Commentary on Readings for Sunday, August 9, 2015 Proper 14

FIRST READING: from 2^nd Samuel

You tube “When David Heard” Tewksbury Abbey Schola Cantorum

THE TRAGIC STORY OF DAVID AND HIS SON ABSOLOM eclipses the political/historical drama of David’s triumph over a nearly-successful rebellion. IN THE BIBLE, the personal and commonplace reveal God’s presence more than the “big picture” events that interest historians and politicians.

THE GOSPEL: continuing the extensive “Bread of Life” commentary found in the 6^th Chapter of the Gospel of JOHN.

Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

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 they died. 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 forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."
NOTES ARE FROM “CROSSMARKS”, on-line exegetical notes by The Rev. Brian Stoffregan.

1)      Who are "the Jews" in John? There are three different ways that Culpepper (Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel) suggests that John uses "the Jews". A) They can be the Jewish people in general. B) They can be Judeans. C) They can be authorities hostile toward Jesus [p. 126].

Who are they in our text? There seems to be a shift with v. 41.

a)       "the crowd" (ochlos -- vv. 2, 5, 22, 24).

b)      Now they are called "the Jews." They "were complaining" (gogguzo) in v. 41, which escalates into "were disputing" in v. 52 (machomai is more often translated "quarreling" or "fighting" [Ac 7:26; 2Ti 2:24; Ja 4:2].

c)      With both these verbs, the fighting is among "the Jews." They are not complaining or quarreling with Jesus or the disciples, but among themselves. It is likely that this presents the situation at the time of John. The Jews were divided over Jesus. My guess is that "the Jews" in these verses refers to the Jewish people in general -- some who believed in Jesus and some who didn't …

NOTE- IN THE PALM SUNDAY AND GOOD FRIDAYT READINGS,  "the Jews" refers to the RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES, who happened to be Jews. Ruthless prejudices developed as a result of this unfortunate ambiguity. How could the gospels be “anti-semitic”, when Jesus and all his disciples were Jewish? A bitter irony…

2)      "The Jews" and gogguzo connects this scene with the Jews who "complained" in the wilderness …. During the wilderness travels, God provided the people with manna in the wilderness (Ex 16:1-36; Num 11:7-9; John 6:31, 49), yet the people complained about it (Num 11:1-6), so that God would not allow any of the complainers into the Promised Land (Num 14:26-30). There is a whole lot of complaining after Jesus has fed this crowd (John 6:41, 43, 61), and some (even disciples) will not (cannot?) listen to his words of eternal life (and thus enter the "promised land"?).

3)      “No one is able to come to me unless the Father who sent me would draw them" (v. 44a).

What does it mean to be "drawn" to Jesus? This word, elkuo, is used five times in John. The other verses are below.

• 12:32 -- And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
• 18:10 -- Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.
• 21:6 -- He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
• 21:11 -- So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn.

Can we speak of being “drawn” to Christ? “Hauled?” Do we feel like “fish being lured” into a relationship with an unseen reality?

4)      “…whoever believes has eternal life.”

·         Four times "having eternal life" is mentioned (vv. 40, 47, 54, 68). In every case, the verb (echo = to have) is in the present tense! Eternal life is a present possession.

·         Eternal life comes through

·         (1) seeing and believing in Jesus (vv. 40, 47)
(2) eating Jesus' flesh and drinking his blood (v. 54)
(3) (by implication) listening to Jesus' words (v. 68)

5)      THE “BREAD OF LIFE” sequence is reflective of the early church’s Eucharistic practice. For them, the weekly gathering for the Eucharistic meal was a renewal of their connection to the Risen Jesus, and a real participation in the eternal life of God.

6)      “The only real fall of man is his noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world.”
― Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy

You tube “When David Heard” Tewksbury Abbey Schola Cant