May 13, May 14 Lectionary 277 and 278

Scripture: :Lectionary # 277: Acts 9:1-20, Psalm 117:1.2. John 6:52-59:

Paul's conversion and the strong realism of Jesus final words on the
discourse of the Bread of Life are our nourishment for the day. Luke, the
author of Acts, was impressed with the event of Paul's conversion so much
that he gives us three accounts of it (Acts 9:1-19a, 22:1-16, and 26:9-23).
Paul refers to this in one of his own letters in Galatians 1:10-24.

Jesus speaks so strongly and realistically about his blood and flesh being
food for those who believe in him, that many turn away taking him
literally. It wise to take John's Gospel theologically and symbolically
rather than literally. Jesus clears the meaning of what he is saying in the
passage from chapter six that we hear tomorrow. If we think of the
sacrament of the Eucharist we who are believers understand what this
passage is saying, but our belief is essential to the whole of the Fourth
Gospel. It is a proclamation of faith and not a fact collection of Jesus'
life. We are all readers of it and believers in what it says because of our
faith in the Resurrection. All of the Gospels were written in the light of
that unique event in human history.

The chapter began with one of the seven signs (semeion) then moved into two
discourses on the Bread of Life and now we enter the strongest words about
the Bread of life in the final verses of chapter six. His body and blood
are the Bread of Life--our spiritual food for the journey with him no
matter what may come along the way. This sacrament is explained through his
words and they enable us to enter into the Paschal Mysteries of his
suffering, death, and resurrection.

Reading through the final parts of this chapter beckons us to be more
people of faith of the heart not of the mind. It is through the heart that
the mind is made wholesome through our faith in the words of Jesus that
touch us in our innermost self. The texts are difficult for many who are
not followers of Jesus and was used against Christians even so far as to
say Jesus was unreasonable or incomprehensible. His own left him except
for the Twelve apostles. It is Peter their leader who helps us understand
how necessary Jesus is in our lives and how his Presence has to be the
object of our faith. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
everlasting life."

Paul's conversion is miraculous and overpowering for one who was so
convinced he was right and that the Christian Jews who followed Jesus were
wrong. He is not thrown from a horse (there is no mention of a horse
anywhere in his conversion experience; artists, however, have given us some
powerful scenes with Paul being thrown from a horse. Paul is blinded by a
bright light as he falls to the ground. The conversation that follows is
only between Paul and Jesus. This conversion will be so important that
Paul comes to be known as a light of revelation to the Gentiles just as
Jesus was told to be the light to both Jew and Gentile as Simeon spoke to
Mary when Jesus was brought to the temple. Our faith makes us light and
salt for the world. We must not be exstinguished nor lose our savor as salt
for the world. A city on the hill cannot be hidden. Amen. Alleluiah.

Scripture: Lectionary # 278: Acts 9:31-42. Psalm 116:12-13.14-15.16-17.
John 6:60-69:

"Who shall we go to?" We hear this question from Peter and make it our
own. This was the reply Peter gave for the other eleven apostles after
they had heard the startling words of Jesus about eating his flesh and
drinking his blood. Jesus affirms what he is saying but his words must be
understood on a higher level than the plain sense. He himself tells us,
"The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63).
Peter confirms what Jesus is saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. We have come to believe that you are God's holy
one." (John 6:69).

The Eucharist demands of us a commitment to the very Person of Jesus in the
sense of a personal decision to accept the gift of faith given to us at
Baptism. Scholars call John's Gospel a "decision making" Gospel. The word
used in John for this is "krisis" which means judgment in Greek. "The
'judgment' which is operative here and now, consists in the fact that men
divide themselves into those who accept Christ and those who reject
him." (R.Bultmann). John makes use of this word "krisis" eleven times and
in reference to believing in Jesus it means that one passes judgment on
one's self and thus become subject to the condemnation of God.

The use of the seven signs in John brings about this discerning judgment of
faith that we have or do not have in the person of Jesus. And in chapter
six the belief in the Real Presence is the critical judgment that we make
existentially by uniting ourselves to the one who speaks the truth and
gives himself as true Bread from Heaven. The whole system of believing in
the Fourth Gospel is this existential decision to make the leap of faith
and to do it with one's whole heart, mind, and soul.

Finally, these words from Sir Edwin Hoskyns are clear: "The apparent
contradiction implied in the insistence that there must be a real physical
eating and drinking of what is grievously misunderstood if it is
interpreted purely physically is resolved and explained only if the
conscious reference to the Eucharist is perceived." ...The absolute
character of the utterance provided the Greek Fathers with an authorization
of the Eastern custom of admitting infants to Communion. The Western
Fathers defended the practice of the Western Church by noting, that ,
whereas faith is demanded in verses 35,45, 47, it is not mentioned in John
3:3ff., and therefore concluded that infants could be admitted to Baptism
but not to the Eucharist. Faith, however, is presumed in 3:15,16, and
36." (E. Hoskyns, The Fourth Gospel, p. 298). Amen. Alleluiah.