Friday 14 July 2023

Psalm 72

Background

This chapter in John's Gospel features debate on the feeding of the multitude. I can’t help wondering how much of it is about what Jesus actually said and did, and how much is John’s reflection with the benefit of hindsight. Readers will probably have different opinions on that. One of the things that has always attracted me personally to John’s Gospel is that it moves beyond narration as such into something much more profound. It’s a bit like the difference between an ‘autobiography’ and a ‘memoir’: the former suggesting something chronological and full of factual detail, and the latter something more reflective that looks back at parts of the writer’s life, and not necessarily in chronological order.

However, keeping to the details as presented in our reading today, I noticed that in this section John has moved us to the Capernaum synagogue (v. 59), and that the Jews were now squabbling rather than discussing with Jesus. They were saying "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (v. 52) Was it rather like a ‘carpark meeting’, or a holy huddle that’s drawn to one side, or did it become more like full-blown punch-up round the back?  Perhaps there were elements of all three of those scenarios going on. It would appear though that they were near enough to Jesus, or loud enough in their argument, that Jesus heard something of what was being said. Again, Jesus didn’t answer their question as such. He didn’t explain how what he was telling them (that he was the 'living bread') could be the case.

It's not surprising that his words roused high emotion and disagreement. Any who might have been showing interest in his words would be challenged forcefully with words of scripture that forbade the taking of blood (see for instance Deuteronomy 12:23). Just as the law says blood, which represents life, should not be taken, Jesus was offering his ‘blood’ as lifegiving. 

Perhaps it helps to remember that a ‘sacrament’ is ‘a visible sign of an inward grace and a mystery to which we are invited.

To Ponder:

• Sadly, there has been much squabbling historically about Holy Communion even though the very word ‘Communion’ speaks of unity!  What has been your experience of unity or disunity around the Lord’s Supper?
• Can you think of examples of people taking things so literally that they miss the true significance? 

Prayer

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed. Amen.