Proper 15 | Ordinary Time 20, Cycle B
John 6:51-58
This text selection continues to advance the claims of the Johannine Jesus to be the true bread from heaven that is incorporated into the earlier portions of John 6. In some congregations and denominations the words in John 6:53, “Jesus said to them, ‘If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves,’ ” have been interpreted legalistically, resulting in the denial of Christian funeral services to persons who have not participated in the Eucharistic action as frequently as had been stipulated by the leadership of the congregation or by the synod of which the congregation is a component. Such legalism has been applied without the recognition that this kind of legalism with regard to John 6:53, if consistently applied, would require also the denial of a Christian funeral for children who die before they attain the age at which the congregation and synod would permit them to participate in the Eucharist.
Obviously, the words of the Johannine Jesus in this text should not be applied legalistically, nor should they be interpreted only literally. If they are interpreted literally, we would be proclaiming to the world that we as Christians are indeed cannibals. It should be recalled that it was for this reason that the charge of cannibalism was leveled against followers of Jesus by some outsiders early within the history of the Church.
This text provides for us a non-Pauline opportunity to emphasize the concept of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and to show how the Real Presence terminology has been helpful in ecumenical discussions. We can also draw upon elaborations of the Real Presence of Christ concept within books, papers, and articles published within recent years that describe the Eucharistic action as a reactualization of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. There is no longer the necessity for Lutheran Christians and for Christians who are in any other Christian group to think and to claim that they alone have the “correct” understanding and interpretation of the words of John 6:51-58 and of related texts. It should be sufficient to state that many Christians have found and are finding the Real Presence terminology to be helpful, meaningful, and desirable within the Church and fully in accord with texts such as John 6:56, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I abide in that person.”
Ephesians 5:15-20
This brief text provides considerable insight into the conduct and lifestyle expected of Christians during the last decade of the 1st century. There is no specific mention of the impending parousia of Jesus, but the days are described as evil, because persecution and the threat of persecution by the Romans continues. The followers of Jesus then and now are encouraged to share in the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, to make melody to the Lord with their entire being, and to give thanks to God for everything, always in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can hardly improve on this, but we can emphasize the beauty of this type of conduct and lifestyle.
Proverbs 9:1-6
It is interesting to see in this text that the Wisdom of God personified invites even those who are simple to come to her feast, to eat of her bread, and to drink from the wine that she has prepared for them. By the juxtaposition of the texts selected for our use next Sunday, we are urged to perceive that the Wisdom personification of God in the Israelite literature and the Johannine Jesus personification of God in the Fourth Gospel of the Christian literature in similar ways invite people to come to them and to partake of their treasures.
It is difficult to think about the use of these texts in anything other than in a Eucharistic service in which there will be at least some expression of fellowship, of oneness within the Church as the Body of Christ in the world.
Psalm 34:9-14
Long before the development of the Fourth Gospel, an Israelite psalmist sang this song that became so popular that it became one of the top 150 for the Jews who hundreds of years later canonized the Psalter. The psalmist proclaimed that those who seek the Lord and respect the Lord lack nothing that is important in their lives. The psalmist sang that the Lord looks favorably upon people who are just and fair in their relationships with each other and who not only seek peace but also pursue it.
We see how similar the expressions of faith in Psalm 34:9-14 are to the words of Ephesians 5:15-20. According to these texts, adequate faith and right living are both important for happiness, now and forever.
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
The combination of adequate faith and right living expressed in Ephesians 5:15-20 and in Psalm 34:9-14 are evident in 1 Kings 2:10-12 and 3:3-14. Appearing in a dream to Solomon soon after Solomon had been acclaimed as king, the Lord asks Solomon what Solomon wants to receive from the Lord. Solomon asks for an understanding mind to govern the people wisely. The Lord provides such a mind for Solomon in great abundance and, in addition, gives to Solomon riches and honor and a long life.
Can we proclaim this without also being aware and sharing with our congregations that in later chapters of 1 Kings Solomon is depicted as falling short of the wisdom and understanding given to him by God? Can it be possible then or now for political leaders to have great power and when they have that not fall short of the wisdom and understanding given to them by God? We are intrigued to think that it might be possible, especially since there have been a few people who have had such power and have not significantly fallen short of the wisdom and understanding given to them by God. What examples of this can we identify?
Psalm 111
May the beautiful words of this hymn of praise to the Lord be our words and the words of our religious and political leaders, not only of ours but also of the religious and political leaders of all other people throughout the world, now and forever!
