Sometimes Jesus is so annoying
We are in the midst of the Gospel of John’s discourse on the Bread of Life
It began a couple of weeks ago when Pastor Ellen read about the miracle of the loaves and fish feeding 5,000 people
Everyone is in awe of witnessing this incredible miracle
Jesus has them in a really good place
He captured their attention in a big way
They suspect something incredible is going on
They seek him out, track him down, and really are curious
They engage him, wanting to understand what’s going on
And then he blows it
He rambles on and on for three weeks in the lectionary about being living bread from heaven
I’m with the Jews on this one
They are feeling confused, frustrated, and they begin to complain
“Hey, we know you – we know your mom, we know your dad – what do you mean ‘You came down from heaven’?!”
And then Jesus doubles down on being annoying
First, by telling them not to complain
And then by talking way over their heads about learning from the Father, coming to Jesus, hearing from the Father through Jesus…
Their one assurance,
Very truly
Is that Jesus is the bread of life.
I think that the reading from Ephesians offers us more information that seems actually helpful
We are given instructions that we can apply… like
Speak the truth
Don’t make room for evil
Lift one another up
Be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving
Why didn’t Jesus “very truly” speak more directly like this?
I wonder about the message he’s sending us through this twisted discourse
I see the closest connection between Ephesians and John when I read in Ephesians:
“We are members of one another” and
Give yourself to one another like Christ is given to us
I think Jesus is being annoying on purpose
Because there are no easy answers to the incarnation of Christ in the world
There are no universal solutions to living into God’s presence within YOU
There are no easy answers for the disciples or the Jews –
Or for us –
When we’re asking about who God is and how God works and where God is found
Even after the obvious presence of a miracle of God through the feeding of 5,000
God can’t be pinned down
God is on the move, flowing in and out of everyone, everywhere, always
If we allow God
This whole chapter causes me to think about the Lord’s Supper
I think sometimes we hear the words and do the thing so often that it’s hard to grasp its significance
Every week, and again in just a few minutes we will hear the words:
Our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
The way Jesus talks around things I doubt “do this” is literally get the bread and share it
I wonder if Jesus is inviting us, our very selves
To be taken
Broken open
And given
In remembrance of him
We are taken into Christ through baptism
We are broken open in so many ways
We are given to one another in community
I want to be specific about how I think about being broken open
This isn’t a breaking down of oneself
This isn’t admitting to sinfulness and therefore brokenness
God doesn’t call us to be broken down by the world
No
God invites us to be broken open to the world
God calls us to recognize Godself within our soul
And crack through the layers of ego that have buried Godself so deep inside of us
And break open our true self
Revealing the incarnation of God in US
This sounds beautiful and lovely in theory
But there are no turn by turn directions for being broken and shared
And Jesus doesn’t try to give us directions
He gives us a promise
Because cracking through our outer protective layer to reveal our true self is scary
Being broken and shared feels incredibly vulnerable and can be emotionally painful!
I don’t want to do it!
Jesus promises that if we go for it
Then we will truly live
If we let go
God will be with us so obviously
Life will be more incredible than we imagine!
Sometimes Jesus is so annoying
Especially when everything within my being resists what he’s trying to tell me
Especially when I’m trying to be tough
And smart
And look like I’ve got myself together
I don’t want to be baptized into being broken and shared!
I’d rather be baptized into comfort and wholeness
And this is the miracle God does within us
Like the feeding of the 5,000
When we allow ourselves to be broken open
And shared with one another
God makes us whole
God makes us whole
And them whole
And wholeness is God’s miracle
Sometimes Jesus is so annoying
We’ll get another week of his unclear “very truly” explanations
God is asking us to really sit with this one
Like maybe it’s really important
Like maybe it’s getting to the core of being Christian
It’s so important we’ll spend half of the summer wrestling with it
Jesus doesn’t offer a clear answer for us
I sure don’t have an answer for us
So I pray,
may Jesus the Christ,
allow us to sense the unique gifts God has placed within each one of us.
May that sensing be a sign,
may our wondering be a guide,
may Jesus’ promise be an inspiration,
and may we have the audacity and courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
Within that vulnerability may we be broken open,
so that all of our insecurities,
and doubts
held up by our egos,
fall away to reveal God’s incarnation inside us.
May we be bold
in our belief in abundance
to give ourselves to one another in community,
and may we celebrate the wholeness
that this broken and shared living brings.
Amen
