The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time
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Proverbs 9:1-6
In this passage, the figure of Wisdom is laying out a banquet and inviting the simple (those who lack understanding) to come and partake. In this section from Proverbs, both wisdom and folly prepare banquets and invite people to them. The metaphor is that life offers two feasts: one is simple yet rich, while the other is enticing but ultimately deadly.
V1 says that Wisdom’s house has seven columns. Seven is an all-encompassing number of completeness and expansiveness. Everything you desire can be found here.
V3 might remind you of the gospel parable where the rich man prepares a banquet and sends out invitations but is turned down. Here, Wisdom is calling out from the heights of the city. In the ancient Near East, the only building allowed to occupy the highest point of the city was the temple. The temple was where you went to be in contact with the deity.
Wisdom invites us to a place that has everything we need, but also we’re invited to leave behind all the things that don’t give us life. If Wisdom laid out a banquet tailored just for you, what goodies would it contain?
Ephesians 5:15-20
Chapter 4 begins a shift into practical applications and a change in conduct that contact with Christ brings about. Chapters 4-6 are about unity: within the church and with each other. They also address leaving behind former ways while acknowledging the lordship of Christ.
4:17 – 5:20 contrasts the “ungodly” ways of the Gentiles with the ethical implications of life in the body of Christ. The author uses a style similar to wisdom teaching: there are only two ways and you must choose one or the other. There are no shades of gray or middle ground in this way of thinking. As we read this, we must keep in mind that life is rarely ever so cut and dry!
This reading goes really well with the Proverbs reading. The author sets up a couple of contrasts here:
- how a foolish person acts vs a wise person who makes the most of every opportunity
- the ignorant person vs one who lives in the knowledge of God
- the person intoxicated with alcohol vs the person intoxicated with the Spirit.
The Proverb reading told us to “forsake foolishness” and this passage echoes that, telling us not to live as foolish people.
V18 tells us to not get drunk on wine. I think it’s easy to limit this to the surface – dulling one’s pain by drinking too much alcohol. But wisdom literature invites us deeper. We might ponder the question – with what do I dull my pain? Or what do I use to avoid the hard work of the gospel and the spiritual journey? Email? Nightly news? Facebook? If Paul were writing to us today, what might he put there?
John 6:51-58
Today is the 4th of five weeks in chapter 6, the “bread of life discourse.” At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and now he will talk about that event in light of who he is. Last week Jesus said not only does he replace the manna and the Law, but that he reveals God to all people.
Today’s verses 51-58 are the same passage used in Year A For the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Chps 13-17 of John are devoted to the Last Supper but there is no mention of the Eucharist or institution of it. Most scholars read today’s passage today as fulfilling that function for this Gospel. Presumably, by the late 90s, when this gospel was completed, the Eucharist already held a central place and everyone was familiar with the story and institution of it. By moving the institution narrative to this discourse, John’s gospel is perhaps interrupting the expectations of his audience and reminding them of the Eucharist in a new way. In particular, John is reminding the community that the Eucharist is an extension of Jesus’ incarnation.
Last week’s reading ended with v51 and this week picks up with the same verse, the latter half of which gives us a shift in tone. It shifts us from seeing Jesus as the bread from heaven who reveals the Father to seeing Jesus in a much more intimate way. Throughout this discourse, Jesus will says “I am….” using the Greek words ego eimi. These same words are used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament for the name YWHW.
In v51 Jesus refers to his flesh using the Greek word sarx, the body. Paul and the other gospels all use the word soma, which is a different word for flesh. In the passage up until this point, John has used the word soma but here he switches to sarx. Sarx is more earthy – it refers more to the physical, material realm than soma implies. From the start of these verses, John emphasizes the physicality of the subject.
The latter part of v51 may be the words of institution used by John’s community. Of course, the words we’re accustomed to are “this is my body, this is my blood…” Some scholars think that John’s words may actually be closest to the original, Aramaic, words of Jesus.
When Jesus says this, it causes the Jews to argue about it in v52. Always remember in John’s gospel “the Jews” are those outside the believing community. The ones who argue are the ones who don’t believe. I’ve always wondered here – if they’re arguing about it, what was the other side saying?! Were there some arguing for the literal interpretation of Jesus’ words? Or were they arguing about how to respond? Whatever the sides, the Greek word used for quarreled suggests something bordering on violence. These people are pretty riled up.
The Jews took Jesus literally and wanted to know why he was talking about what seemed to them either cannibalism or human sacrifice. They got lost in the argument about what he meant. Sometimes today I think we make the same mistake – we miss the message of transformation in a debate about the mechanics.
Jesus seems pretty clear about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Notice that he doesn’t correct them on that point. He never steps back and claims to be speaking metaphorically. He just keeps repeating it: eat my flesh, drink my blood. “Flesh and blood” was a common way of characterizing the whole human being, the whole person. Not just skin and bones, but all of what makes us who we are. The other Greek word soma conveys that more fully, but John chooses sarx here.
In v53 Jesus uses a word for eat, phago, which means to partake of food; or consume a meal. This is the “respectable” form of the verb – the one to use in polite company. This verse is also the first mention of blood in this chapter. This actually would have been more offensive to Jews than flesh, because ingesting blood was specifically forbidden by the Torah.
V54 changes the word for eat. Here he uses trogo, meaning to gnaw, munch, crunch with the teeth. This is the less acceptable, rather crude verb, but one that definitely connotes physically consuming something. John uses this word four times in this passage. The only other time it’s used in this gospel is in John 13, which is the context of the Last Supper and a direct reference to the Eucharist. The use of this vocabulary makes it challenging to see this as anything other than literal.
V55 says it’s true food and drink, with true meaning an undeniable reality; what can’t be hidden; not concealed; really is.
V56 picks up on a key word for this Gospel: remains. This same word is used in the discourse about the vine and branches – remaining on the vine.
V57 uses the same word trogo for feeds. “The living Father” is a unique expression here and may parallel the living bread. Literally “the Father who has life.” This verse always reminds me of St. Augustine’s words: “behold what you are, become what you receive..” You are what you eat.
V58 forms a bracket with the beginning of the discourse where the audience brings up the manna in the desert. Jesus reminds us that manna didn’t permanently satisfy them. This is in direct contrast to Jesus who does satisfy.
This whole discourse is a lot like wisdom literature. It’s most definitely not linear and there are many images given throughout. Each verse, each image, each thought – you could spend a long time digging into the mystery of how Jesus feeds us, how he satisfies our deepest longings.
Ponder the use of sarx and trogo. They are graphic words. How do you feel about them in relation to Jesus and to the Eucharist?
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© 2024 Kelly Sollinger