Thomas J Parlette
“Words that Live”
John 6: 56-69
8/25/24
This morning we come to the end of our long journey through John, Chapter 6, where we have come to know Jesus as the “Bread Guy.” For the last six weeks, Jesus has been describing himself as the Bread of Heaven. Today, he pushes the metaphor even further as says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them.”
It’s quite shocking when you think about it. I’m sure there were some gasps and a lot of murmured questions among the disciples when they heard Jesus say this. This was one of the verses that really caused the early believers some trouble, because people outside their fellowship thought they were some weird, cannibalistic cult or something. Eating flesh and drinking blood – no thank you.
Finally, the murmurs subside and one of the disciples says, “This teaching is difficult, who can accept it.”
And Jesus answers, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
There are many ways we could approach this passage from John: - We could focus on the eating of flesh and drinking of blood part, emphasizing that the Reformed view is that is meant symbolically, not literally.
- We could focus on the eating of this bread from heaven resulting in life-everlasting.
- We could take a deep dive into Jesus knowing that there are some who do not believe and no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father. Seems like some pre-destination going on there for sure.
- We could look at the disciples who evidently gave up and left the fellowship – or Simon Peter’s statement to Jesus, “Where are we going to go, you have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
But today, let’s think some more about Jesus’ words “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Jesus words are words that live. We have an opportunity today to think about how we should approach Jesus’ words, how we should approach reading and interpreting the Bible.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has written: “Every text needs interpretation. Every interpretation needs wisdom. Every wisdom needs careful negotiation between the timeless and time. Fundamentalism reads texts as if God were as simple as we are. That is unlikely to be true.” (1)
The problem is biblical illiteracy is quite common. Many people in our society place a great deal of importance on the words of scripture. But the majority of those people don’t really read or interact with the Bible. In her book, The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor writes: “My relationship with the Bible is not a romance but a marriage, one I am willing to work on in all the usual ways: by living with the text day in and day out, by listening to it and talking back to it, by making sure I know what is behind the words it speaks to me and being certain I have heard it properly, by refusing to distance myself from the parts of it I do not like or understand, by letting my love for it show up in the everyday acts of my life.” (2)
Not everyone approaches the Bible in that way. It’s much more common for people to digest small morsels of scripture. They look for verses that function as a slogan for their lives, and commit those to memory, or perhaps have them tattooed on their arms or torsos. But memorizing a couple of verses doesn’t really fit into the broader framework of the scriptural narrative.
Another touchy area is topical bible study. Too often we look through scripture or perhaps ask a pastor to explain what the Bible says about a current event or a social issue. It’s tempting to pluck out a couple of verses that seem to address the concern and overlook the big picture of what scripture says.
For example, Yale University religion professor Stephen Prothero addresses both these areas when tells a story about a controversial case a few years back involving a death penalty verdict in Colorado. A judge overturned the guilty verdict on appeal because, at the original trial, members of the jury had brought Bibles with them into the jury room. They had done so because they wanted to read and discuss the biblical phrase, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
The Christian-right group Focus on the Family – which favors the death penalty – was outraged at the judge’s ruling. They made national headlines when they blasted the judge for turning away from what they consider America’s core biblical values. A spokesperson said, “It’s a sad day when the Bible is banned from the jury room.”
The only problem is, the one place Jesus mentions “an eye for an eye” is in Matthew 5:38, from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus begins by quoting that verse from Leviticus and Deuteronomy - “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth…” But then he goes on to say “But I say to you, “Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” He completely contradicts the old way of thinking.
Professor Prothero points out that both the jury members and the Focus on the Family lobbyists completely misrepresented what Jesus says. What Jesus means is “Don’t follow the ancient law. Don’t seek revenge. It goes against my teachings of compassion and mercy.” (3)
Taking that scripture out of context, it may seem, to proponents of the death penalty, that it helps their case. Yet, examine the phrase in its full context, paying attention to how Jesus uses it, and you see that it’s completely opposite to what he is saying. Context matters. Interpretation is vital.
It is a rather modern development, since about the early 1900’s, that we read the Bible as God’s word to us as individuals – what is God saying to me personally. But both the Old and New Testaments were not originally written to be read like that. The Bible is about God’s forming of a community of people. Throughout most of the New Testament, the pronouns “you” and “your” refer to communities, gatherings of individuals – no one had their own private copies of the Gospels or Paul’s letters that they read by themselves by candlelight. They heard the scriptures read or told to them as a group. When you begin to see scripture through it’s intended communal lenses, it drastically changes how you interpret it.
As Jayson Bradley writes in a blog post on Patheos.com from February 26th, 2019:
“If you think the Bible always agrees with you, that’s one of the biggest signs that you are biblically malnourished. Real familiarity with scripture should lead us to deeper self-reflection and acceptance. If it helps to fuel an “Us vs Them” worldview or a culture war construct, you’re doing it wrong.” (4)
Notice that Jesus says – “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” The words that Jesus speaks bring life. Not the words written on ancient papyrus – the words that Jesus himself speaks, right now. Those are the words that live. Those are the words that are spirit and life.
So, how should we go about reading and studying the Bible? How do we open ourselves to these words that are spirit and life?
Well, a couple of basic thoughts.
First, I know it’s tempting to simply start at the beginning with Genesis. After all, that’s the way we’ve been trained to read. Start with chapter 1. And there are, of course lots of great stories in Genesis and Exodus. But eventually, we get into Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, with all the laws and bloody battles and it gets difficult to read. That’s where a lot of people get bogged down and quit reading.
When setting out to read the Bible, I think it might be better to start with a simple, straightforward book – like the Gospel of Mark. You could read that comfortably in an afternoon if you’d like. And then you can move on to some of Paul’s shorter letters – like Philippians, for instance – before diving into the complicated theology of Romans and Corinthians.
Secondly, feel free to take your time. You don’t have to read a whole book straight through, not even the Gospel of Mark, in one sitting. Focus instead on manageable chunks – a couple of paragraphs or so is fine. Most modern Bibles divide chapters into chunks using bold-faced headings that summarize the story – use those as your guide. When you’re done with a passage – read it again and make a note or two about what stands out to you- a concept, a particular character maybe, a word or a phrase that caught your attention.
And lastly, it is always helpful to read the Bible with other people. Could be a friend or two, maybe a family member, or one of the Bible study groups that meet here at church. It’s a great opportunity to hear what someone else takes away from a biblical story. You don’t have to agree about what the story says, you are not looking for the one, right answer – you are looking for what God is saying through scripture. And God speaks to all of us in different ways.
As Jesus says today – “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
May God be praised for Jesus’ words that live. Amen.
1. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence (Schocken, 2017) p 207.
2. Barbara Brown Taylor, The Preaching Life (Cowley, 1993) p 56.
3. Stephen Prothero, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – And Doesn’t (HaperOne, 2008).
4. Jayson D. Bradley, “Biblical Illiteracy Is a Big Problem – for Christians,” Patheos.com, February 26th, 2019.
