Eating Jesus

This past Sunday, my Christian Fellowship read a passage from John, chapter 6, and talked about verse 57 for some time. Jesus says:

Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. NRSV

There was a small, collective shudder in the room at the starkness of the literal words and the agreement that these words are some of the most difficult of the Gospel. I've had less trouble with this passage since a priest examined the miracle of eating. Once you've chewed any food, gotten a good taste, and swallowed, that food becomes part of you down to the level of your cells. You can't do another thing--not breathe nor walk nor think nor act--without that food being a part of you. Eating Jesus comes down to the same thing. You have so ingested and digested his words and example that they become part of you, down to the cellular level and none of your actions can be separated from what has merged with your spirit and soul. This means that you no longer have to consciously think about the Great Commandments and how to act in accordance with them; your being KNOWS what to do.

In the Old Testament, the metaphor for this was to "write the law on their hearts" as in Jeremiah 31:33. Again, the goal is to become so connected to God's Word and the Way of Jesus that they are integral to your person.

I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm working on it.

I also find it easy to read from John 6:22 to the end of that chapter metaphorically because Jesus makes that switch for us with a bit of irony. Chapter 6 starts with the feeding of the 5,000 and these well-fed people decide that Jesus should be a king. Jesus takes off alone. The next day, these same 5,000 go looking for Jesus. They get into some boats and find Jesus at the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Somebody asks, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" I can see Jesus giving the speaker a little smile as he replies,

Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Ha! Jesus immediately urges them to switch their thinking to another type of bread. "...food that endures for eternal life..." Jesus always sees right through to our truth and pushes us to tweak our perception just enough to see another truth.

I hope that you will not be like the disciples in verse 66 who decide that this whole discussion of bread coming down from heaven and eating flesh and food of eternal life is way too hard. They abandon the effort and Jesus. Be more like Peter. When Jesus asks, "Are you leaving, too?", shrug your shoulders and say, "Where would I go? You've got what I need."

This is a great chapter and inspired one of my favorite hymns "I am the Bread of Life." Read it alone, with friends, in silence and aloud. Chew on it, roll it on your tongue, get a good taste, then swallow it. Let the lessons become a part of you.

What do you find to eat in John, Chapter 6?

Communion, Community

I'd like to remind you all that the 2009 Revival DVDs are now available through the UUCF Bookstore. Experience the Opening Worship and "useful righteousness" and the Keynote Worship featuring Bishop Carlton Pearson's Words of Life sermon. Watch for your own reflection. Share with your small group. Each DVD can be purchased for $15, shipping included, or you can order both for just $25. Buy multiple sets at the discount price of $20 a set. Such a deal!

Sharing the DVDs in your small group is a way to foster community and to extend the spiritual connection with UU Christians all over the world. One of the purposes of the UUCF Revival--and the UUCF--is to help build connections among us and to remind us that we are not alone. There are others who catch the spirit of Jesus as we do and who find God in many wonderous ways. At Revival, we regularly heard and experienced suggestions and ideas that we could integrate into our home fellowship groups.

Early Saturday evening, we joined in a Communion Service, led by Rev. Lillie Mae Henley. I have always been taught that the Communion service is a meal, commemorating the Passover meal on Holy Thursday that Jesus shared with his friends. If you look through the Gospels, you'll also notice that Jesus does a lot of eating and drinking with friends...and strangers and the curious and the outcast. I love that image of gathering around a table (even if it's an elegant altar and not my beat-up kitchen table) and reconnecting. Rev. Henley's sermon was touching and heartbreaking at the same time for she gave us the life of Jesus from his mother's perspective in Mary's own voice. And Mary had a mother's story to tell. Of her hopes and dreams for her son, of her confusion over his choices, of her deep sorrow at his death. The sermon reminded me that we share life around those dinner tables and breakfast tables. We create our communities at our meals, our picnics, our tailgate parties, our communion services. Take a look at the Communion Service on the UUCF Revival website. Use it, adapt it to bring communion to your own small group.

Later that Saturday night, those of us who had not yet traveled home gathered at a Tulsa restaurant called The Local Table. This was the day of the spring snow storm, and we drove through 6-inch slush to reach the restaurant. Most businesses in town had closed because of the storm, and the owners were delighted that we had not cancelled our reservation. Being a restaurant that uses locally grown food, they were looking forward to our large group. We found seats for 25 of us in a small room with the feeling of a darkened, cozy study with sleek furniture. Space was a little tight, but the conversation and energy flowed around the room and strengthened our bonds. Excellent food, excellent company. Communion.

The last official Revival gathering was the Closing Circle, led by Rev. Suzanne Meyer. At this traditional Revival ceremony, we formed a large circle to pray for safe journeys and to lift up special intentions and our home churches. One-by-one, we shared two things. The first was what we would take with us from the weekend, what would we remember, what would "keep us going".

The second was unexpectedly powerful to me. That was to simply state where we were traveling that day. This was the first time throughout the entire weekend that I grasped the geographic scope of the Revival participants. People had come from every corner and area of the US and from Canada. Though we are many, we are one body. Communion.

Where do you experience Communion in your life? In the past month, when did you experience the most tangible sense of connection, of community?