Cannibalism?
A reading for Friday, March 20, 2015: John 6:52-59.
In the first century, Christians were accused of cannibalism due to passages of scripture like this. "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." Sometimes we are still uncomfortable with such images from our Bible.
The point Jesus is making is that God had done something new in Jesus of Nazareth. It was something the Jews had never seen before, related to the manna in the wilderness, but very different all the same. It was also something the world had never seen. Many didn't understand. This "bread of heaven" would transform and sustain them and the world forever.
So Jesus says take it in, make it part of you, and receive the grace that God has offered. "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them."
You will live abundantly!
In the first century, Christians were accused of cannibalism due to passages of scripture like this. "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." Sometimes we are still uncomfortable with such images from our Bible.
The point Jesus is making is that God had done something new in Jesus of Nazareth. It was something the Jews had never seen before, related to the manna in the wilderness, but very different all the same. It was also something the world had never seen. Many didn't understand. This "bread of heaven" would transform and sustain them and the world forever.
So Jesus says take it in, make it part of you, and receive the grace that God has offered. "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them."
You will live abundantly!
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