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| Charles Foster: "The Israelite Gather Mana" 1897 |
“Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal
life.” (John 6:47)
The above quote is from the Gospel lesson
assigned in the Revised Common Lectionary for Pentecost 12, Year B (John 6: 35,
41-52). As if it wasn’t enough of a headache preaching a third consecutive
Sunday about bread (and with two more to go, no less!), as a pastor I have to
deal with John’s jazz about believing.
I don’t think I’m a heretic, but I have to
be honest: this business of dumbing down the Gospel to “Believe in Jesus or go
to Hell” just doesn’t work for me. I mean, was John that much of a doctrinal
chauvinist? Did he really think that only
Christians are God’s children and entitled to eternal life? Is he saying that
our eternal salvation is dependent on having correct doctrine? How would he know?
Probably the most painless way to get
around our theological heartburn about the issue of judgment and whose beliefs
or lack of beliefs will land them in the eternal deep fryer is to remember that
John is writing for an exclusively Christian audience. This guy never met a
Hindu or a Buddhist or a Muslim, and he still thinks he’s a Jew. And, by the way, he’s not even trying to write an exact history. Just
consider that the smart guys of the Jesus Seminar consider very few of the
words he has Jesus speak in his Gospel are actually direct quotes from the
Savior. He even changes the chronology of events from the timeline agreed upon
in the other three Gospels. What John’s probably
doing is writing to other Christians of his time who were getting all
jazzed-up on gnostic doctrines—supposed “secret” teachings of Jesus—and were
forgetting the crucified Jesus himself. John doesn’t want us to forget that
Jesus, not some esoteric doctrine, is the true center of the Christian faith.[i]
Another thing to think about is how we interpret
the word “believe.” I don’t think we want to interpret it merely as assenting
that something is true, like saying, “I believe what I read in the papers.” The Greek word used in the Bible carries a
somewhat stronger meaning. The word here is pisteuon
(or pisteuwn for those of you who like to read the Greek—and who
doesn’t?), and it means “to believe, to have confidence in something or
someone, or to entrust.” It’s not just about saying, “Yeah, I think that’s
right.” It’s about relinquishing control to that concept, relying on it as a
certainty, and acting with assurance. It’s the difference between saying, “I believe
you’re a nice person” as opposed to “I believe you can look after my child.”
So what does it mean to say we believe
Jesus is the bread of life? “Bread” itself is usually interpreted to mean that
which we need for survival. It’s synonymous for “food.” Also, back in the
sixties, didn’t we use “bread” as a slang word for money? Bread is the stuff by
which we survive, live, and thrive. So if Jesus is the bread of our lives, that
would mean we live and thrive based on who he is for us.
If I’m going to call myself a Christian,
then I’m going to look first to Jesus and see the presence of divine love—that special,
sacrificial, counter-intuitive love that can come only from God. I’m going to
see forgiveness—forgiveness for me and my call to forgive others. I’m going to
see the value of humanity, and I’m going to recognize that I’m God’s child
forever and always in spite of the stupid bozo I know myself to be. And, best
of all, I’m going to see the one who suffered everything I will ever possibly
suffer, yet rose on high to eternal life—as someday I will too. This “bread” is
going to color the way I walk through life and inform all of the choices I make
and all the relationships I have. It all comes from Jesus.
And here’s another thought about this
Gospel lesson: John figures all of his readers know the story of the Exodus. In
verse 41 he has the Jews complaining about Jesus, and I’m sure his readers will
see the parallel between this and the Israelites in the wilderness complaining
about Moses, the lack of food and water, and the impossibility of regaining the
Promised Land from the formidable Canaanites who had taken up residence in real
estate which once belonged to God’s Chosen. Those whiners of old were the
poster children for disbelief. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds his hearers that
the complainers died in the wilderness (v.49). In fact, not even Moses got to
enter the Promised Land. It was only the kids who had grown up seeing and
believing in God’s care who were able to realize the promise.
So what about you? If eternal life is
eternal, aren’t we living it now? Our
realization of God’s promise for us, our joy in how we live, depends on what
bread we’re taking on the journey.
God bless. Thanks for reading, and do come
again!
[i] If
you want to read more about this, may I suggest reading Elaine Pagel’s
wonderful little book Beyond Belief: The
Secret Gospel of Thomas (New York: Random House 2003)
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