John 6:51-58
6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."6:52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
6:53 So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.6:54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;6:55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.6:56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.
6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."
Good morning. In our culture today there exists no more misleading concept, no more false idea than the notion of Reality TV. Presented as real and unscripted, reality tv programs represent some of the most staged productions available to viewers. Even if it weren’t staged, who among us lives the Kardashian or Real Housewives luxurious lifestyle?
One of my favorite quotes about reality tv comes from the opening credits of the movie, The Truman Show, when a supporting actor remarks, “Everything on the show is real, it’s just controlled.” Seamless changes in camera angles might give the appearance of full disclosure to the viewer. The truth, however, is that a show’s editor has to cut and delete segments of film to make every camera angle change feel continuous.
Even if most missing segments comprise only a couple seconds, the fact that the editor prevents the viewer from seeing the full picture inevitably prevents reality tv from meeting the standards of reality and truth. What are the standards for reality and truth, you ask? Well in a world that grows more electronic and detached by the day, the bar for what one accepts as real and true sinks lower and lower.
In John 6, however, one discovers how the Lord’s Supper becomes our basis for our reality and for our truth. A reality that so much bigger than the screen on one’s phones, a truth so much more personal than the tweets and texts one’s phone can transmit.
Now admittedly, Jesus’ opening statement at the end of John 6 comes off as awkward. Like the Jews present, I’m confidant all of would have had the same reaction, “What does He mean? Eat me?” But lets not allow this awkward pause keep us from hearing what Jesus wants to hear.
First, Jesus obviously does intend to have himself cut up into appetizers right here in John 6. Rather in John 6, Jesus makes known his desire for us to experience the fullness of a life spent in relationship with Him. You see Jesus doesn’t want to just merely believe in the reality He speaks of, Jesus wants to become A PART of that reality.
Second in John 6, Jesus makes clear the nourishment He provides is real and true, and thereby suggesting that sustenance from any other source inevitably shows itself to be counterfeit and false. In v.55, Jesus says, “for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. When compared with the flesh of Jesus, John 6 considers eating any other food like eating from the garbage can. When compared to the blood of Jesus, John 6 thinks drinking some other drink like drinking from the toilet bowl.
Now what makes Jesus’ flesh and blood the true food and true drink? I believe it rests in fact that both the flesh and the blood of Jesus are completely and totally whole. For there is nothing that the flesh of Jesus lacks, nor is there any need that the flesh of Jesus can’t meet. There is no scenario where the blood of Jesus comes up deficient, nor is there any sin that the blood of Jesus can’t cover.
And when I think the world of competing realties and “truths” in which we live, it is the wholeness of a thing or a person that helps me to determine what is real and what is fake, helps me decipher what is true and what is false. How can we be certain that we are loved by our friends, children, or spouses? Yeah, because the love between the two is complete, it is whole, never insufficient or deficient.
Finally in John 6, Jesus shows great concern for our proximity not only to what is real and true, but our proximity to each other. How does v56 read? Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide NEAR me? Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide BEHIND me? Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide BELOW me? No, those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide IN me.
This how close Jesus proclaims we must be to what is real and true. He wants us not merely to stand at the periphery of what is real and true. Instead, Jesus desires us to live daily IN the truth, and continually breathe IN the reality HE revealed to us. For John 6 remains convinced that which is phony and dishonest ultimately comes to ruin, but that which is real and true endures forever. So it is with the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and so is it with our love for one another.
What about our proximity to each other? Too many times we forget that how Jesus interacts with us always serves to teach us how we should interact with each other. You see I don’t just need you around the edges of my life where you pass through every now and then on your way to some place else. No, I need you IN my life to join in my celebrations and share my burdens.
This week may all of us put distance between us and that which is bogus and inaccurate. Instead, let us all draw closer to what is real and what is true. And let us never forget that while Christ is meant to be worshipped, Christ is also meant to be eaten.
CJE