26^th September 2009

THE WORD BECAME FLESH (Sunday 16 August 2009) Dr. Max Champion

Lessons -- Deuteronomy 8:11-16; 1 Corinthians 10:16,17; John 6:51-71

    Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the
    flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you
    . . .  for my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed.'
    (John 6:53,55 RSV)

It is a pity that we don't have Holy Communion every week. The unity of Word and sacrament is clearly depicted in John 6, particularly in today's reading when images of bread and wine are stretched to represent the body and blood of Christ himself.

But imagine for a moment the danger of preaching on this text to tribes who practice cannibalism! It probably wouldn't be your first choice; if it were it would certainly be your last! You would probably be tempted to spiritualise your message and talk about God being everywhere. Eventually you would have to return to this disturbingly 'physical' passage to make the point that, because God has taken flesh in Christ for the sake of the world, our 'flesh and blood' relationships are given a unique dignity.

None of us is particularly surprised that many Jews and disciples were so offended by this unpalatable saying that they turned away (v60) or betrayed him (v70f). Down the years, many have cringed at the use of such crude language to describe 'spiritual' matters. They think it unworthy of the 'founder' of a truly moral and reasonable religion.

Our natural desire to civilise this 'primitive' talk shouldn't blind us to what Jesus is saying. We begin by seeing how his words have been interpreted and debated in relation to the Lord's Supper with which they are naturally associated. The question which has exercised many minds over the centuries is about what it means that Christ is 'present' in the sacrament.

* We Protestants often shy away from 'spiritual' language about Holy Communion. We are more interested in 'practical religion' than in the 'unfathomable mystery' of the sacrament. To us, bread and wine are 'mere symbols' which point to what Jesus once did long ago -- not concrete 'signs' of his presence with the Church now and a pledge of his presence in future.

* In contrast, many Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians emphasise the 'real presence' of Christ's body and blood in the bread and wine which are said to be 'substantially changed into the true, proper and life-giving flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Roman Synod, 1079). Here, there is a much stronger sense that Jesus who 'became flesh for us' at a particular time is fully and personally present with us now in our 'flesh and blood' lives.

That doesn't necessarily overcome superstition or revulsion. In The Age on Wednesday (12/8/09) Catherine Deveny, a lapsed Catholic, colourfully and irreverently describes what she (and many others) thinks happens at mass not as 'transubstantiation', but as 'b*******'. (p24)

Despite the danger of magical or vulgar thinking, words which speak of 'becoming flesh for us' are closer to the meaning in John. The broken bread and poured wine of the Lord's Supper signify the fact that Jesus, the Son of Man whose body was broken and blood shed on a barbaric cross, continues to sustain us in faith, hope and love. John is so keen to point us to the personal nature of Christ's self-giving presence in the world that he risks 'crude materialism' rather than treat Jesus as a vague disembodied spiritual presence. The Word of God who became flesh and whose flesh was crucified for us is still with us 'in the flesh' of his risen body.

The bread and wine of Holy Communion is a sign and celebration of God's eternal love for the material world and our bodily life. Even though our lives are often 'broken' and human 'blood shed' by physical and emotional violence, failures in relationships and neglect of those who suffer, God is with us. As Augustine has said, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is the 'visible Word' of God's costly, triumphant love for the world.

The Lord's Supper is a 'means of grace' in which the Church shares in the costly love of God for the world. It signifies what Christ is doing 'in the world' and reminds us of our unique vocation as the Church. When Jesus speaks of 'eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man' (v53) he is calling 'communities of faith' to participate in his suffering love for the world in their own time and place. In 'drinking the cup' and 'breaking the loaf' (1 Corinthians 10:16,17) we are actually 'participating' by God's grace in God's self-giving love for us and all 'flesh and blood' humanity.

Such 'participation' as Paul says is not an individual matter, the Greek word (koinonia) meaning 'deep communion' shared by people because of the continuing presence of God's 'flesh and blood' love for the material world which has been uniquely embodied in Jesus' cross and resurrection. 

The Church is called into community to participate or share in Christ's love for our strife-torn world. Often it will happen unobtrusively as we share our neighbour's suffering and allow them to share ours. Sometimes it will be by public protest at assaults on human dignity which continue to beset our so-called enlightened and progressive world. We are invited to participate in the very life of God by taking in to ourselves Christ's commitment to the world. In the Lord's Supper we are to digest the food and drink the cup of costly grace embodied in him and share his love with all -- like asylum seekers, people of Myanmar, Christians in Vietnam -- who 'hunger and thirst after righteousness'.

It now becomes clear, contrary to what many think, that the Lord's Supper is not a primitive ritual, but a public sign of hope for our 'flesh and blood' world. It is an invitation to participate in the life of the One who 'became flesh' for our sake and is still present 'in the flesh' of the Risen Lord to challenge, forgive and renew the world.

In order to make this as clear as possible -- and to avoid spiritualising Christ's presence -- we must speak of 'eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus Christ' (The Prayer of Humble Access, 1662).

It is fascinating to note that these words were left out of the Methodist Order for the Lord's Supper.  There, the emphasis is on the bread and cup being received by faith as the 'communion of his body and blood'. No doubt there was understandable concern to avoid crude misunderstanding. The revised words do help us see the importance of communion with Christ. But it does shy away from the necessity of using bold, confronting and offensive language to express the close bond which the flesh-and-blood Christ has established with the Church for the sake of flesh-and-blood humanity. 

When Jesus says, 'My flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed (v55),' he is inviting the world to find in him true nourishment for its life. And when he goes on to say that 'anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life' (v53), he is challenging the Christian communion to be conformed to his self-offering love for the world.

The invitation to 'eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man' means -- incredibly -- that by faith we take into ourselves the life-giving purpose of God for our troubled world where so much flesh is wounded and blood spilt. We digest and drink-in Christ's presence as the One whose once 'broken body' and 'shed blood' is a sign of hope for all!

Here we participate in the fulfilment and promise of the ancient hope (expressed in Psalm 78:20) that God shall 'give bread and meat for his people'. Here we acknowledge with joy and thanksgiving that Jesus is 'our meat and drink'. Here we promise to be conformed to him in serving our broken world. And here, 'until he comes', we are given a 'foretaste' of the heavenly banquet.

Far from being a primitive or vulgar ritual, the sacrament is a privileged occasion in which we share in God's life in the world. And while the task of being conformed to Christ's costly love may be daunting for a Church set in societies where God is often mocked and human beings are often held in contempt, we must never settle for falsely 'spiritual faith' which rejects the Good News that 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth' (John 1:14). For the embodiment of God's will in the
body and blood of the incarnate, crucified and risen body of Christ is the one true source of hope for our broken and bloodied world for which we should be incredibly grateful.

Despite its dangers, we should not dismiss John's earthly language too glibly. Otherwise, like Jesus' townsfolk, disciples and Jewish leaders, we shall turn away from the source of love and hope.

A Prayer for the Heavenly Food of God's Word:

O God, who hast made us that we live not by bread alone, but by every word of God; and who hast taught us not to spend our labour on that which cannot satisfy; cause us to hunger after the heavenly food of thy Word, and to find in it our daily provision on the way to eternal life: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

('Prayers for Divine Service', 1923, Church of Scotland  in 'Uniting in Worship' page 230)

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.