John 6:51-58 "Easier said than done."

                You know that phrase “easier said than done?” We all know what it means, right? It is easier said to do something than it is to actually do that. We have heard the phrase many times in our lives.

            Well, here we are again in the Gospel of John. It is the fourth week of five weeks of this particular chapter. We are almost done and I think it is important to put it in perspective. We started our first week in John with the feeding of the five thousand. Five thousand of Jesus closest friends who needed food. 5000 needed food and God made it happen through Jesus. It was a sign of who Jesus was…that this was no ordinary person.

            The next week we heard about those same people following Jesus and wanting more. We took the cynical road, as I called it, and pointed out how they were demanding another sign; and how it was some form of control. They quickly learned through Jesus proclamation that it all comes from God. It was about what God has done for them; not what they want God to do.

            Last week, we got a little deeper into Jesus proclaiming to be the bread that came down from heaven. While the people are arguing about who Jesus is, man or son of God, he tells the people that God draws them to himself and we examined the ways that God uses force to draw us to God so that we are able to taste and see, through our lives and experiences, that God is Good.

            This week we dive even deeper into this Jesus proclamation of being the bread come down from heaven. This week we have a more serious Jesus. Our scripture says, “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…” We know he is serious because the Greek word (the original language of the New Testament) for “truly” is “amen” and it is used twice. “Amen, Amen I tell you…”Jesus is being very serious.

            He, Jesus, is trying to get their attention and tell them something very important here. When Jesus uses the term flesh and blood, he is telling them that there is more than just words here. HE is telling them that God has come into the world in a form that they can comprehend; flesh and blood and that God is now among God’s people and God’s creation. God himself is now in the world to see for himself what people are going through and how broken the world really is.

            The “Easier said than done part” is the believing among the people. They cannot comprehend that God who is all powerful and the one that did so much for them is now in the world. How could they comprehend it; because they are human and not God. It might be easy to hear Jesus proclaim it, but to comprehend it may not be so easy to people who have been waiting for God to come and help them while the Romans occupy their land.

            The phrase “Flesh and Blood” means more than what me might think. This is a phrase that is used, especially in Jesus time and still to this day, to give us an idea of what is involved. Jesus is telling us that flesh and blood is not words, looks, or outward appearances. This use of flesh and blood means everything that is contained within the physical body. Meaning, it is the skin, the arteries, veins, organs, heart, mind, soul, hope, dreams, fears, and so much more that is contained within that flesh and blood.

            Jesus use of this phrase eating flesh and blood is all about connection. Everything I mentioned, flesh, bone, heart, hopes, and dreams, etc. are all connected. It makes up who Jesus is. Jesus shares all of that with us through his teachings, his conversations, prayers, and his actions of love towards neighbor and stranger. It also means that the flesh and blood we know as Jesus and all those things will be stretched out and poured out for us, you and me.

            Easier said than done, right? It is easy to say that Jesus poured himself out for us, but believing is not always so easy. It may not be easy because who would do such a thing? Who would go to a certain death, who would sacrifice all that they are for “little ole me?” Jesus is the answer. The son of God would do that for you. The flesh and blood of the Son of Man goes to the cross for you and me and our sins in this broken world.

            What may seem even more baffling Jesus tells us that unless we “eat flesh and drink his blood...” (that may seem a little gory) “we have no life in us.” Here is where our connection to Jesus goes as deep as it possibly can. When we eat the flesh and blood of Jesus in our bread and wine, are taking in all that Jesus is; man and Son of God. We are taking in the hopes and dreams, the heart of a loving God…that same flesh and blood that was hung upon the cross. 

            What Jesus is telling us is that by our taking in of bread and wine, flesh and blood, we are connected to Jesus…to God. We are forever tied to God because God is now in us and coursing through our veins; and there is no way that we can separate ourselves from God. We can’t get rid of this meal just like we can’t get rid of the breakfast we had two days ago or last week. We are forever connected.

            When we come to the altar for the meal that is Jesus we bring our flesh and blood. We don’t say words. We bring ourselves, our heart, hopes and dreams joys and sorrows to this table to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ. We come to this table with all the good, the bad, and the ugly. We bring it hear as we are, not as who we think God would want us to be. We come with all our experiences.

                        The Good News is that just as we become inseparable from God, God becomes inseparable from us. It means that God is in the world in us and seeing how difficult this world really is through our eyes. It means that God is in our flesh and blood experiencing what we experience in life; our ups and downs, hopes and dreams, our heart and soul; forever connected to God through our flesh and blood and the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ coursing through our bodies.

            Easier said than done, right? It might not be easy to come to this altar. Sometimes there are things we have done or not done, actions we are not proud of, and sometimes just sad or in some kind of pain (whatever that pain is).

            The Good News is that Jesus doesn’t want you to hide that pain. I said last week that “I hope that when we all come to the table we could smile about the meal that is so good.” Easier said than done! You don’t have to be all happy schmappy to come to God’s table because God wants us as we are! God invites us to this table just as we are because God cares about all of us! God cares about our hopes and dreams, our hearts, minds, fears, sorrows, our joys, and celebrations. God cares about us all with compassion, Grace, and Mercy.

            God calls us all to this table to be strengthened in our lives and in our journeys of faith. Because we are forever tied and connected with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we are also called to go into the world to share God’s love through word and action with our neighbors and the strangers; EASIER SAID THAN DONE, but not impossible, because we know all things are possible with God! Amen!