring them. And despite being God incarnate Jesus did not return evil for evil when tortured, unjustly put on death row and executed by the state. This is what it means to eat his flesh, to participate in this way of living. Is it any wonder that many turned back and no longer went around with him? If you are known by the company you keep, Jesus could get us in real trouble. If I am honest I know that there are times when I choose to turn back. The good news is that Jesus’ invitation is never rescinded. We are continually being called to convert to this way of life.
At this point you can almost hear the disciples telling Jesus that this is a poor way to recruit new members. But Jesus response is not to back off but simply ask the disciples who are left if they want to go away too. It is not what I would call a pastoral way of dealing with the disciples. The response to Jesus further challenge is actually quite funny. Notice that Peter does not say: “We do not want to leave you.” Instead, the best Peter can muster is: “where can we go?” It is almost as if he is saying: “Once we have come to believe, to really understand the radical nature of discipleship – getting a little religion is no longer enough.” Where are we going to go once we understand that to follow means all this?
This may not sound particularly like good news. Where else are we going to go? How is that for an invitation to discipleship? However, it is so much more than resignation. When we come to understand that living life to the fullest means to follow in the way of Christ – feeding, sharing, loving and serving others, it is only natural to ask: “Now that we know, where are we going to go?” When we come to this table to eat the bread, or eat the flesh in a metaphorical sense, we are signaling our willingness to follow in the way. Coming to the table does not make us more holy nor are we transformed into super disciples. Instead it is a concrete act which shows our desire to participation in the way of Jesus. And our willingness, our hunger to live in this way is all that is required at this table. So come, let us eat some flesh! Amen? Amen.