Monday 16 August 2021
Readings, hymns and
sermon ideas for
Sunday 22 August 2021,
Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday [22 August 2021] is the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Proper 16B). The readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:
The Continuous readings: I Kings 8: (1, 6, 10-11,) 22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; Ephesians 6: 10-20; John 6: 56-69.
The Paired readings: Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34: 15-22; Ephesians 6: 10-20; John 6: 56-69.
There is a link to the readings HERE.
Introducing the Readings:
We are coming to the end of the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse in Saint John’s Gospel, and return to the Year B readings from Saint Mark’s Gospel the following Sunday. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, while Christ says that taking part in the Eucharist establishes a lasting relationship, a community of life, a mutual indwelling, between him and the believer.
But his teachings are difficult, and many turn away. As we prepare for next Sunday, we might ask ourselveves: What do we say or do that turns people away from the Church, that turns people away from Christ?
I Kings 8: (1, 6, 10-11,) 22-30, 41-43:
The first reading in the continuous set of readings is a particularly difficult editing of a story that is going to be difficult for any reader to work through without the lectionary to hand. It is easy to imagine flutters and flurries of yellow sticky page markers in churches across the land on Sunday morning as readers lose and try to find their places in the Bible.
In this story, the Temple has been built, the Ark has been brought to Jerusalem, and it is now moved in procession to the Holy of Holies or ‘inner sanctuary’ (verse 6). After the priests leave, a cloud fills the house of the Lord as a sign of God’s presence (verses 10-11).
In the missing verses, Solomon tells the people of the continuity between God’s covenant with Israel during the Exodus, his promise to David, and the Temple, God’s dwelling place among his people.
In his prayer of dedication, Solomon asks God to be attentive to the people’s prayers and needs by being just when they turn again to him, when they suffer in wars, from drought, in famine and from plagues.
But Solomon in his wisdom also asks God to respond to the pleas of foreigners who seek and find the God of Israel. Indeed, it is a prayer for ‘all the peoples of the earth’ (verses 41-43).
This is a challenging reading when it comes to our treatmenent of foreigners who arrive in our land. Do we see our proper treatement of them as a religious and moral duty? Do they see in our response to them a reflection of our highest religious, moral and ethical values … a reflection of when we understand God expects of us?
Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18:
In the first reading in the paired set of readings, the people of Israel are now living in Canaan, the conquest is complete, and the land has been divided among the tribes. We now move forward to the final chapter of the book. The people, or their representatives, gather at Shechem, on the eastern edge of the hill country, 50 km north of Jerusalem. Shechem was the site of a pagan shrine. There Abraham built an altar to commemorate his meeting with God; there Jacob, returning from Haran, set up camp, bought land, and erected an altar; there Joseph was buried.
This reading describes a treaty between God and his people, in the general style of treaties between a victorious king and a vanquished people. In such treaties, the victor would promise to protect people, who in return would commit to a number of obligations. But this treaty is different in may ways to a typical treaty, and it is an agreement between God and Israel.
In verse 2, God’s titles are given. Terah was Abraham’s father, who ‘served other gods.’
Verses 2-13 is the ‘whereas’ section, providing the background and the reason for each party agreeing to this treaty.
Verse 14 states Israel’s obligations: ‘to revere the Lord …’
Verses 14-20 are, in reality, separate from the treaty. The people have a free choice as to whether they worship God or the local gods. But Joshua and his household elect to serve God (verse 15). The people, recognising all God has done for them, now choose to serve him.
‘Beyond the River’: the river is the Euphrates, so this refers to Aramea, the land to the north.
The ‘Amorites’ (verses 15, 18) appear to be an indigenous people of the Promised Land.
Psalm 84:
Psalm 84 is a song praising Zion as the longed-for goal of the pilgrim. God dwells in the Temple, perhaps signifying that God dwells among the people (verses 1-2).
To live in the ‘courts of the Lord’ is a blessing and a joy to the heart. Those who live there have security and happiness. ‘Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow has a nest for herself’ there (verse 3).
Making a pilgrimage to the Temple offers hope to the pilgrims. When these pilgrims pass through the valley of Baca on their way to the Temple, there joy is so great that even this desolate place feels refreshing (verse 6), and they receive new strength on the way (verse 7).
The psalmist then prays for God’s anointed one, the king or the Messiah, but later understood as a reference to the ideal future king who would restore the nation (verse 9).
The psalmist rejoices in well-known words that ‘a day’ in God’s ‘courts is better that a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wickedness’ (verse 10).
God is both a ‘sun and shield,’ for he illuminates and protects, and bestows blessings. Everyone who trusts in God is happy (verses 11-12).
Psalm 34: 15-22:
The readings from this psalm began on Sunday 8 August in the paired readings, with verses 1-8, followed by verses 9-14 on Sunday 15 August. When King David was fleeing from King Saul, he took refuge in the Philistine city of Gath. There, however, he was recognised, and once again his life was in danger. Feigning insanity in order to appear harmless, he was dismissed by the king, and was able to escape (see I Samuel 21: 10-15).
Psalm 34 is written as an alphabetical acrostic. An extra verse was added at th end to avoid closing on a negative note.
In the first porion (1-8), we were told that when we bless the Lord, the humble hear and are glad (verses 1-2). We were invited to ‘taste and see that the Lord is gracious’ (verse 8). Religious experience precedes religious understanding.
In the second portion (verses 9-14), we are told that, as God’s ‘holy ones,’ we shall fear the Lord and lack nothing (verses 9-10), for God meets all our needs. We are called to keep our tongues from evil, to keep our tongues from speaking deceit (verse 13), to depart from evil and to do good, and to seek peace and pursue it (verse 14).
In this third portion (verses 15-22), we are promised that despite present sufferings, the Lord rescues us and redeems us, and ‘none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned’ (verse 22).
The Gate of Persecution leading into the site of the Basilica of Saint John the Divine in Ephesus (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)Ephesians 6: 10-20:
Saint Paul concludes his Letter to the Ephesians, telling the people in the Church in Ephesus that in the face of persecution they must persevere in relying on the power of God, the must ‘put on the whole armour of God’ (verse 11; see verse 13).
He also asks his readers to pray for him that he may be given a gift of the right words in telling of the ‘mystery of the Gospel’ (τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, verse 19), for he is like an ambassador or prisoner ‘in chains’ (verse 20).
John 6: 56-69:
In the Gospel reading (John 6: 56-69), we are coming to the end of the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse in Saint John’s Gospel, while Christ is teaching in Capernaum. He has said that he is divine and the living bread. Now he says that taking part in the Eucharist establishes a lasting relationship, a community of life, a mutual indwelling, between him and the believer.
When he leaves the synagogue, many of Christ’s followers find this teaching is difficult or offensive. But he replies that if we cannot accept these things, seeing him ascend to heaven will really confound us. The words he speaks are spirit and life, and ‘it is the spirit that gives life.’ Our human lives, even Christ in human form, are of no use without the spirit.
Because of his teaching, many of his disciples turn away, as many would later leave the Church. Christ asks the Twelve whether they too wish to leave him. But Saint Peter replies on their behalf: ‘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’ (verse 68).
There is a clear connection between the feeding of the 5,000 that begins this chapter, with the manna story, when they recall the exile in the wilderness and quote from Psalm 78: 24, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’ (see John 6: 31).
We should remember that at this point in the Fourth Gospel, the Passover is near. Christ is fulfilling the kind of community that trusts in God’s abundance that the manna story envisions. His feeding and his reflection on it is a kind of synagogue teaching. It signifies that Christ is proclaiming himself as one greater than Moses, and is therefore greater than the usual synagogue teaching, which is a scandalous challenge in itself.
What is that that these people find hard to grasp? Is it the concept of ‘eating my flesh’? Is it the implication that Christ is greater than Moses? Is it the idea that to follow Christ is to see the Mosaic tradition fulfilled?
Next Sunday’s conversation takes place as Christ leaves the synagogue in Capernaum where he has been teaching also brings into focus the relationship between Christ’s words and the teachings of Moses.
In the synagogue in Capernaum, he has been interpreting a passage of scripture that has already been introduced by the crowd (see verse 31). They want a sign similar to the one of manna given to their ancestors in the wilderness in Sinai.
In response, he declares he is the manna, the ‘bread of life’ (verses 35, 38), just as he has told the Samaritan woman at the well that he is the living water (see John 4: 5-26), and just as he tells the disciples later that he is the true vine (see John 15: 1).
Moses could provide this miraculous bread, but he is not the bread of life. Moses could strike the rock and bring forth water, but he is not the living water.
How can Christ himself be bread and wine?
These are such difficult conundrums that they turn many of his listeners away.
They murmur and mutter, and the word used here is the same word used in the Exodus story (see, for examples, Exodus 15: 24; 16: 2) for the murmuring, muttering and grumbling of the people who have just experienced being liberated from slavery yet are not willing to accept the consequences of staying on the journey. They do not trust God to take care of them. Over and over, with questions of water, food, and physical safety, the Israelites play out the same drama of whether they will trust God to care for them.
Once again, people who are on a journey with God turn away. This turning away is the very opposite to the metanoia (μετάνοια), the turning around of conversion.
They are no longer willing to stay the course, they turn away from journeying with Christ, journeying with him to Jerusalem, journeying with him to the Cross, journeying with him to the promise of new life.
Verse 56 says: ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ.
We translate this and similar passages into English so politely. For example, the NRSV says: ‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I them.’ But a more direct translation might say something: ‘Whoever is gnawing on my flesh and drinking my blood remains in me and I in him.’
There are three interesting verbs in this verse: the verb τρώγων (trógon) means to gnaw, crunch, or chew, as in chewing on raw vegetables or fruits, is subtly different in meaning than the verb ‘eat’ (ἐσθίω, esthío); the verb πίνων (pínon) means to drink; and the verb μένει (ménei) means to remain or abide, yet some of his disciples or about to leave Christ and the Twelve are to continue to walk with him.
Verse 57 says: καθὼς ἀπέστειλέν με ὁ ζῶν πατὴρ κἀγὼ ζῶ διὰ τὸν πατέρα, καὶ ὁ τρώγων με κἀκεῖνος ζήσει δι' ἐμέ. ‘Just as the living Father sent me, and I live through the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.’ But, again, we could translate this: ‘As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one gnawing on me also will live because of me.’
Christ is not merely claiming to give the bread: he is the life-giving bread that the Father gives, and, lest his hearers dismiss this as a metaphor, he insists that this bread is his own flesh.
The Greek word here, ἀπέστειλέν (apésteilén) speaks of being sent to or going to an appointed place. The words ζῶν (zon), ζῶ (zo) and ζήσει (zései) speak of living, breathing, and being among the living. Once again, we hear the word τρώγων (trógon), from the verb τρώγω (trógo) to gnaw, crunch or chew.
Verse 58 says: οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, οὐ καθὼς ἔφαγον οἱ πατέρες καὶ ἀπέθανον: ὁ τρώγων τοῦτον τὸν ἄρτον ζήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. ‘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.’
Again, how would you respond if this had been translated more explicitly as ‘This one is the bread that has come down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; whoever gnaws on this bread will live into the age-long.’
We have the contrast between καταβὰς (katavas), from καταβαίνω (katavaíno) to go down, come down, or descend, which contrasts with the later reference in verse 62 to ascending to where the Son of Man was before.
In the first part of this verse, Christ uses the word ἔφαγον (ephagon) to describe eating, rather than the verb used again in the second part, τρώγων (trógon), to gnaw, crunch or chew.
This verse brings us back to the earlier discussion in the Gospel reading the Sunday before last (John 6: 35, 41-51, see verses 49-51), comparing the temporal nature of the manna in the wilderness with the everlasting nature of Christ’s own bread or flesh. It is a reminder that this chapter begins with the feeding of the 5,000 near the time of the Passover, an explicit echo of the Manna story from the Exodus journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
A grave in Kerameikós, Athens, where Pericles delivered his funeral oration (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)Verse 60 says: Πολλοὶ οὖν ἀκούσαντες ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ εἶπαν, Σκληρός ἐστινὁ λόγος οὗτος: τίς δύναται αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν; ‘When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”’
The many and the disciples are two different groups. We often misunderstand and misuse the term οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloi, ‘the many’).
In English, the phrase has been corrupted by giving it a negative connotation to signify deprecation of the working class, commoners, the masses or common people, in a derogatory or even an ironic sense. Synonyms that express the same or similar distaste for the common people felt by those who believe themselves to be superior include ‘the great unwashed,’ ‘the plebs,’ ‘the rabble,’ ‘the riff-raff,’ or ‘the herd.’
The phrase is used by Pericles in his ‘Funeral Oration,’ as quoted by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War. But Pericles uses it in a positive way when praising the Athenian democracy, contrasting ‘the many’ with οἱ ὀλίγοι (hoi oligoi) or the oligarchy, the few.
Its current English usage dates from the early 19th century, when a person had to be familiar with Greek and Latin to be considered well-educated. The phrase was originally written in Greek letters, so that knowledge of the classical languages set apart the speaker from οἱ πολλοί (hoi polloi), ‘the many’ or the uneducated.
Early users of the phrase include Lord Byron, Charles Darwin, and in the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, where πολλοί rhymes with joy as in ‘the high pol-oy.’
In the 1989 film Dead Poets’ Society, Meeks raises his hands and asks: ‘The hoi polloi. Doesn’t it mean the herd?’ Professor Keating replies: ‘Precisely, Meeks. Greek for the herd. However, be warned that, when you say “the hoi polloi” you are actually saying “the the herd.” Indicating that you too are hoi polloi.’
In the Eucharistic prayers, we use words such as: ‘this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (see The Book of Common Prayer (the Church of Ireland, 2004), pp 210, 215, 217; Common Worship, pp 185, 189, 192, 196, 199, 202). In Common Worship, Prayer D changes this to ‘shed for you all for the forgiveness of sins’ (p. 195), while Prayer H changes it to ‘shed for you for the forgiveness of sins’ (p. 204).
What do the institution narratives in the relative New Testament passages say? We read: ‘for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ (Matthew 26: 28); ‘this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’ (Mark 14: 24); Only Saint Luke’s account is missing the word πολλοί or the ‘many’: ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant of my blood.’ Saint Paul uses neither ‘you’ nor ‘the many.’
But it is clear that the Eucharist, while celebrated among the disciples or within the community, is for the benefit of ‘the many.’
In verse 61, we read: εἰδὼς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὅτι γογγύζουσιν περὶ τούτου οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει; ‘But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?”’
Again, we might translate this: ‘And Jesus, having seen himself that his own disciples are murmuring about all this, spoke to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?” or “Does this scandalise you?”’
The word σκανδαλίζει (skandalízei) comes from the verb σκανδαλίζω (skandalízo), to put a stumbling block or in the way so that someone else may trip and fall. In other words, it is a metaphor for ‘to offend’ or ‘to scandalise.’
But the scandal is surely more than the repeated prohibition in the Bible on eating any flesh in its own blood (see Genesis 9: 4, Leviticus 3: 17, Deuteronomy 12: 23). Perhaps I am thinking this because I also find here a reminder of the concept of the ‘scandal of the Gospel,’ although that well-known phrase appears nowhere in the New Testament in that form.
The word γογγύζουσιν (gongízousin), translated in the NRSV and NRSVA as ‘complaining,’ has far more negative implications than this translation. It comes from the verb γογγύζω (gongízo), to murmur, to mutter, to grumble, or to say anything negative in a low tone. It recalls the negative murmurings of fleeing Children of Israel in the wilderness. It is used four times in Saint John’s Gospel to describe disbelief:
● ‘then the Jews (Judeans) began to complain (murmur) about him’ (6: 41);
● ‘Do not complain (murmur) among yourselves …’ (6: 43);
● in this instance, where “his disciples were complaining (murmuring) at it (6: 61);
● and ‘The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering (murmuring) such things about him’ (John 7: 32).
Verse 63 says: τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν, ἡ σὰρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν: τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐγὼ λελάληκα ὑμῖν πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν. The NRSV and NRSVA translate this: ‘It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.’ We might also translate it in this way: ‘The spirit is the thing making you alive. The flesh is not profiting anything [the double negative here, nothing, does not translate easily into English]. The words that I have spoken to you is [are] spirit and is [are] life.’
The word ζῳοποιοῦν (zootoioun), ‘making alive,’ implies not just to make alive or to give life, but refers particularly to imparting life that lasts for ever, eternal life.
Verse 64 reads: ἀλλ' εἰσὶν ἐξ ὑμῶν τινες οἳ οὐ πιστεύουσιν. ᾔδει γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ μὴ πιστεύοντες καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδώσων αὐτόν. In the NRSV, this is translated: ‘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.’ Or, we might translate it: ‘But there are some among you who do not believe, who do not have faith.’ For, Jesus had known from the beginning who the ones are who are not believing and who is the one who is betraying him.’
Faith is related to both belief and practice, as I was saying in my reflections last week on the readings for yesterday [Sunday 15 August 2020]. As we prepare next Sunday’s sermons, we might consider whether we ought to ask whether faith is related to Eucharistic belief and practice? Do those who reject or deny Eucharistic belief and a regular Eucharistic practice deny Christ himself?
Some reflections:
This reading is also one of the most explicit Trinitarian passages in the New Testament.
In this reading, Christ speaks to us of the Trinity in terms of the inter-relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, explaining how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit work together, dance together, and are inseparable.
The ‘Living Father’ (verse 57) – a phrase that should recall the ‘living bread’ (verse 51) mentioned in the previous Sunday’s Gospel reading (John 6: 51-58) – has sent the Son to give life, and the life that the Son has is the Father’s, given to the Son. This type of relationship is extended to us when we take part in the Eucharist.
We owe our understandings of the Trinity, in terms of doctrine and social understanding, and how we express these understandings to the Cappadocian Fathers.
I was recalling in my reflections last week how I spent some time in Cappadocia, in south-central Turkey some years ago. I was there because of my interest in sites associated with the three Cappadocian Fathers.
These were three key Patristic writers and saints: Saint Basil the Great (329-379), Bishop of Caesarea, his brother Saint Gregory (335-395), Bishop of Nyssa, and Saint Gregory Nazianzus (329-390), who became Patriarch of Constantinople.
They Cappadocian Fathers challenged heresies such as Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ, and their thinking was instrumental in formulating the phrases that shaped the Nicene Creed.
Without the Cappadocian Fathers, would we have turned away from the difficult teachings of Christ, as we find them in this Gospel passage? Would we too have dismissed this passage as a ‘hard saying.’
But the thinking of the Cappadocian Fathers was not about doctrine alone. It was also about living the Christian life.
Sacramental practice must be related to the practice of Christianity, and doctrine and belief must be related to how we live our lives as Christians.
Although Christ’s words ‘I am the Bread of Life’ (John 6: 35, 48) are familiar to many Christians, in this passage the disciples declare this to be a ‘hard saying’: ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ (verse 60).
Christ asks them: ‘Does this offend you?’ (verse 61). Literally, he asks them: Does this put a stumbling block in your way?’ or ‘Does this cause you to fall away?’ or ‘Are you scandalised?’ (Τοῦτο ὑμᾶς σκανδαλίζει; Touto imas skandalízei).
They are scandalised. Some of Christ’s disciples have only understood his words in a literal way.
There are many today who hold up a literal interpretation of some obscure and contended passages of scripture, including, for example, some on sexuality, but who reject a literal interpretation of the passages in this ‘Bread of Life’ discourse in Saint John’s Gospel.
They cannot, will not, and refuse to accept Christ’s corporal presence, body and blood, in the Eucharist, however we may understand that. It is the one passage whose literal interpretation is a stumbling block, a scandal, to them.
When they ask whether you have invited Christ into your life, they would be scandalised were you to answer you do that every time you pray the Prayer of Humble Access, every time you receive him in the Eucharist, asking that ‘we may evermore dwell in him and he in us’ [see The Book of Common Prayer (Church of Ireland, 2004), p 207].
There is little point in arguing that people at the time had no understanding of this Gospel passage as looking forward to the Last Supper and beyond that to the Eucharistic celebrations of the Early Church.
It was written not for the people who were present at the time, but written 50 or 60 years later and would have been first heard by people dealing with the divisions in the Pauline and Johannine communities that came together in the Church in Ephesus.
In her lectionary reflections in the Church Times some years ago [14 August 2015], Dr Bridget Nicholas, who is now Lecturer in Anglicanism and Liturgy in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, points out that the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse is the Fourth Gospel’s counterpart to the narrative of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the Synoptic Gospels.
The writer of this Gospel is addressing a small community of Christians in Ephesus, for whom linear time is displaced by the fact that they already know the divine identity of Christ. And the life that Christ offers to his own people is being worked out in practical ways by the recipients of the Letter to the Ephesians.
In this Gospel story, as in the Exodus story, this murmuring, muttering and grumbling shows a complete lack of trust, belief and faith in God. And this is not just intellectual assent, but a willingness to make life-changing decisions.
In Sunday morning’s story, the Twelve are the ones who ‘abide’ with Christ. They stick with him even though his teaching is difficult. They stay with him at the Last Supper, and even though they will scatter during his trial and crucifixion, their faith is strengthened, returns in full vigour with the Resurrection and is fortified at Pentecost.
But the people who desert Christ in this Gospel reading, who turn away, are not ‘the crowds’ – they are ‘many of his disciples’ (verse 66). They had followed Christ and believed in him, but now they turn back and leave.
Abandoning the Eucharistic faith and practice of the Church is often the first step in abandoning the Church, abandoning Christ, and turning backs on the call to love God and love one another.
If we take part regularly and with spiritual discipline in the Eucharist, we realise that it is not all about me at all. This bread is broken and this cup is poured out not just for us but also for the many.
It is interesting that the parishes with infrequent celebrations of the Eucharist are often the most closed, the ones most turned in on themselves, unwilling to open their doors to those who are different in social and ethnic background, with irregular relationships and lifestyles, and the parishes that err on the side of judgmentalism.
Regular reception of this Sacrament is a reminder that the Church exists not for you and for me but for the world, and that the Church is not for those who decide subjectively they are the ‘called’ and the ‘saved,’ but is there to call the world into the Kingdom.
It is clear that the Eucharist, while celebrated among the disciples or within the community, is for the benefit of ‘the many.’ The Eucharist is the shape of ‘the mission-shaped Church.’
Knowing and belief come together, knowledge is meaningless without wisdom, faith goes beyond accepting facts.
Canon Patrick Whitworth points out in a recent book that for the Cappadocian Fathers doctrine, prayer and pastoral ministry are inseparable from care for the poor [Patrick Whitworth, Three Wise men from the East: the Cappadocian Fathers and the Struggle for Orthodoxy (Durham: Sacristy Press, 2015)].
The profession of faith by Simon Peter in this reading is followed immediately by a cautious and disturbing remark by Christ about betrayal (verses 70-71), although the compilers of the Revised Common Lectionary have omitted them. Judas is going to walk out at the Last Supper. Is a regular refusal to eat this bread and to drink this cup a betrayal of Christ and of the Christian faith?
Which brings me back to the Epistle reading next Sunday (Ephesians 6: 10-20), which, like the Fourth Gospel, was written for the Church in Ephesus.
The word sacrament is derived from the Latin sacramentum, which is an attempt to render the Greek word μυστήριον (mysterion). Saint Paul asks the people of Ephesus to pray that he may be given a gift of the right words in telling of the ‘mystery of the Gospel’ (τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, to mysterion tou evangeliou) (Ephesians 6: 19).
What if this Gospel reading is a reminder of the heart of the Gospel, the mystery of the Gospel?
Yes, it would affirm, the Eucharist is the shape of ‘the mission-shaped Church.’
John 6: 56-69 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 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 for ever.’ 59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 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. 65 And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’
66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ 68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’
Liturgical resources:
Liturgical Colour: Green (Ordinary Time, Year B)
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire, or deserve:
Pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things
which we are not worthy to ask
save through the merits and mediation
of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
The Collect of the Word:
Everliving God,
by whose Spirit
the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified:
hear the prayers we offer for all your faithful people,
that in the ministry to which you have called them
each may serve you in holiness and truth;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Post-Communion Prayer:
God of compassion,
in this Eucharist we know again your forgiveness
and the healing power of your love.
Grant that we who are made whole in Christ
may bring that forgiveness and healing to this broken world,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Suggested Hymns:
I Kings 8: (1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43:
346, Angel voices ever singing
326, Blessèd city, heavenly Salem, Christ is made the sure foundation (verse 2)
614, Great Shepherd of your people, hear
321, Holy, holy, holy!, Lord God almighty
323, The God of Abraham praise
343, We love the place, O God
Psalm 84:
400, And now, O Father, mindful of the love
333, How lovely are thy dwellings fair
95, Jesu, priceless treasure
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
360, Let all the world in every corner sing
634, Love divine, all loves excelling
620, O Lord, hear my prayer
487, Soldiers of Christ, arise
342, Sweet is the solemn voice that calls
343, We love the place, O God
Joshua 24: 1-2a, 14-18:
478, Go forth and tell! O Church of God, awake!
584, Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult
660, Thine for ever, God of love
Psalm 34: 15-22:
657, O God of Bethel, by whose hand
Ephesians 6: 10-20:
643, Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
207, Forty days and forty nights
478, Go forth and tell! O Church of God, awake!
533, God of grace and God of glory
487, Soldiers of Christ, arise
488, Stand up, stand up for Jesus
313, The Spirit came, as promised
John 6: 56-69:
398, Alleluia! sing to Jesus
403, Bread of the world in mercy broken
420, ‘I am the bread of life’
581, I, the Lord of sea and sky
433, My God, your table here is spread
624, Speak, Lord, in the stillness
112, There is a Redeemer
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
The hymn suggestions are provided in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling. The hymn numbers refer to the Church of Ireland’s Church Hymnal (5th edition, Oxford: OUP, 2000)
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
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