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?

God Is Holding a Cup

Yesterday, I opened the Bible to Psalm 75 and knew I was in trouble. There's a nice little thanksgiving, and then seven verses of "God's going to get you." I recognized that some of the symbolism is ancient, and I read four translations with notes before the images became clear. "Horns" are a symbol of power, so the psalmist warns those who carry power not to display it in an obnoxious manner.

What stopped me cold was Verse 8. There is this cup and the Lord is going to pour it out and the wicked will drink it to the dregs. So what? The cup has wine. The wicked drink it and...? So far, the psalm has been adamant in its description of God as a Universal Judge, so I'm clearly missing something. Back to the translations.

What's in the cup? The translations provide great images.
...foaming wine, well mixed; (New Revised Standard Version)
...a heady blend of wine; (The Jerusalem Bible)
...the wine foams in it, hot with spice (New English Bible)
...wine that is mixed with fire! (The Psalms by Gary Chamberlain)
...the wine is red, it is full of mixture (King James Version)

In the footnotes, the New English Bible refers to the cup of "judgment" (ah, that's better), and gives three other Bible references. The most helpful is Jeremiah 25:15-18. Here we learn that "fiery wine" meant that a captured city would be burned. The nations who drink of the wine will vomit and go mad. The wine is potent stuff. The cup holds God's wrath and God's judgment. Now read the verse again.

The Lord holds a cup in his hand, and the wine foams in it, hot with spice; he offers it to every man for drink and all the wicked on earth must drain it to the dregs. The New English Bible

Finally, The New English Bible suggests looking at Luke 22:42.

"Father, if it be thy will, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but thine be done."

The Gospel of Luke was written after Jesus' death, so most likely Jesus did not personally recount his anguished prayer. Jesus prayed alone we are told, so no one heard the prayer. The writer effectively uses a technique known as "dramatic non-fiction", and makes a logical assumption. Jesus knew scriptures; Jesus knew the symbolism. "...take this cup away..." Simple. Four words conveying rich meaning that hit the reader with bone-deep clarity.

When we turn from the teachings of Jesus, from the Way, it's like drinking a cup of poisoned wine, all of it, to the dregs. When put like that, staying on the path becomes a no-brainer.

Let's stay away from that cup, shall we?

The Cross

A phrase that I learned at the 2009 Revival was "cross cringe". That's the reaction that we UU Christians sometimes elicit if we wear a cross or state that we are Christians in the company of our UU brothers and sisters. It's that little wrinkle of the nose, a start of surprise, a widening of the eyes, perhaps a soft "Oh." The cross cringe may be as overt as a suggestion that maybe we would be more comfortable at the local Lutheran church. I have seen the cringe from others outside the UU faith. In our society, the word "Christian" is most often associated with a literal reading of the Bible and a legalistic, judgmental religion. In that context, hearing the word "Christian" can move someone to shout "Hallelujah!"; others to respond with "the cringe".

In light of that, I was delighted that Rev. Tamara Lebak of All Souls Unitarian chose for her Sunday sermon the topic, "The Signs of the Cross". She said that it was in honor of the UUCF Revival visitors as well as her own deep fascination with this ancient symbol. Her own collection of crosses fills several packing boxes. And she grinned when she said that it was not often that the All Souls congregation heard the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross" which was sung so beautifully by the choir that morning.

She spoke of Greek crosses, with equal arms, that in 9500 BCE symbolized the horizon and the rising and setting of the sun. Four thousand years before the Third Reich, the swastika cross was used to denote the four directions (North, East, South, and West) and the world-wheel (the eternally changing world, around a fixed, unchanging center or god). The cross can symbolize the meeting of opposites, the merging of human and divine, immenence and transcendence. The Latin cross, the one associated with today's cross cringe, was carved into Bronze Age stones, was used as a ward against evil. It is a rich symbol, and even more powerful, Rev. Lebak said, because it rejects duality. It has so many meanings from so many different times, cultures and traditions, that it helps us to reflect on the Truth. Truth that can only be discerned by drawing all those diverse meanings together. Only then might we sense something of the grandeur and variety of life.

Read Rev. Lebak's sermon; there's also a podcast version out on the All Souls website. It will open your eyes to that "old rugged cross" and make you appreciate all over again that simple symbol. It's got me wearing my cross again, ready to face the "cross cringe".

How about you?

Today's post is the last relating my experiences at the UUCF 2009 Revival in Tulsa, OK. Next time I'll be walking down from the mountaintop and into everyday Christian life. Looking forward to meeting you there!