Body and blood

 In reading the passage from John regarding Christ's saying that it is "my flesh and drinks my blood" (Jn. 6:54) creates problems not only for the disciples who follow him but in some ways for us. The issue that wells up in our minds is that initial reaction of "Yeuck, flesh and blood" and I am fairly certain that for the disciples this is the reaction in question. Yet, the Gospel was written long after the life of Christ and when we read it we read it with a long history of interpretive layering that festoons these words. It is not a simple thing to mine John's gospel in particular but all Gospels for something that has meaning for us today. Simple platitudes may work for some but at the end of the day there has to be something greater then the simplicity of "Oh this is just a symbolic gesture which is encompassed in the Eucharist". Firstly, we have to remember that these words are said prior to the institution of any form of symbolic supper. Secondly, they are spoken to some learned, but not that many, and more likely poor, humble people in the setting created by John. So what is the author attempting to convey? This is difficult and really open to the numerous interpretations that one can find but perhaps we need to think very simply in a complex sort of way.

After David's death Solomon takes the throne of Israel in his father's stead (1 Kings 2:12). Solomon interacts with God within a dream in chapter 3 (1 Kings 3:3-14) and it is this interaction that is the basis of Solomon's reign. What is of interest for us is the request that Solomon makes of God (1 Kings 3:8), the rest to a certain extent is superfluous. The ideal of good judgement in terms of justice is esteemed good by God and as such is the thing that we need to display. Again in Paul's letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:11-21) the crux of the passage is the notion of walking as wise people not foolish (Eph. 5: 15). If we think of this in terms of the previous passage it is walking in the wisdom and understanding of Solomon who walks in justice not in injustice. This then brings us back once more to the Gospel and Christ talking about flesh and blood. From the reading of the Gospels as we have them today one of the overarching understandings of Christ in scripture is that of a person who embodies the meaning of justice. The person who goes to the lowest of the low and ministers and ensures that they achieve justice within the community. The cured leper, who is outcast; the woman who haemorrhages, an outcast from community; the blindman who was ostracised and brought back into community; etc. All of these stories tell of a person who brings the outcast back into community simply by ensuring that they can once again be accepted.

An offering of blood for the justice of all not an offering of blood to God

So what does that mean for the words of John?  Up to and during Christ's earthly period sacrifice was common as part of the religious understanding of the time. Part and parcel of this understanding that what was being offered was the life i.e. the blood of the sacrifice along with the flesh to God. Hence the prohibitions against spilling (human) and drinking (animal) blood. Yet, Christ is offering himself, his blood and his bodily flesh, his wholeness and connection to God. In accepting this in faith and following by accepting the wholeness of Christ we are again accepted in wholeness with God. Not just earthly flesh and earthly blood but the whole being of Christ who has embodied righteousness and justice upon the earth. We cannot just pass this by with a flippant "Oh eucharistic" and forget that it implies much more than the symbolic flesh and blood of Christ. It is the actuality of the embodiment of Christ within ourselves that must become important in our faith.

The determinant for us today as we gather for the eucharistic feast is to understand that in reception we are faithfully fulfilling Christ's wish for us to embody Christ in our communities today. This means that all of our actions need to embody justice and love of the other. It is often the case that we neglect some part of our community in some form or another. Just sit back and think about those that you neglect in your daily life. It is a question of really being honest with yourself when answering this question because knowing myself there is a built in avoidance that says "Me! I do not neglect anyone." At the end of the day I am certain that all of us fail to answer this correctly, in some corner of our mind we can name at least one individual or section of the community that we have avoided. The reasons being simple, we dislike them, we had a bad relationship with them, we are prejudiced against them, we have heard stories etc. All of these are excuses for us not to reach out to the other, not to provide justice to the other, not to be as Christ and thus not to truly have eaten and partaken of Christ's body and blood. Is this what you feel happy about when you come into God's presence at the eucharist or should it be that I have given my all even to those who would not have me?

 

Bread's life

The bread of life freely given in Christ as his flesh remembered and re-lived in the eucharistic setting. The conjuration of symbol from that which feeds us in the simple diet of millions. A diet that the poorest in the world know in one form or another whether it is made from millet, sorghum or wheat it is a staple food source eaten by millions around the world. Yet, within our faith this common foodstuff has become one of the most powerful symbols of life eternal in representing Christ's life given for us and to us (Jn. 6:51). However, the juxtaposition of secular and spiritual sustenance reminds us that it is not just the spiritual that needs attention when we participate within the acknowledgement of Eucharistic life. It is also the way in which we embody and translate this into the reality that is our secular life. It is all very well to venerate the symbol, but it is the actualisation of that symbol in our very lives that is even more important. The symbol is there to continually remind us of our responsibility within the symbolic setting and covenantal values that this presupposes as they are worked out within our mundane lives.

 To be as Christ in the community is to work out the eucharistic symbolism within our lives as we show Christ's life to those who are other. So how are do we become Christ's imitators to the community (Eph. 5:1)? Too often we busy ourselves in a life of ministry and offering whilst we at the same time fail in how our lives reflect Christ seeking only power, position and authority. In this we should learn to dispossess ourselves of our normal innate behaviours that are learnt from childhood in today's selfish world. Seeking only those things that come from Christ and are spoken of as truth and love. Paul is extremely firm about this way of living as he writes to a number of disparate people. The reading from Ephesians in chapter four speaks of putting of the old and putting on the new (Eph. 4:17-24). He becomes even clearer in the following passage as he educates the recipients of the letter, stating that living a new life means putting aside lies, anger, corruption etc and living a life of truth, forgiveness and love (Eph. 4:25-32).

Bread our entry into risen life

 For those of us who live in the current era and not when the letter was written also understand how gobsmackingly difficult this is, especially when we have placed in front of us on a daily basis the corrupt behaviours of those we place in power and authority over us. It is often that we see daily prominent members of society who have power and authority (moral, spiritual and secular) behaving in ways which are the complete opposite of what it means to be imitators of Christ, and these are just those who profess some form of Christian belief. The old saying of lex orandi, lex credenda (the law of worship is the law of belief) and vice versa is as appropriate in terms of our actions in community as it is within the worship space. If we see and allow behaviour within our society and community from those with belief doing that which is contra to Christ like behaviour, then one has to wonder what or who they actually worship. That is of course not the end, because they advertise themselves as being who they are; they send a false signal of behaviour to others in the community. To counteract this, we need to ensure that we are imitating Christ in the fulness of that meaning and it begins with the bread that is offered to give life.

We are tasked with the understanding as followers of Christ that imitation or lex credendi, lex orandi in the reality of our lives is the way we need to proceed. Joab's deed (2 Sam. 18:14) is the same as the deeds of those in authority today. It is a seeking of self over other rather than placing the other over self which is what we are asked to do by truth telling. The life that bread contains cannot be thrown away in the denigration of others who have received life (maybe not Christ's) from sustenance provided by God. This is the other whom we nurture, the one who receives only physical nurture and not spiritual nurture from the same source that provided the bread. We all have a tendency to try to fulfil this within our own small enclaves rather than provide the food of life to others on the outside. The moment we attempt this we are side-lined and follow the practice of those who have gone before to our own and the other's detriment. Only when we face up to the truth that we must above all be truth tellers and comfort givers to those who are truly other will we begin to understand the benefits of bread's life.

Gifts of God for the people of God

 In the invitation at the Eucharist the priest offers up the wine and the bread and states "The gifts of God for the people of God", not only indicating the gift of God's Son but also the real gift of the grain and grape that the elements originated from, a double blessing. In seeing within the grain and the grape the mystery of Christ's offering of his body and blood we may miss the gift that is in the reality of life, bread and wine, sustenance for the physical body. We are often too focussed on the sign and the symbol to accept the reality of the gift in much the same way that those following Christ were to fixated on the sign that they rejected the food of eternal life (Jn 6:30). This is the free offering that God gives to us that is contained in the bread and the wine, life. A life that is abundant and a life that is freely given to us through God.

Wine and bread sustenance for soul and body

We cannot live without the freely given bounty of God, which we have inevitably commodified for the benefit of a few. The eucharistic meal is, among other things, a reminder to us of this free gift which we need to remind ourselves constantly of. It is a FREE gift. To our minds anything that comes to us free has a catch associated with it. We are too used to the fact that every 'freebie' has a price attached and if we think like that then we are not receiving a gift but purchasing something. We can perhaps turn to politics, and recent politics in this country, to see the effect of gifts on the political landscape. We have had in recent months this rort and that rort that seems to indicate that those in power and authority are buying our compliance with 'gifts'. However, the components of gift giving at the level that we are talking about, around life, is well beyond the pettiness of human lives and expectations. The gift of life both physical and spiritual is a gift that is beyond any capacity of ours to return in full. We can only give thanks and praise for the gifts granted to us and demonstrate our willingness to respond to the best of our conscience and free will.

Paul and other writers are very clear that not only is the gift of life freely given but also other gifts that can be termed both mundane and spiritual. At the start of the Church the gifts of prophecy and apostleship were seen to be among those celebratory gifts that come from God. But not all people are called into the same gift but all are gifted with a diversity that is beyond our understanding. Yet, as seen above we tend to commodify the gifts freely given to us by God. Using them for our own benefit rather than for the glory of God and the benefit of those around us. In doing so, we naturally will proclaim that this way or that way is better than his or her way thus those who follow are being tossed to and fro by the vagaries of popular demand (Eph 4:14). In using the gifts that God gives we should be using them first and foremost for the benefit of the community in which we find ourselves that speaks of an honesty of purpose rather than deceiving others for our own benefit (Eph 4.15), an honesty that is built on love for the other so as to improve all of those in the community. 

I am reminded just how much this effects us when we have gifts to share. In starting a new endeavour or a study group or a possible teaching mechanism we are often put off by others saying that there is no real call for it or we won't come or its to high falutin for us or other excuses. In getting this sort of feedback we actually withdraw and do not utilise the gift that we have. Yet, God has given us the gift to do with it what we will for the benefit of the other. Who is to say that the other who will benefit is part of our current community? We are so often led by the express wishes of those within our small communities that we neglect the fact that God calls us to minister to the other not ourselves. We huddle in our small communities concerned with our decreasing numbers and not celebrating the gifts that God gives to us for all. In utilising the gifts God gives to us, we praise God and give God's love back to God. We can then come into the eucharistic space with genuine thanksgiving for the gifts that we receive. The physical gift of life as well as the deeper well that comes from the entwined presence of Christ whose well of love is deep and encompasses us in all that we are and do.

 

Viral blues and the consequences

 I read on a growing basis the frustration in people as The Virus continues to apparently rule our lives. Yes, I think that we can call it The Virus, capitalised and all. The reality of our situation is grabbing at the frustrations of many and is being exposed to the light of day in peoples attitudes and complacency. There certainly have been political machinations that have created these conditions from poor response times from state governments to exacerbated roll out times of the vaccine. I am also sure that people have noticed that the states doing better are the states run by parties opposed to the Federal government and not the Federal government's followers. Being a faith follower, namely a Christ follower, what are our options in terms of The Virus? Should we render to Caesar or should we be outliers of rebellion against imperial authority, undermining the telos of favouritism and bolstering of our own pockets or perhaps treat all virus carriers as lepers?

In ages past of course we did not have such a dilemma as the news coverage and the medical knowledge was not available. We were only able to blame God and perhaps those pesky rats for the plague and not Chinese laboratories or any other quirky thing that comes up, perhaps even the vaccine for continuing the spread of the virus. In our ignorance as faith believers we relied on the grace of God and as much common sense that we had to try and look after our neighbours and ourselves. We survived or at least our ancestors did otherwise we would certainly not be present to struggle with something new and yet old at the same time. The Spanish flu was handled in much the same way, even if it wasn't Spanish because unlike a certain American we cannot really allocate race to a virus no matter its point of origin. Does that mean that those with the virus are automatically lepers in the community to be shunned because they have a racial virus? Humanity struggles in the face of mass death which we attempt to limit through our scientific progress forgetting that death to is part of life. we could of course drop into the apathetic condition and suggest that God gives life and God takes life away, so let nature and The Virus take its course (sounds like the British way).

Rebellion, compliance and compassion - a faith response?

I actually think that God gives us a good gift as we think about the effect of The Virus and our own response. The gift of resilience in the face of adversity. The resilience to persevere in the faith of death whilst at the same time holding out a beacon of light to others in the community. Yes, the appalling roll out of vaccination has hindered our own health resilience whilst at the same time increasing the frustrations of many such that they boil over and become a hindrance to the community. Faith tells us to rely on God. Scripture informs us of our possible responses. Rebellion / Compliance / Compassion whilst in reality we actually need to balance these three in order to form a continuing community that respects and loves rather than engendering hatred and abuse.

Rebellion, yes but responsible rebellion that looks to the needs of the community rather than endangering and lacking compassion for the other. Rebellion to overthrow the inequities in a society that no longer values the other. Rebellion to ensure politics and rulership considers the other who is relegated to the least and spat upon. In doing this society as a whole becomes more generous and less onerous. All are advantaged not a few but being human this is perhaps as idealistic as Christ and Paul's move against empire. Compliance appears to ensure that we are being loving towards our neighbours as we are being responsible in the face of viral spread. Even our ancestors during the Spanish flu wore masks knowing that it was helpful to others. Are we so irresponsible, selfish and lacking in care for others that we are willing to endanger those same others so long as we survive. Of course if we spread the virus or even get it we can complain about the lack of governmental services that care for our irresponsibility. Compassion and not ostracisation of those with the virus because a reaching out to the other is instilled in our faith. There are too many in the world that require compassion and not just because of The Virus but because we are too unwilling to rebel against injustice and we are sometimes too compliant with authority that we forget that God demands from us our gifts for compassion and generosity.

Turbulence and peace

 It is in uncertain times that we often turn towards the spiritual. This spiritual turn is not unexpected because we are trying to deal with turbulence in our lives and / or in our community's life. The turbulence brings out our uncertainties and we need somewhere to go so as to bring about a calmer place. In this case we turn to the one place we cannot fathom which is the spiritual. Christ attempts to bring this about by moving away from the crowds to try and a) prevent his own burn out and b) to try and get the disciples to re-connect for themselves (Mk. 6:31-34). However, doing so is never easy and it is only after more ministry does Christ manage to move away from the crowds. Yet, we must also try and manage ourselves in a similar manner of escape and renewal. It is out of the hecticity of modern life that we can manage to find some peace and renew ourselves when we begin to interact with that which is spiritual.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds us all that at one time or another we were not who we are today as Christians. We have all taken that plunge into the waters of uncertainty to become who we are today as Christians relying on the presence of Christ in our lives to change them. Yet, we are still overwhelmed by the hecticity of today especially with regards the continuing changing conditions around COIVD. In allowing ourselves to be challenged by modern life without recourse to our other resources reveals our lack and our inability to connect. We simply allow those with louder voices to prevail in our lives. Just take the current events in NSW as an example. It is not that those in leadership positions have no knowledge or are not aware of the extent of the virus problem. The simple fact is that those in leadership position are listening to the loud panicky voices of economic giants who do not wish to curtail their ability to enrich themselves. Those in leadership sometimes need to take a step back, just as Christ was attempting to do. In doing so we divorce ourselves from the clamour of every persons needs and are able to see the preferred way in Christ.

Maybe we do not need the crowds but our own sense of God

By stepping back we put to the side that nature which listens with greed to the loudest voice. This is the nature that comes before our acceptance of Christ. In accepting Christ we begin to listen to those in true need and cater for the other rather than for our benefit. Whilst Christ was unable to withdraw he was still able to answer to the true needs of the other and sometimes we too must struggle in the midst of chaos and hecticity to ensure that the needs of the other are seen to before our own. This type of tension is seen in the reading from the second book of Samuel that tells of David's dreams and the response from God (2 Sam 7:1-14). David wants to charge ahead, as far as he is concerned there is no need to take a step back, but rather he must honour God and build a temple. However, while Nathan starts of by saying "yeah go ahead and do whatever you want" God intervenes and clearly states that it is better to set aside these dreams and consolidate what you have. David was for going all out but has to be hauled back into the present to shepherd the flock that was Israel. 

Whilst we may look to the fulfilment of our dreams and our wishes in life there are times when we must actually step back and take a break from what we do. Not to discard the empty dreams but rather to fulfil them in the long term. Again the COVID situation comes to mind here. We need to put a break and our wants, our needs and gain from taking a step back. In this case the step back is to put a hold on our life and say yes I can isolate for a few days and so for the benefit of the whole and for my own long term dreams I am able to reset. I can acknowledge that sometimes I and my community must slow down but that does not mean that we stop dreaming. Rather this is a time for us to dream once more so that when we are back in a normalised society and community we can bring the gifts of God to those who are in need in a bigger way than before. So that we can follow Christ and show God's light to the world and not burn ourselves out in attempting the impossible. We need to rely on God and our spiritual sense to keep us in the way of Christ.

The call to do weird things

 Have you ever thought to yourself as you are standing doing something for the Church: "This is weird"? I suspect that often many young people look at the church and think the same thing with perhaps the ongoing comment "You will never catch me doing anything like that." Yet, at the end of the day some of us who are older will at times look at what youngsters get up to and mirror those thoughts. If we went back a hundred years and not even that our parents and grandparents at our age would have been saying the same thing. It happens in every generation as each of us explores the new fresh expressions of life that we engage in things that our parents and grandparents would never do let alone even contemplate doing. If we truly think about it in any way Mical's reaction (2 Sam 6:16) to David's dancing before the Lord is this same thing that each of us have had. Her displeasure with David is often the same reaction we get in seeing something we think is a bit weird. It may not be quite as virulent as is implied but that to can also be a reaction for some.

I can perhaps see the reaction of some in our pews to the idea of what amounts to an exuberant dance occurring in the aisle or chancel of our churches. Yet, God calls us to exhibit a kind of weirdness to the community and sometimes we need to extend that weirdness to the raucousness of David's dance. It is not that we should abandon everything that we have done or are doing it is perhaps that we need to extend our worship and praise, as well as what we do in the community, in alternate directions which we think are weird. For some, that may be extending worship into a new format, say, Taizé or, dare I say it, dance in the eucharistic service. These may seem novel or unusual for us and thus weird but others may feel comfortable and be drawn into an alternate expression of our spirituality. Interestingly far more younger people than older people enjoy the stillness induced by the Taizé service rather than the traditional form of worship. Like Mical we are sometimes so bound to what we know and what we think that we are unable to encompass something that seems strange to us but may well be an attraction to others.

What we think as foolish may be what God requires of us

In taking on something new we must proceed with a certain amount of caution because in our willingness to please we may end up in circumstances which are both controversial and against the way we wish to go (Mk 6:26). It is not about just jumping in and going for it. Rather there is a certain amount of discernment involved. Yes, we may well be called into the extraordinary but we need to be sure that this is actually where God wants us and not just another thought bubble on our part. If it is a thought bubble on our part then the likelihood is that everyone will look down on us and move away. If on the other hand it is something that comes from God and matures in the wisdom of God's presence then those who are ashamed by it will be out numbered by those that come to celebrate the new life that the idea, worship or whatever brings to the community. To often we are amongst those that decry a new idea to bring joy into the heart of our community. Simply because it is new and also because we are loath to change.

We have an exceptionally hard time when it comes to new ideas. We would prefer things that we have done previously or even those things that we have seen others undertake. Why are we scared of taking on something new? Why are we hesitant about answering God's call into something new? We belittle ourselves and believe that we will make fools of ourselves much as Mical thinks David is doing. we are too ashamed about what others think and so we prevent ourselves from taking on a new idea, a new style of worship, a new understanding of what God requires of us. We are presented with ideas to further our understanding of God, how we worship, how we interact with others to bring God's love into the world and yet we refuse to undertake that which is possible. This is due mainly to fear. We have not grasped what Paul understands with regards to the pledge of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:14). Everything is possible in Christ and in the presence of the Holy Spirit only we are embarrassed to embrace what we are called into. We are too concerned about what other people, like Mical, will think of us and not what God wants of us. Let us answer God's call into what we think is wierdness only to discover God's glory and love.

 

Take nothing with

 In Mark's gospel the disciples are sent out into the world and told to take nothing with other than a stick or staff (Mk. 6:8). We enter into the world at birth with nothing and Christ sends his disciples into the world with nothing, so why are we so hung up about our worldly possessions? This question is a good one for any of us who declare ourselves Christian. In answering it we have to be very careful in what we say because if we are not we go against our own beliefs in God and Christ, indeed we place our trust in our own answers and our own abilities rather than placing our faith in God. In the modern world it is very difficult for us to live with such supreme faith and trust. Since the enlightenment and the understanding granted to us by the scientific process we tend now not to place trust in something we do not know fully or at all.

 Can you really imagine beginning a journey to Kathmandu without first making as many investigations and preparation as we can?  Even if we were to change our job or our living circumstances the amount of preparation and investigation that proceeds such a life changing moment is enormous. We very rarely just get up and go. There are some who do and they often come back and say what a life changing journey / trip / change it was for them. For those of us in the faith community that calls itself followers of Christ our essential understanding should be, we do not like the term must, that we take a step in faith along the journey towards God and to become more Christlike. If we do not take that step of faith then we are indubitably making assessments as to the way forward on our own understanding and knowledge. We have no trust in the God we proclaim and apparently worship. If Christ is able to send the disciples out with nothing and they are prepared to go at a time that was perhaps even more dangerous then ours, why are we not prepared to take that step of faith?

If you don't take the step of faith you do not know what wonders you will miss

Perhaps the answer is in how we live our modern lives. Everything is convenient for one and we are not prepared to sacrifice convenience for faith. Anyone who has made a move or changed their lives knows that one of the things we look for in our planning is the availability of what we think we need most. Young families will look for schools perhaps, or local clubs that support their sport or interest. Can you imagine as a golfer going of to live somewhere where there is no golf course readily available? This is one of the reasons we do not take that step of faith. The other major reason, if you will, is that we are to terrified of the unknown in this day and age. Faith requires a certain amount of acceptance to / of what we cannot see or grasp but is there non the less. The mystical experience or the spiritual foundations of the faith journey are no longer an accepted part of our milieu or society. The worst legacy from the enlightenment is this inability to connect with things that cannot be conceived. We need to have an understanding, a hands on, so to speak before we can acknowledge the possibility.

If we were to hear Paul's story of the man caught up to the third heaven and paradise (2 Cor. 12: 3-4) today we would think that we were reading from some fantasy novel or science fiction or maybe he was just a bit high. In other words fiction is the operative word. Yet, for Paul's respondents this was a distinct and great possibility just as it would translate well for some of our historic mystics within the Christian faith.  Somehow, we need to move past our scientific and resolute attitude to achieve an understanding of faith that is beyond our everyday world. Much of what could not be explained at the time that the scriptures were written can be explained today by science but the mystical and super-natural is still present in our acknowledgement of faith even if we are to deny it. The world has turned and what is interesting is that a large number of young people read and are enthralled by fantasy, science fiction and other genres in film and book. These books are appealing to the side of our lives which is beyond fact and reliant on faith. Belief in both Christian and other circles is to a large extent based on our ability to believe in something other. The disciples had no such problem. They believed and as a result were willing to throw themselves into an unknown situation with little planning to follow a dream. To live in a reality beyond themselves to bring others into the presence of God. It is this attitude of throwing ourselves into an unknown future that follows a call from God. Much like Bilbo Baggins we need to step on the road that leads us into the unknown.