August 18, 2024 - Living with the Gospel Reading - Chewing and Gnawing on the Word

First Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6

Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls from the highest places in the town, "You that are simple, turn in here!” to those without sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.

Gospel: John 6:51-58

In the August 18th readings, Proverbs is concerned about wisdom. The John text defies common sense in what Jesus teaches. Wisdom and reason are related but distinct concepts that play crucial roles in how we think, make decisions, and understand the world. Reason is about processing information in a structured way. It follows rules of logic, and applies systematic approaches to understanding and decision-making.

Wisdom is more holistic, involving not just the application of knowledge, but also the ability to see the bigger picture, draw from personal and collective experiences, and make decisions that are balanced, compassionate, and considerate of complex human factors.

In essence, reason is our tool to achieve wisdom, but wisdom encompasses more than just reason—it includes a deep, often intuitive, understanding of life and the human condition.

The last time John 6:51-58 was read at Creator worship the U.S. was still suffering under the pandemic. I remember how primitive and raw the text struck me in 2021. I continue to remember the desperation the verses captured about the then human condition that was quite palpable at that time. 

I will start with a reaction to the Gospel. This Bread of Life discourse at the heart the Gospel builds on the verse in John chapter 1, “the word became flesh” (John 1:14). And how does the church historically receive life from Jesus and that incarnation? How is it that we, centuries later and without a direct and unambiguous experience of Jesus in the flesh, can still receive his incarnate life, particularly when the specter of death becomes particularly real?

In verses 49-51, Jesus speaks about “eating” the bread from heaven, using a the common word (esthio) footnote. In verse 53, however, Jesus switches to a less common word, trogo, a rather onomatopoetic word that has a connotation closer to “munch” or “gnaw.” This is a graphic word of noisy eating, the sort of eating an animal does. The audibility of the eating, however, is not the important point; this suggests eating that is urgent, even desperate. It is eating as though life must depend on it.

Yet Jesus is unclear. I say unclear because what eating his flesh and drinking his blood is open to interpretation together with what is meant by eternal life. We often recast and soften this story and other references like it. We are tempted to forget how raw and strange Jesus’ language is at this moment. What he’s talking about sounds like cannibalism – human beings eating other human beings! In fact, one of the reasons early Christians were persecuted by their Roman and Jewish neighbors in the first few centuries after Jesus was because people thought that they were a twisted cannibalistic cult.

In verse 52, the people argue amongst themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They must be horrified and offended. Regardless of what you think about someone’s skill as a teacher and speaker (Jesus was very gifted and charismatic), this kind of talk freaked people out.

And, rather than softening the message as we do, Jesus doubles down. He doesn’t back down and explain himself in plainer language. He doesn’t apologize for being misunderstood. Jesus stands firm in his message, in his God-given convictions. He proclaims the truth that God has given him about how to give life and love and healing to the world, even if that path is unpopular and nonsensical.

The Lutheran tradition doesn't follow the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Approaching the truth in this passage symbolically rather than literally should not blunt what Jesus' words achieve. I believe that Jesus extends an early invitation to what Kierkegaard would later label his "leap of faith". This "leap" may come after a person explores the nature of individual religious faith, the absurdity of Christianity, and the limitations of human reason.

I also work with the idea he may be inviting the crowd to be consumed by God like Jesus himself is consumed by God. There is an additional emphasis given to the desperation of the described when it is described as "chewing". Desperate and indiscriminate. Communion should include people we don't like and might normally exclude. We can consume the "body of Christ" when we abandon pride. What would we collectively become as the body of Christ on earth, if we followed this approach? 

Jesus' teaching sets us apart from the way we are usually tempted to live our lives and we end up asking "What is our purpose?"  The easy answer to that question is to affirm "good things", to be people of character and integrity, and to not hurt others.  The much harder questions arise when we add the ingredient of God's Word into the formula of discerning what our real purpose should be.

 How often does the Gospel resonate in our hearts as Good News with an emphasis on the News? Today's John 6 passage again resonates in my soul. The stark and uncompromising language in John 6:51-58 is challenging. It underscores the radical nature of Jesus' message and forces me to confront the depth and definition of my faith in what Jesus is teaching.

The Proverbs reading references bread and wine directly, Both texts make up a kind of poetic feast of spiritual maturity and way of life. However the promised power in relationship of the First Reading to the Gospel is particularly hopeful and noteworthy. 

"she (wisdom) calls from the highest places in the town, "You that are simple, turn in here!” to those without sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight."

Today, "to those without sense", relates to those who embrace the nonsensical. Wisdom says they will gain maturity and insight. Certainly these passages have been the subject of extensive theological debate and interpretation throughout Christian history, and they continue to be a point of divergence between different Christian denominations. 

We can chew and gnaw on the Word as expressed in scripture. It can comfort us when we are afflicted. It can just as easily get stuck between our teeth when we are more comfortable. I even feel myself at this moment chewing and gnawing on each of these readings.