Let anyone who is thirsty come to me

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’

- John 7:37-52

Jesus has been preaching in the temple at the Feast of the Tabernacles or Booths (Heb. Succoth). For a full understanding of his teaching, see the earlier readings concerning this event from Friday and Saturday, My time has not yet come and The glory of God.

In today's reading, we have reached the final day of the Festival. This festival, as explained in the earlier commentary noted above, was an autumn festival commemorating the time that the ancient Israelites were wandering in the wilderness of Sinai, and lived in tents (or tabernacles, as the name suggests). It is an eight day festival with commemoration for different important events combined into the festival. The great day of the feast, my study bible explains, is likely to be the seventh or eighth day. Ceremonies included a procession from the pool of Siloam, carrying water and pouring it as a libation at the temple. This commemorates the water flowing from the rock which Moses struck in the wilderness (see Ex. 17:1-7). This gives us the context for today's reading, and Jesus' teaching about the "living water."

He cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.' " Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. This living water, the gospel teaches us, is the gift of the Spirit, and my study bible notes, "the new life which springs forth by the power of the Spirit. Christ gives the Holy Spirit, and the believer's heart consequently flows with new life. Christ does not force us, but is always available if we desire Him."

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. My study bible notes that many Jews at the time of Christ's life in the world were looking not only for the Messiah (or the Christ) but also for a prophet that would be a new Moses - one who would lead Israel out of bondage. The gospels teach us that Jesus was indeed from the line of David via his father Joseph and was born in Bethlehem at the time of the census - for this reason Joseph had to travel with the pregnant Mary to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. The people who know that Jesus is from Galilee, however, believe he was born in Nazareth where he was raised with his family. But, my study bible notes, John will always use "factual" disputes on occasions like this to bring out the deeper truth of Jesus' identity. The fact that "no one laid hands on him" - as "his time has not yet come" - has been historically interpreted as an indication of his divine nature, that he will choose his proper time, not others.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ In the previous reading (verse 32), we note the temple police had been sent to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast. They have returned to the chief priests and Pharisees on the last day, without an arrest. They are overwhelmed by Jesus' preaching and haven't laid a hand on him. In his homilies on John's gospel, St. John Chrysostom points out that the leadership, although witnesses to miracles (such as the healing of the paralytic to which they objected) and having full knowledge of Scripture, have no benefit from Jesus' ministry. But those who had no such knowledge and training - nor witness to miracles of healing - were captivated by a sermon. To quote Chrysostom: "When the mind is open to conviction there is no need of long speeches. Truth is like that" (Homily 52). Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Even the crowd is condemned, because clearly the authorities spare no one in their condemnation or criticism if it gets in the way of the recognition of their authority. Again, in Saturday's reading, we read Jesus' words about intention, and the love of the Father placed above all. If we wish simply to defend doctrines or rules, without being alive to this loving relationship, we may miss the simple truth that strikes so directly in this Presence - that which is striking the officers from one single sermon. Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee. Nicodemus is a figure from earlier in John's gospel. It was he who asked Jesus to explain how a man can possibly be "born again." Nicodemus defends Jesus' rights (forbidding false reporting and requiring that both sides of a case be heard) under the law of the Scriptures, which the Pharisees and and chief priests and scribes are bound to uphold. Ironically, they are using Scripture (prophecy) to attack Jesus' "credentials." Not only do they fail to uphold the law, we are told, but they are also blind to scripture when it suits them - or they speak of ignorance. Their response, "no prophet is to arise from Galilee," is false. Jonah came from Gath Hepher, a town in Galilee three miles from Nazareth. Their statement actually reflects a common prejudice of the time - see Behold an Israelite indeed.

So we have a picture of those who wish to destroy him, those who listen to him, and those who are awed by his very words - and the crowds are stirred in debate among themselves about this man. Jesus has just preached (see the previous readings) that his very words are spirit and life. And so it is, that even the temple police are struck by his words. We have dug more deeply into the nature of Spirit now, as Jesus preaches of the "living water." So deeply powerful is Jesus' substance and reality - the food and drink we are to consume of his spiritual reality, his mystical presence, and all that is contained even in his very words - that it continues to feed us and quench our thirst for spiritual, mystical food. This which he has called the food of life is stirring the crowd, and the leadership cannot stand this life that is turning their power upside down. Jesus has said the scriptures testify to him, but those who are experts in scripture fail to see this life; and if seeing, reject it for the sake of their own glory, their own authority. I think it's important that we take this text in terms of what it is trying to teach us about Presence, a mystical presence and reality, about Life itself to which Jesus has testified. If he is our mystical food and drink, if it is he who will give us rivers of living water to quench our thirst, how do we see this today? How is it alive in us? Are we awake to it? Does it burn our hearts, open enough to hear? I think it will always shake up our lives and our convictions, our "rules" and "laws" and "shoulds" and "musts." And this will always be a personal challenge. Perhaps even a daily challenge. Yet, today, we are still called to be alive to its power and its love. How does this living water stir in you today?

The glory of God

About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at it, saying, ‘How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?’ Then Jesus answered them, ‘My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him.

‘Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?’ The crowd answered, ‘You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?’ Jesus answered them, ‘I performed one work, and all of you are astonished. Moses gave you circumcision (it is, of course, not from Moses, but from the patriarchs), and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the sabbath? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement.’

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.’ Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, ‘You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.’ Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?’

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’ The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, “You will search for me and you will not find me” and, “Where I am, you cannot come”?’

- John 7:14-36

Jesus has gone up to the autumn festival of Succoth, the Festival of Tabernacles (or Booths), which commemorated the time when Israel lived in tents, wandering in the wilderness of Sinai. (See yesterday's reading in which his unbelieving brothers challenged him.) This is the final year of his life. He has become a scandal. Some wish to kill him, others in the crowd debate about who he is, if he is the Messiah. All are afraid to speak openly because of the leadership who wishes to be rid of him.

Jesus begins to teach in the temple. The Jews were astonished at it, saying, "How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?" The leadership questions his authority, his credentials. Then Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him." What Jesus knows, he knows of himself and of the Father who has sent him. This is a very important statement here about the nature of human reality that Jesus is teaching us. Do we seek our own glory, to give glory to one another, or the glory of God? The intention is all. The desire for the glory of God gives one a sense of purpose and truth that illuminates the truth of God, wherever it may be found. With this intention and understanding, it is possible to find that truth and give it proper recognition. But otherwise, if self-importance or "praise of men" is what we seek, then we are unable to truly see and recognize what is good and true. Otherwise, envy, anger and hatred get in the way of such recognition. This has also applied to those who wish to glorify their own teachers, credentials, schools. It is at heart a statement about relationship and what we value most, where our treasure is. Thus, intention will define our search for truth and value and our capability of its recognition. Jesus has not come to this festival as his brothers challenged him to do in yesterday's reading, as an open declaration of Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (as at Passion Week), but rather on his own terms and to do the Father's will. It is not a question of "personal glory" for him.

"Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me? The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who is trying to kill you?" Jesus answered them, "I performed one work, and all of you are astonished. Moses gave you circumcision (it is, of course, not from Moses, but from the patriarchs), and you circumcise a man on the sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the sabbath? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement." Those who wish to be rid of him declare him to be possessed. But there's a deeper reality here, a question of which will is supreme. If it is blessed to circumcise on the sabbath, then why not to heal? Jesus is referring to the healing of the paralytic, which enraged the authorities of the law. The deeper desire for truth, for God's will, must make us able to see the good and the true. Every other "god" we cling to will get in the way, and be the source of envy, anger, and hatred. Do we seek the glory of God or the praise of men, to glorify ourselves or one another? Is it God's will we wish above all? We are to judge not by appearance, but by "righteous judgment" - which can only be received through right relatedness, right intention and devotion, what we treasure the most. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, "Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from." Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, "You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." We are reminded that we have been told (John 4:44) that Jesus has said a prophet is not honored in his own country. They are unable to recognize his origin and the origin of his words and teachings. In yesterday's reading, we read that his own brothers are unbelievers. Again, we go to intention, to the reality of the inner life and identity, and to relationship. Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, "When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?" His hour had not yet come" refers to his death, his passion, the Cross. My study bible points out that Jesus is Lord of time. Everything he does - including this appearance in Jerusalem - is on the terms appointed by the Father and in accordance with the Father's will. This extends to Jesus' own nature and will. But we can learn from this devotion for ourselves.

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, "I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come." The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, 'You will search for me and you will not find me' and, 'Where I am, you cannot come'?" The irony of this passage, my study bible points out, is that at the time this gospel was written - in Greek - the community of Christian believers had spread "among the Greeks." (That is, among the Gentile world.) This phrase refers to the Jewish dispersion among the Gentiles. There were communities of Jews throughout the Mediterranean world at the time in which the story of Jesus' life is set, especially in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Egypt. As is the case in John's gospel, Jesus' literal words convey deeper meanings, that his listeners cannot hear. We are always drawn to deeper hidden meanings, to try to tease out his message, to hear with spiritual eyes and ears, just as Jesus' own immediate audience was. We are given a taste, through John's gospel, of Jesus' own teaching style - his way to reach those who truly wished to hear and to know his truth, just as is related in this passage in Jesus' teaching about our greatest desire and our capacity for recognition of truth. It all depends on what we put first, where our greatest treasure is.

There's an important lesson here about crowds, appearances, reflections. What do we believe? How do we know what to believe? The answer, Jesus points out, is in our hearts. To what do we ally ourselves? Where do we put our greatest faith and our first intention, our deepest love and relatedness? This in turn will illumine what we take for truth, where we put the greatest emphasis, and what we can recognize. Can we really see what's before us? Is it conveyed through appearance, through the surface, through reflection - or is there a deeper place from which to perceive that is defined by our own internal allegiance and alliance with something greater than ourselves? What do you love?

My time has not yet fully come

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ (For not even his brothers believed in him.) Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.’ After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, ‘Where is he?’ And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, ‘He is a good man’, others were saying, ‘No, he is deceiving the crowd.’ Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews.

- John 7:1-13

My study bible notes that this next chapter takes place during Jesus' visit to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of the Tabernacles (or Booths), an eight-day autumn festival that commemorated the wanderings of ancient Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai, when they lived in tents (or "tabernacles"). With Passover and Pentecost, Tabernacles (Succoth in Hebrew) was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews. This is the final year of Jesus' life. He teaches in the temple and attracts much public attention. A note in my study bible reads, "Some thought Him mad, others believed Him to be the Messiah, and still others (Sadducees and Pharisees who were members of the Sanhedrin) considered Him a threat to the religious and political status quo." In verse 1 we read that "the Jews" (meaning the Jewish leaders) sought to kill him.

It's ironic that we're speaking of the time of the Festival of Tabernacles. John's gospel begins by using the word in Greek for "tent" or "tabernacle" when it speaks of Jesus as Son or Logos coming into the world to "dwell" ("make his tent") among us. (See John 1:14, Greek lexicon page.) For Jesus, this is not a time of welcome in the world, but of hostility. This hostility, we are told is not just from the leadership that sought to kill him as a disruption to the status quo, but also among members of his own family. So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ (For not even his brothers believed in him.) His brothers ridicule him. For both Eastern and Western Church Fathers, these "brothers" were considered extended family members; they are not called sons of Mary in the gospel. In the East they were understood as sons of Joseph, stepbrothers by a previous wife. Western Fathers understood them to be cousins. Either way, or as brothers in a conventional sense, we get the picture. It's not only that Jesus' disciples fall away, or that he will eventually be betrayed by an apostle (as we read in yesterday's reading), but among his own kin Jesus is not recognized, and his words and teachings about himself are not believed. We get a wider and deeper sense of betrayal and hostility and rejection than his public life and ministry teaches.

Jesus tells them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come." There's a sense that the ridicule takes the pattern of being goaded into "proving himself." But Jesus takes care to follow the will of the Father. When is it his time? When is it not his time? Is he there merely to offer proofs, or something different? Jesus will attend the Festival, but not on the terms his disbelieving brothers set down and tease him with.

But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but as it were in secret. The Jews were looking for him at the festival and saying, ‘Where is he?’ And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, ‘He is a good man’, others were saying, ‘No, he is deceiving the crowd.’ Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews. One gets a great sense of the crowd being stirred up. He's a powerful healer, speaker, and has many followers. From the previous chapter, we read of his powerful and startling declarations of his gospel: he is our food, we must drink his blood and eat his flesh! His words themselves are spirit and life. He challenges all to believe, and has lost disciples due to these difficult teachings. And yet, he is compelling. He is now a subject of public debate. There is so much tension here in the public arena, just under the surface. We are told, "No one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews" - that is, the Jewish leadership that wishes to kill him. All of this whispering and debate is going on under the surface, a great fear and tension, murder is also an element now in this scenario of Jesus' life. There seems to be a kind of betrayal everywhere connected with belief or disbelief: his own brothers mock him, he has lost disciples and will be betrayed by one of his own choosing.

All of this comes right after the great dialogue on the gift of himself to us as our spiritual food. (See The bread of life!, For the life of the world, Abide in me, and Spirit and life. ) Jesus has offered to all of us, "for the life of the world," all that he is. His gift to us is himself which he will share with us so deeply that we will "abide in him, and he in us." And yet, out there in the "real world" where his brothers challenge him to go in public and prove himself, there is disappointment, rejection, hostility, debate, judgment, his enemies are searching for him - and there is the threat and fear of death, of murder and betrayal. So there is no "home" - no tent in the wilderness - for Jesus, save in the hearts of those who still have faith in him.

How do we view this man with his courage? Would we call it courage to "show himself" upon goading by his brothers? Do we too fall into the trap of understanding life to be about what we show to the rest of the world for its judgment, or is identity something deeper inside of us? Jesus tells his brothers, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil." Life is not perfect in this public world of public judgment that does not see into the heart but judges by appearance, by "proofs." Jesus calls this world evil, and calls us all to a deeper recognition of what it is to be filled with "spirit and life" - even what it is to be human and fully alive to all that is within us and in the possibilities inherent as children of the Creator. He draws us to those possibilities. His food will lift us to them, to all that is within us: the teaching in the heart by God. To whom and to what are we called? Within the great public debates about life, about religion and faith, or any issue, remember that there is so much more to us than the judgment of appearances. Faith calls us to dwell somewhere deeper and to seek out life and meanings that He will give us. Spiritual food is not just about being called on the last day. It is about being called upon every day to turn within to that place of inspiration, insight, and love. This gift that gives life in abundance is not just about a notion of living forever. Eternal life is being called to all that Christ is, his nature that will dwell within us, his words of spirit and life that are gifts to us. Seek that for your understanding. We learn, hopefully, of his life itself and it gives us spiritual ears and eyes to see with. Find his truth in his food of spirit and life and see how it changes the way you see things, and keeps giving us greater sight as we walk with him in us. The mystery included therein is infinite, and never ceases offering us new gifts. The world of debate, hostility and intrigue can wait awhile. Find what is there in your heart where we share his food. Make your time his time, and take it wisely, not by following the crowds.

Spirit and life

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘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 that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.’ He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

- John 6:60-71

Over the past several readings, Jesus has been speaking of himself as the “bread of life.” This discourse began after the miracle of the loaves and fishes, the feeding of the 5,000. The crowds pursued Jesus across the Sea of Galilee, because they wanted to make him king. But Jesus proclaimed to them that they wanted this merely because they were fed the loaves of bread by him; what they should seek instead is the bread of life which he is offering them – Himself. See readings from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for the whole of this essential discourse on the nature of Christ and his relation to us and in us.

In yesterday’s reading, Jesus taught that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood – that which he will give for us. "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them." A hard and mysterious teaching indeed, which perplexed his audience. As always, in John’s gospel, we are to understand that we need spiritual ears and eyes to hear and see, to understand. Jesus’ words will always draw us more deeply than the surface into his meanings and the essential teaching he is trying to convey. See yesterday’s commentary for more on these teachings that today’s reading reflects upon.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ Some translations quote the disciples as saying, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?" Indeed, a hard and perplexing saying! But Jesus is speaking on spiritual terms, of a mystical reality that we take in as he offers himself to us. Of course, we understand the reality of the Eucharist, its mystical gift, its strength in us. But I believe that Jesus is teaching far more than that: we are heirs to what he is, he shares himself completely with us. This is deeper than relationship - it is indeed, food, mystical food that nourishes soul and spirit. His whole Person is our food.

But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" Jesus asks them why they cannot understand - or rather quizzes them: What if they were to see him ascending? Would they then accept the spiritual teaching? Would they begin to understand?

"It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." Jesus' flesh and blood is mystical food, spiritual food. And the very words he speaks are spirit and life. What we take in of himself and all of his life that he gives for us is mystical food that gives us life itself. This is the food that we need, our meat and drink, and we need it to truly live, to have life in abundance and the eternal life of which he's speaking.

"But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father." From the beginning of this discourse (see Monday's reading), Jesus has said that the Father draws all to Himself through Jesus. Those who respond to Christ do so because it is the Father who is drawing them, God who is teaching them ("It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' ") Jesus is aware that there are those disciples following him now who will turn away because of this difficult teaching. But he reinforces the idea that those who gather to him truly do so only by the will of the Father.

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" These difficult teachings make many followers turn away. So, Jesus turns to the twelve apostles whom he himself has chosen. Are they ready to leave him, also? Peter, speaking for the apostles says, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." This is a recognition of the spiritual reality of Jesus' words. As Jesus has just said, his words themselves are spirit and life. This is a spiritual recognition, part of the internal reality of mystical connection in those who will follow and hear and know, those who are drawn by the Father through Christ. Where else will they go? Who else has the words Jesus has to teach them?

Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil." He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him. In the midst of the dialogue, yet another reality to ponder. Those who are drawn in faith to Christ come to him because they are drawn by the Father. And yet, there is another falling away that is to happen, another betrayal. Many disciples who followed Jesus are now going because they cannot accept his words, they cannot accept his teachings. Their faith does not take them that far. But of the twelve he has chosen himself, there will still be another betrayal. So, we are introduced to another element of the reality of Jesus: he cannot and does not compel anyone to follow him. The Father will give those to Jesus as is granted by the Father. But human beings make their own choices; we all have free will. Neither the Father, nor Christ, abrogates our power of choice. And this is yet another spiritual mystery to add to this package we receive in this talk!

Jesus' food is our meat and drink. His words are filled with spirit and life. We turn to all that he is, we take it in, and he becomes a part of us. He offers himself to us wholly, his whole Person. He will sacrifice himself on the Cross, and his life will be our food. We will mystically take in his flesh and blood in the Eucharist. And yet, those who will fall away will do so. Nothing is compelled. Ultimately, it is human free will that prevails. Somewhere deep inside there is a choice, even among those whom Jesus himself has chosen! We are offered everything, and yet we may turn away. What must it be like for Jesus to be spurned? To feel disappointment, to understand that there are those who follow him who ultimately will not accept his gift? Even among those whom he has personally chosen? This is another mystery of the reality of the world and our state in it. Yet, even so, the gift is offered, and offered wholly to us all, "for the life of the world."

Abide in me

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 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. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 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 for ever." He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

- John 6:52-59

Over the past several readings from this chapter in John's gospel, Jesus has been teaching about the "bread of life." In Friday's reading, we read about feeding the 5,000 on the mountaintop. These people have pursued him in order to make him king, even across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus then began to teach them about the true "bread of life" which they should pursue, rather than pursuing him to be king because he fed them loaves and fishes. Over the past several readings, Jesus has been teaching about his own nature as this bread of life, and drawing all to the Father through himself. (See Monday's and Tuesday's readings and commentary, The bread of life! and For the life of the world.)

In yesterday's reading, Jesus began to speak of his sacrifice: "Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Today he continues his dialogue.

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 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." These words equate Jesus with life itself. He is clearly alluding to himself as Creator, as the source of life. "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them." His flesh and blood is life itself, and in that life, those who eat and drink will have eternal life. In this sense his flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. Strange words, indeed! But we must ask ourselves why this language is phrased this way... why does Jesus speak of his flesh and blood as our food and drink? We understand this is not a literal text, Jesus was not inviting anyone to eat his bodily flesh and blood! So we must understand this text in spiritual terms. Jesus is offering himself to us, his nature: all that he is within himself is not just something he offers to us in relationship in this text. "Relationship" is now not a powerful enough word for the encounter which he offers us. Instead, he offers us his life, his Personhood, and in so doing it is offering us life itself: he offers to be our food and drink, our sustenance, and more. He is offering the spiritual food and drink that will shape us and become a part of us, as deeply a part of our lives as we know ourselves to be individual persons. This is the depth of his reality in us through faith.

"Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them." This sentence makes the relationship, the depth of which Jesus is speaking, abundantly clear. We abide not simply with one another but in one another. "Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me." In this expounding on theology, and the nature of the root of all Being in the Father, so Jesus expands on our relationship to himself. The Father has sent him, and he lives because of the Father, and just so - we who partake of his flesh and blood will live because of him. Again, how can we get around these words and come to understand them in the terms he is implying? We need spiritual ears to hear and eyes to see. His sacrifice of flesh and blood will come on the Cross. He will give his life for the life of the world. In his life, our faith in this reality that he teaches us will make us one. In the Eucharist we take in this spiritual flesh and blood, his life, all that he offers us. What he offers us is himself, and the spiritual reality of that gift that we can then make a part of ourselves. It's like the grain of mustard seed that grows into the great sturdy shrub from his parables of kingdom in Matthew's gospel, or the leaven mixed in with the flour in those same parables that describe the nature of the kingdom. Jesus' life, in us, creates of us a new substance which is life in abundance - and here referred to as life itself. It is the true food, spiritual life and reality, giving us more dimensions to life - even as we walk in this world - than merely our own flesh and blood can convey. This is a mystical reality that lives in us.

"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 for ever." This bread from heaven, he's saying, is not like the manna that their ancestors ate in the wilderness. This is a living bread that shall not die but shall extend eternal life to those who partake. As we take the Eucharist, so he offers us all that he is, his very life, so that he gives this eternal life to us and makes it a part of us as well. My study bible notes as follows: "St. Hilary of Poitiers writes, 'What we say concerning the reality of Christ's nature within us would be foolish and impious were we not taught by His very words." I know some people myself, pious Christians, who would get after me for writing that these words imply that we share his very nature: or rather, that he shares, he gives, his nature to us. But if we are to take these strange words seriously (and we know from the gospels that Jesus lost many of his own disciples because of these words), then we must at least perceive what they imply, what Jesus is getting at. His life itself he shares with us. It will become a part of us. And in that eternal nature of life he will make us like him: he will raise us to eternal life as well. So let us ponder today, just what it means to take in his life, his flesh and blood that gives us life itself. Let us think about what it means that his gift is all of himself to us.

For the life of the world

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven?' " Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

- John 6:41-51

In today's reading, Jesus continues his discourse on "the bread of life." We recall that he is speaking to those who have pursued him in order to make him king, because he filled them with bread and fishes at the feeding of the 5,000. Yesterday's reading told us of Jesus' teaching to them about the "bread of life" which he told them they should be pursuing, rather than asking him to be their king because he fed them loaves to eat. Jesus has expanded on his role as Son and his reflection of and union with the Father. In yesterday's reading, Jesus made the important statement that to have faith - "to believe in him whom He has sent" - is to do the work of God.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven?' " Clearly we are given a picture here of those "from his own country." John has told us, in an earlier passage about Galilee (reporting the second miracle of the gospel) that "Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country" (John 4:44). Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day." Jesus has already elaborated upon his identity as Son (see yesterday's passage) and his relationship to the Father. He is here, he has taught this crowd, to draw all to the Father that are the Father's. Here he makes an unequivocal statement about this relationship: that all those who come to him are in reality drawn to Jesus by the Father who has sent him. Therefore along with himself, in his spiritual nature, these people who come to Jesus will be raised up on the last day. The notion of Son of Man as an apocalyptic figure is already familiar to them. But Jesus clearly states his nature and union with the Father, the depth of relationship extending to a baptism of the people who will believe in and be drawn to Christ because they are drawn by the Father.

"It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father." Jesus is speaking of the depth of connection between those who believe in his word, and through him, to the Father. It is the Father who is drawing all to Christ, because the Father pulls up to Himself through Christ, this incarnate Son. This is how we are "all taught by God." The pull of faith within the heart is the "law that is written on the heart." It is a connection of faith deep within ourselves that draws us to the reality of Christ and his union and single nature with the Father, even as incarnate human being. While the people he is speaking to - as is very common in John's gospel - take his words literally and try to contemplate what they could mean, Jesus is teaching mystery, about the hidden depth behind the words and phrases he uses.

"Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die." Therefore, faith in Christ gives eternal life. We are raised in union with Christ and the Father, in the baptism of faith. When Jesus says, "I am the bread of life," he is effectively giving us the power for eternal life through his life, the capacity for a life of abundance and all the reality to which we are capable of aspiring through himself.

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." Jesus has been sent. He is here on a mission. He is clearly and powerfully stating to this crowd that knows him and his family as their neighbors that he has been sent from heaven. He equates himself with the manna in the wilderness with an important distinction: those who ate the manna died, but those who eat his bread - which he calls his flesh - will not die. This bread is the life of the world. He will give this bread - his flesh - for the life of the world. There is a clear reference here to his sacrifice, the Cross. And an equally clear reference to the Eucharist. Jesus' life itself is the bread of life to us which we take in. My study bible notes that Jesus gives his bread, his flesh, "for the life of the world." This is for the whole world, for everybody. There are no exceptions. Everybody is invited to this feast.

How do you view "the life of the world" and the "bread of life" that is his flesh which he will sacrifice? How do we understand Jesus' life as a gift to us? There are mysteries here too deep for all of us to grasp in a sense that is completely clear, cut and dried, potent in its perspective as "facts." But in relationship, we can understand. Jesus draws us deeper into the matters of the heart deep within us. The Father calls to us through Jesus, calls us to Himself as we are drawn to Jesus. Jesus will lose his life so that faith will redeem us and all that we are capable of being. In the past few passages, I have remarked in my commentary on how this life in abundance is truly a gift that teaches us that we are so much more than flesh and blood and bone - that there is so much more to life beyond what meets the eye. In the powerful poetry of the gospel, we understand that Jesus' sacrifice will be our bread that raises us with him to the Father, to heaven, and gives us a bountiful harvest of what it is to truly be alive to all the possibilities and dimensions of life. He will take us with him on this journey in our own lives in the world and beyond. We remember these important words, "The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." It isn't just about the last day, but our very lives in the world, and the life of the world. Take that bread that always gives and let it light up your life, and walk in the world with that drawing power that is in Him. See where it leads you and what it teaches you about yourself and who you are, who you can be. Christ gives us life for the life of the world, so that we in turn can be that life for others, for the world.

The bread of life!

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’

- John 6:27-40

In Friday's reading, we read of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and of feeding the five thousand people. This was the fourth miracle or sign (out of seven) of John's gospel. In Saturday's reading, Jesus expanded upon the meaning of this gift, encouraging those who were following him not to labor for the food that perishes, but rather seek the food "that endures for eternal life." And so we begin today, with the same sentence that ended the previous reading on Saturday, verse 27: "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."

After feeding the five thousand, they wished to forcibly make Jesus king. But, in the previous reading, he explained to them that they didn't understand his signs - did not receive the wisdom to which they were pointing - and only pursued him to make him king because he gave them food. Here is another incident, common to John's gospel and the way in which stories and meanings unfold, in which Jesus is drawing out those whom he has encountered. He has already spoken of himself as Son in the gospel and of his Judgment which has been entrusted to him by the Father. Here, Jesus begins to elaborate on himself as the "bread of life." He identifies himself as Son of Man, unequivocally, the Messianic figure of Old Testament scripture. He expresses union with the divine will of the Father when he declares that he is the Son of Man "on whom the Father has set his seal."

Jesus has already preached that those who would seek the kingdom of heaven must come by faith and doing good, but here the union of such faith and works is taken even a step further. The people ask, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" And Jesus answers, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." Jesus is equating the work of God with faith itself. As he "figures" the Father in the world, so that faith itself is the "work" of God: to recognize the Father in the Son, to live in that faith. This is a union indeed, a relationship of power within us, open and available to each of us. The destiny we seek, the bread of life, is somehow in this faith - to walk and live our lives in this faith, going where we will go with him.

The people following Jesus then ask for a sign, and remark on the sign given by Moses, the bread which came from heaven - the manna in the wilderness - and fed their ancestors. But Jesus corrects them, advising them to think more deeply and more powerfully - from whom came this sign? The bread from heaven was not given by Moses, but by the Father. "For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." The people indeed then ask for this bread of which Jesus is speaking, and he goes into the powerful speech about his own identity, and his reality as that of the Son to the Father, and the nature of their union - in his incarnate state as Son of Man, present to them as well.

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." Just as the "good works" we do is faith itself, so Jesus himself is the bread of life. "But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe." The signs that Jesus has performed have already pointed to his union with the Father, this identity as Son. The miracles in themselves were not magic tricks, conjured for persuasion, but rather signs to read - signals to the reality of Jesus' identity, which they have failed to understand.

"Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." What is his is his - union in faith and understanding and grace and the power of that will is one. Jesus is in the world to do the will of the Father, even as incarnate Son, human as you and I are human, his will is united to that of the Father. And in that union, those to whom this will draws out and inspires faith are also a part of what is the Father's, of what the Son will gather to himself.

"Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." Christ is in the world, in human form incarnate as Jesus, not simply to preach and to do the will of the Father who has sent him, but also to gather up in the fullness of that will all those who will be drawn to the Father and to the eternal life in the kingdom of the Father. In a sense, his life is a baptism for all of us, that he will die with us and he will raise us up with him to the realization of this eternal life and this kingdom. He raises us as part of the will of the Father to that life in abundance which we ourselves are capable of having. Our human nature is so much more than flesh and blood, and the bread that feeds our bodies. We are also capable of union in spiritual nature, of being drawn into so many more dimensions of life than the surface. And this is what we must know of Jesus: that in that faith that he has called the "work of God" we are drawn into so much more than we know and understand, and called to so much more of life than what meets the eye.

As in Saturday's reading, when Jesus walked on the water to the disciples in the boat, when we receive him in, then we are immediately at our destination. The work of God is faith. But the destination is not the end of the journey; rather it's the beginning. We walk in faith to be taken - to be raised - to an eternal life and to life in abundance. This journey is then a walk through the world, learning who we are, who we are capable of becoming, and walking as Jesus did in that will, living a life in that "work." How does the bread of life feed you today to be that person that you are capable of being? How does it inform you of the possibility inherent in being human, that takes you beyond immediate physical need and adds to you dimensions of faith and meaning and choice?