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| Orange you glad I didn't say banana? |
This sermon was preached on the 13th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15B) at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles in Hoover, AL. A video of the sermon may be found here. The readings which inspired the sermon were the following:
1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Psalm 111
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
Me: Knock knock.
Congregation: Who’s there?
Me: Banana.
Congregation: Banana who?
Me: Knock knock.
Congregation: Who’s there?
Me: Banana.
Congregation: Banana who?
Me: Knock knock.
Congregation: Who’s there?
Me: Banana.
Congregation: Banana who?
Me: Knock knock.
Congregation: Who’s there?
Me: Orange.
Congregation: Orange who?
Me: Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?
[Everyone laughs… okay not really.]
That is my favorite joke. And, it’s terrible, I know. I’ve loved it for longer than I can remember. Its humor comes from—okay it’s not really funny—but, if it were funny it would be funny because of its repetition. We may think the same thing about the Gospel lessons we’ve heard over the last few weeks. It is funny—but not really funny—because Jesus keeps repeating the same thing over and over again. But why?
Why does Jesus keep talking about bread? We have heard for the past four weeks (including today) that Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Bread of Heaven, the Bread that will feed the World. So why must we keep hearing this again and again? Why does Jesus keep overwhelming us with more and more difficult passages about him and bread?
I can think of three reasons why someone would repeat oneself over and over and over again. First, because one’s audience was not listening—What? Second, because one’s audience did not get it—Huh? And third, because one’s audience needed desperately to hear it—it was just that important. Fittingly enough, I believe this passage points to all three of these being true. Jesus said these things because the people were not listening, they did not get it, and what he was saying was too important not to repeat. Let’s look at these three more deeply.
1. Audience Not Listening
When I was a kid, I did not listen well. My first response when someone spoke to me quite often was the question “What?” At times, I struggled to pay attention. Recently, I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so my short attention span, which led me to distraction makes more sense. Similarly, those in Jesus’ day were distracted—they were not listening to what Jesus said. We can even see this in the way that Jesus and the religious folk spoke to each other.
Previously in the Sixth Chapter of John, allusions were made to the story of God feeding the Israelites in the wilderness with manna—bread from heaven. In that story, the people grumbled to Moses and God for flesh. Their words were give us the flesh. This is almost exactly what the people said to Jesus in today’s Gospel. We read it as “his flesh” but that was not what they said—our translation makes an interpretive change from “the” to “his.” Read this way it would say, “How can this man give us the flesh to eat?” To me, this changes how I hear the crowd’s words. Jesus was talking about his flesh feeding them. The people were not listening though, but why?
Those people who had been following Jesus around throughout this chapter had been fed with actual bread from Jesus. Imagine how good that bread was! If you were here during the Celebration of New Ministry, we used a communion bread recipe from All Saints’ Chapel in Sewanee. That bread tastes so good! I previously served at a church that used this recipe too. One time, we ran out of the communion bread. So, I handed one of the children a wafer. He promptly threw it back at me and told me that Jesus did not eat chips!
Back in our Gospel lesson, those who followed Jesus around were deliciously fed by him. They ate bread from heaven and they wanted more. Some though were not listening for something more—they just wanted something to eat. And, even those who were intentionally listening—those who weren’t just looking for something to eat—might not have really understood what Jesus was saying to them.
2. Audience Not Understanding
Jesus said what he said over and over and over again in part because his listeners may have struggled with what he meant. Even with 2,000 years to process this, the Church still struggles with extracting the true meaning of this passage. What Jesus said could be construed in different ways. As we realized last week, Jesus did not want us to be cannibals, but his words really do point to a physical reality. When he said he was giving his flesh for the life of the world he signified to those listening that something big was about to happen.
Soon enough in Jerusalem, Jesus would be betrayed, persecuted, tortured, crucified, and killed. Jesus really did give up his flesh. Still there was more than one layer to what Jesus said. Hence, why it was hard and is still hard to understand what Jesus said—and why Jesus had to build up this teaching slowly. Yes, there was this layer of what was actually happening, but what about all the references to bread and eating this bread, his flesh? To eat his flesh and to drink his blood as bread and wine certainly refers to Holy Communion, but as we gather at Table with God, another mystical dimension opens. The Great Thanksgiving encompasses the physical, the metaphorical, the spiritual, and even what is beyond our comprehending. In Holy Communion, we encounter God so profoundly that we, at least in this Church, believe it’s important enough to participate in this celebration each and every week.
3. Audience Needed To Hear It Repeatedly
This truth, this reality of Divine Communion—of eating the Bread of Heaven, this reality was so important that Jesus said it over and over and over again, which is that third reason why he repeated himself. As Jesus continued speaking about bread, he made a significant connection tying together believing and eating. Those who believe will eat and those who eat will have eternal life through their believing. This refers to the reality of sacramental grace that happens at the altar rail, but it also can and maybe does happen at all times and in all places. For believing is not only about eating, it is also about consuming. It matters what we consume and also what consumes us.
What do we consume? What do you consume? Not just what do you eat, although that is interesting enough to think about, but what do you do with your time, talent, and treasure? This is not simply a rhetorical question, I don’t always give homework in sermons, but this week I am.
Homework
When you look at your life in these areas you might just see what you consume with your money, your time, and your energy. But, what consumes you? Often we think that heaven or the Kingdom of God are realities that await us when we “awake” on the other side of the grave; however, I don’t think that is the important thing that Jesus came to tell us. When the Body and Blood of Christ consume us—not just the other way around—then we realize that our entire lives—all our treasure, our time, and our talent—can be utilized for the building up of God’s Reign here on earth. When we are consumed by Christ, then everything works towards God’s purposes.
Conclusion
Each of us is called into the ministry of Christ. We are all called to be members in His Body. All our stories fit into the Story of God’s Love—the sharing of the Good News of Christ. And to be more a part of all of this, God is calling us to be enveloped in Christ, consumed by the Body and Blood of Christ.
We hear Jesus repeating his wisdom over and over and over again because we might not be listening at first, and because we might not get it all at once, and mostly because what we are hearing is so important. What we believe matters. And what we believe can best be seen not in what we say we believe, but in looking at what we eat, what we consume. What do you consume? What consumes you? May it always be the Body and Blood of Christ. Amen.
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