NOURISHED BY CHRIST (33 OF 49)
Scripture: John 6:51-58
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Nourished by Christ (33 of 49)
Lectionary, Year B
Christopher B. Harbin
John 6:51-58
Communication is difficult. We cannot hear what we are not ready to hear. We are hard-pressed to process new concepts. Hearing one another is only possible when we can set aside so many of the ideas we bring to the conversation to hear what each other is actually saying. Our expectations get in the way. Our baggage gets in the way. What we expect one another to address gets in the way. At times I marvel that we communicate at all. How can we possibly understand what Jesus is getting at when he starts using terms we associate with cannibalism? How can Jesus nourish us for a new life?
John uses a series of images in his account of Jesus. In chapter three, Jesus is the light of the world, but that is only after Nicodemus has failed to grasp three different images Jesus used to address his need for a fresh start in his relationship with God. In chapter four of John, we find Jesus as living water; in chapter five, we find Jesus as wielding the authority of God's son; in chapter six, Jesus is the bread of life. None of these images are exclusive. None of them forms the complete picture. They all present aspects of Jesus' identity, character, and mission. Like the classic tale of several blind men describing an elephant, each image of Jesus combines with the rest to flesh out a larger perspective of Jesus than any one of those images could do on their own. They do not reduce Jesus to elements we might eat or drink. Rather, they work together to build a more complete view of how God came to earth, living a human life within society, that we might have a clearer take on who God truly is.
As John focuses on Jesus' words about being the bread of life, I find myself drawn to the language of communion. While there is some resonance here with that liturgical language, those who would have heard Jesus speaking would have had no connection to the bread and wine we share from the Lord ...
Lectionary, Year B
Christopher B. Harbin
John 6:51-58
Communication is difficult. We cannot hear what we are not ready to hear. We are hard-pressed to process new concepts. Hearing one another is only possible when we can set aside so many of the ideas we bring to the conversation to hear what each other is actually saying. Our expectations get in the way. Our baggage gets in the way. What we expect one another to address gets in the way. At times I marvel that we communicate at all. How can we possibly understand what Jesus is getting at when he starts using terms we associate with cannibalism? How can Jesus nourish us for a new life?
John uses a series of images in his account of Jesus. In chapter three, Jesus is the light of the world, but that is only after Nicodemus has failed to grasp three different images Jesus used to address his need for a fresh start in his relationship with God. In chapter four of John, we find Jesus as living water; in chapter five, we find Jesus as wielding the authority of God's son; in chapter six, Jesus is the bread of life. None of these images are exclusive. None of them forms the complete picture. They all present aspects of Jesus' identity, character, and mission. Like the classic tale of several blind men describing an elephant, each image of Jesus combines with the rest to flesh out a larger perspective of Jesus than any one of those images could do on their own. They do not reduce Jesus to elements we might eat or drink. Rather, they work together to build a more complete view of how God came to earth, living a human life within society, that we might have a clearer take on who God truly is.
As John focuses on Jesus' words about being the bread of life, I find myself drawn to the language of communion. While there is some resonance here with that liturgical language, those who would have heard Jesus speaking would have had no connection to the bread and wine we share from the Lord ...
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