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| dandelion |
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
The Gospel of John describes the crisis of God's intervention in human life because there is no other way we might hear the Word that saves us. If it fit our preconceptions, if it were the usual answer to the usual questions, if we knew what God was going to say before he said it, we would not hear the Word.
Can anything be more shocking than a man demand that we drink his flesh and drink his blood? Of course many turned away from him! They must have run away, trampling one another in their efforts to escape. As some one might give you advice, "Don't walk. Run! Get out of there!"
But we stay. We form our queue and we process quietly and gratefully up the aisle each Sunday and weekday to receive his precious gift. We bow before the Sacrament and the minister, we receive the Precious Host on our hands, step aside a moment, then take the host from one hand in the other to place it in our mouths, carefully and intentionally and with full awareness.
We process to the cup bearer then to receive his Precious Blood in obedience to his holy command, Take and Drink! Again we bow and carefully, thoughtfully take a tiny sip from the chalice.
Then we proceed to our places in the nave where we remain standing as the congregation continues through the ritual. We remain standing in reverence for one another, and for this Sacred Act that binds us together in Jesus.
No one can comprehend what it means. It is beyond our ability. Only the infinite Spirit of God within us, which comprehends all mysteries, can fathom its infinite depths.
No one of us can say, "I have fully appreciated this gift." or "I have deserved this gift." But the ceremony and the reverence we bring to it as a Church assures each of us of God's goodness. Although we are certainly undeserving in our own eyes, God has disregarded our protests and found his home within our presence.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.