Preferring Nothing to Christ

Fourth Sunday of Easter

John 10:27-30

A local farmer grazes his sheep on our land. I asked him once if he named his sheep, he said, ‘No’. I asked him if the sheep ‘know’ him, he said ‘They know that I bring food.’ We can often romanticise Jesus’ words about being a shepherd and knowing his sheep.

For the hearers of John’s Gospel the image of a shepherd will have invoked a whole world of meaning. Being in charge of a flock of animals and making sure they survived was not just a job but a way of life. The well- being of your flock and your own well-being were intimately connected.

Today’s Gospel speaks to me of the closeness of relationship that Jesus wants with each one of us. Like a shepherd, he is prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that we are safe and well fed. At its very best this is also a metaphor which the Church uses for leadership. It’s easy to hear this Gospel and see the ways in which the Church has failed in her leadership.
Perhaps today we could apply the metaphor to ourselves. How have we shepherded the people in our care? How have we ensured that people had the ‘food’ and ‘water’ that they needed? How have we brought them to safe pasture.

John 6:60-69

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

Often in liturgy we are holding several time frames at once. I am very much aware of this today when I read Peter’s response to Jesus. The scene from last Sunday’s Gospel at Tiberias and the depth of encounter between Jesus and Peter is so fresh in my memory. We can read back and forth between today’s text and that scene. We know too that in between comes Peter’s denial.

Peter’s profession of faith roots him firmly in the thought world of both the Old Testament and New Testament. He recognises that the life he longs for has been promised to his ancestors and is now found in the person of Christ.   

Imagine Jesus asking you: ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’

How do you respond?

John 6:52-59

‘He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.’

When we gather together to give thanks to the Father and to share bread and wine we make a statement about who we are as individuals and who we are as community. We receive Christ’s broken body as a pledge of love and hope of healing for the world. Christ lives in and among us. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration you may hear these words: Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. As we leave the church we are commissioned TO BE the Body of Christ.

The Church Fathers were quite clear about what this meant for believers:

Do you want to honor Christ’s body? Then do not scorn him in his nakedness, nor honour him here in the church with silken garments while neglecting him outside where he is cold and naked. For he who said: This is my body, and made it so by his words, also said: You saw me hungry and did not feed me, and inasmuch as you did not do it for one of these, the least of my brothers, you did not do it for me. [Mat 25:34ff].

( St John Chrysostom, Homily 50)

In our world today we don’t have to look far to see Christ’s broken body.

Where can you be the Body of Christ today?

Photo by Sylvain Brison on Unsplash

John 6:44-51

‘Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die.’

It’s worth reading the whole of the Bread of Life discourse (John 6:22-66) in one sitting to get a sense of the flow of the argument. The lectionary spreads it over a week, but with two feasts this week it can feel a little disjointed.

When Jesus speaks of manna he is reminding his hearers of the formative time in the desert when the Israelites relied directly on the providence of God. Jewish scholars say that the manna was thought to taste like whatever food one most craved. I like this detail. It speaks to me of a God who knows us and provides for our individual needs.

In the Eucharist Jesus offers us something even greater than manna. He offers us something that will sustain us now and always. While this is a gift which is personal to each of us, it is also a gift with a communal dimension. Benedictine, Godfrey Diekmann, sums this up in a sentence:

“What difference does it make if the bread and wine turn into the Body and Blood of Christ and we don’t?”

The Eucharist invites us to become what we receive. How can you do this today?

Matthew 10:17-20

At baptism when we were anointed with chrism these words were said:

‘God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.’

The English Martyrs whom we celebrate today lived their baptismal promises to the full. They imaged Christ so completely that they gave their lives for him. Few of us will be asked to make so great a sacrifice, but what we can do is reflect regularly on what it might mean for us to be anointed Priest, Prophet and King. Anointing strengthens for all that lies ahead.

In the Gospel text for today we are reassured that should the time come for our faith to be tested, then the Spirit of the Father will speak in us. We take this on trust.

We pray today for all those in our own lives who have shown us courage and fortitude and been prepared to carry what we could not.

How can you be open to the Spirit of your Father speaking in you today?

‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’

If you Google this famous quotation you’ll get quite a few pictures of roads and paths. It is the easiest of the three concepts to illustrate. We know where we are with a clear path. When Jesus says he is the Way we have a reasonable idea of what this means. The earliest followers of Jesus were called followers of ‘The Way’. Implicit in this is word is the idea that every part of your life is orientated to Christ. Christ informs the manner of your life, the choices you make and the company you keep. It’s a whole package.

In a lyrical flourish in the Prologue to his Rule St Benedict too uses the image of a path:

‘As we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commands, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.’ (Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue v 49)

This is a grand vision, but one which is certainly worth the effort. The whole of the Rule could be understood as guidelines for expanding the heart and growth in love. St Benedict knows that it won’t be easy and that we are bound to stumble. One of the ways in which the monastic is strengthened for running on the path is by learning to listen to God, to the superior and to others in community. This three-fold listening is how St Benedict understands obedience.

The disciples too are being schooled in love and obedience. Philip’s plea: ‘Let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied’ comes from the deep desire to understand what Christ is saying and to follow him.

How can you follow Christ more closely today?

John 6:22-29

Today’s Gospel is the beginning of a long passage in which Jesus talks about himself as the ‘bread of life.’ We know at the outset that there will be confusion. Jesus is talking about much more than having physical hunger satisfied.

Today I can’t get passed the first level of meaning of these words:

‘I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.’

So many in our world don’t have all the bread they need, never mind want. It’s likely that many who heard Jesus preach were living hand to mouth too. Their well-being wasn’t guaranteed and they lived with the demands of the occupying Romans. A significant percentage of the wheat they grew was sent to Rome. So when Jesus multiplies bread for them its both actual and symbolic. He feeds their physical hunger and gives them spiritual hope that God wants a world ordered by His ways and not the emperor’s.

When you eat bread today take a moment to thank God and to a imagine a world where the values of the Kingdom prevail.

Here’s really helpful article by Sr Maria Boulding osb

John 21:1-19

Simon Peter, do you love me?

In English we have one word ‘love’ and it can mean a whole variety of things. If we want to be specific we have to qualify it.  Greek has at least 7 words for love. Our passage from John’s Gospel uses two of these: agape and philia. Agape is unconditional, sacrificial love. Philia is the affectionate love of friends.

When Jesus asks Peter the first time if he loves him he says ‘agapas me?’.

Peter replies, you know that I love you (philo se).

Jesus asks Peter a second time ‘agapas me?’ and he replies ‘philo se’.

By the third time a shift has occurred. Jesus says ‘phileis me?’

And Peter replies ‘philo se’.

It’s that simple. Jesus has come to Peter’s level. Jesus meets Peter where he is and doesn’t demand a type of love that he isn’t able to give.

This Gospel challenges me to make space for others. It challenges me to remember that you can’t demand love from another. People need space.

Can you be like Jesus?

John 6:16-21

In just 5 verses the writer of the Fourth Gospel has given us a window into a whole theological world. The story of Jesus walking on the water comes just after he had fed the 5,000. For the hearers of this Gospel the resonances with the Exodus story may well have been clear. Just as God fed the Israelites in the long years in the desert, so too Jesus feeds the people. Assured of God’s providence, in the dark of night, the Israelites were led to freedom as the waters of the Red Sea parted and they reached dry land. God is master of the waters. As night is falling, Jesus is master of the strong wind and rough sea and is able to walk on the waters to his disciples. The people of Israel were left in no doubt that God has acted. The disciples, however, are afraid and need reassurance: ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.

In my youth I attended a charismatic prayer group and loved this simple song:

Here comes Jesus, see Him walking on the water,
He’ll lift you up and He’ll help you to stand;
Oh, here comes Jesus,
He’s the Master of the waves that roll.
Here comes Jesus, let him take your hand.

Both the Gospel text and this simple song invite us to recognize Jesus when he comes to us.

Picture yourself in the boat. How do you respond to Jesus when he says: ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’