Flesh and Blood

Flesh and Blood

Presented at County Line Brethren Church on August 23, 2009.
Year B, Proper 16
Scripture passages: Ephesians 6:10-20 & John 6:51-69

On NPR this week, I heard a short essay on this lady’s recommendation for 5 classes you should take in college. One was Child Development, one was Writing Composition (more than one unit), one was Statistics (one of my personal favorites, really), one was Anatomy and Physiology, and I can’t remember the last one. The reason for suggesting Anatomy and Physiology was because it would give us a better understanding of our bodies such that we could ask better questions of our doctors when we get sick and take better care of ourselves when we’re healthy. I did not take Anatomy and Physiology. I have therefore had to learn some things over the years about how our body works.

I talked a little bit about food last week, well actually I talked about how our appetite tends to increase when we exercise. Today, I would like to talk a little bit about how food works in order to gain some insights into what Jesus was really talking about.

So, when I needed to do some research about how food helps our bodies I was starting from a deficit of information. With apologies to my son-in-law, Shahir, the biochemist in the family, I will venture into this with great trepidation. When we eat protein,
“The digestive system breaks all proteins down into their amino acids so that they can enter the bloodstream. Cells then use the amino acids as building blocks.” (http://www.howstuffworks.com/food.htm)
In other words, the protein is eventually broken down into amino acids and used by the cells for its specific purpose. And without the specific amino acid, these cells will not function properly.

Food enters into our body through the digestive track and then circulates throughout the body by means of the bloodstream, in and out of pertinent cells, in order for our bodies to function.

The bloodstream has three basic functions. The first is to transport oxygen and other nutrients, like protein and glucose, to the cells. The second is immunity, by the use of what we commonly refer to as the white blood cells. It helps to fight infections and germs. The third function is coagulation. When we cut ourselves the sticky platelets clog up the leak, so that we don’t bleed to death. Because, without blood, we will die. Indeed, the reason that the Old Testament law prohibited the consumption of the blood, was because “the life of the creature is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11).

I’ve only mentioned protein and the blood, which is only a part of what comprises the body, albeit an important part.

Do you remember that public service announcement back in the 80’s?
You are what you eat song (Time for Timer)
You are what you eat from your head down to your feet things like meat and fish and eggs you need to build up muscle tissue Uh Oh! Appetite control? More Protein! We need energy. All the motors in your body need a lot of fuel to go on Things like carbohydrates fats and proteins, vitamins and so on. What's left over forms the building blocks you need, indeed, to grow on! Yes you are what you swallow so the next time you feel hollow don't just fill your face with any old kind of treat This goes for every kid or 6 foot at the least Yes what you really are is what you eeeeeeeeat! (http://www.inthe80s.com/tvcommercials/y.shtml)

So, here’s the deal. Whatever you eat, becomes your own body. So, the protein you eat actually becomes part of your cells. Your food becomes who you are.

Now with the stage set, let’s take a look at John 6. The whole chapter is about food, is it not? It seems to me that Jesus’ talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood has a direct correlation with the feeding of the 5,000+. The boy's lunch of bread and fish never vanished, but became “more” as it was multiplied through its distribution. Even though Jesus died on the cross, his life became “more” as it was multiplied through its distribution. Jesus' death was similar to the boy offering his lunch to feed many. Jesus offered himself to feed many. The offering of the lunch was for the life of the crowd. The suffering and death of Jesus, the Christ, we are told, is for the life of the whole world. Allow me to point out that the boy's lunch was for the whole crowd and offered life, through the food, to the whole crowd.

To this crowd, Jesus implores them to eat his flesh and drink his blood, for it is real food. What does it mean to consume his flesh and drink his blood? The first thing to clarify is that we are consuming his “life.” We are not to consume dead flesh or dead blood, even though consuming it implies his death that made his sharing possible. As scripture says, by consuming his flesh and blood, we proclaim the Lord’s death, but it is not rotten flesh or putrid blood. This is living flesh and living blood. Furthermore, even though Jesus “died,” he never ceased to exist. For we are told that during the three calendar days that he was “dead” and in the tomb, he was preaching to the souls in prison, or Sheol. Now, in order not to align myself with heresy, please let me clarify that Jesus did in fact die. But even for us, death does not mean non-existence.

I would like to look at 6 possible ways to look at what the flesh and blood consists of and what it means to consume his flesh and blood.

1. We still have not answered how is it that we “consume” or “eat” the flesh and blood of Jesus, the Christ. Those who hold to a strong Eucharistic view, favor the idea that it is by partaking of the bread and the cup, through the vehicle of the church, that one consumes the life of the Christ. Indeed they would go so far as to say that those who do not consume the Eucharist cannot be “in the Christ.” Those who hold to a strong Eucharistic view, favor the idea that it is by partaking of the bread and the cup, through the vehicle of the church, that one consumes the life of the Christ. Indeed they would go so far as to say that those who do not consume the Eucharist cannot be “in the Christ.” That’s why being denied the Eucharist is such a big deal. Nevertheless, we hold that partaking of the bread and cup is not sufficient “flesh” and “blood,” in and of itself, to regenerate someone.

2. Others, who do not hold such a high view of the Eucharist, focus more on the change that is wrought in our life as a result of consumption such that we become “like Christ.” Hence, they make reference to Paul's statement in Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Historically, the Brethren, along with other Anabaptists, would tend to favor this rendering. And to take it a step further, they might state that it is through obedience that we become more “Christ-like.” These believers recognize and encourage the benefits of participating in communion (the Eucharist), but they would say that is not enough. The danger here is that obedience either deteriorates into becomes something we do, our own effort, and/or becomes subject to laws, rules and regulations. Obedience is not sufficient “flesh” and “blood,” in and of itself, to regenerate someone.

3. There are some who would suggest that the Bible is the preferred way to consume the Christ. Jesus, the Christ is referred to as the “Word became flesh” in the first chapter of John. Some would say as we read the Bible (or consume this flesh of the Word) that it permeates into our being, and that we become like the Christ. Unfortunately, we recognize the tendency by some to elevate the Bible excessively to a level which is not Biblical and borders on idolatry, sometimes referred to as “Bibliolatry.” Surely we are aware of some who have read the Bible thoroughly, who correspondingly reject virtually any value found therein. So we find that even reading the Bible is not sufficient “flesh” and “blood,” in and of itself, to regenerate someone.

4. Scripture speaks of another factor. I Peter 1:2 specifically states that we sanctified by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of obedience. The order here in I Peter then states that obedience is not a pathway of sanctification, but rather a result of it. Furthermore, becoming Christ-like is not our job. This is a work of the Holy Spirit. Here's what Peter says in that passage,
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: grace and peace be yours in abundance.

It is not up to us to do it. We do not become “Christ-like” by eating a wafer of bread or drinking a sip of grape juice or wine. We do not become “Christ-like by reading more of the Bible or by obeying more fervently. I want you to notice in the context of this passage, as we talked about last week, is that it contains a strongly Calvinistic stance. Namely, that God chooses and draws and sanctifies his own. And the drawing is not simply to recognize Jesus as the Christ and pay homage to him. But as the spirit sanctifies this child of God, obedience proceeds from his heart, not of his own doing, and not perfectly in this dimension. Rather, obedience springs from the Spirit-quickened Christ-likeness of the child of God, albeit imperfectly this side of heaven. And so, it is not by means of eating the flesh and drinking the blood that we become like him. Rather, the eating and drinking demonstrates that we are his.

I've noticed something about my grandsons. They will let us know when they are hungry, and they will eat. Where does that hunger come from? Is it not part of their nature as children, or even as a human being? So it is in our relationship with the Lord. It is not up to us to conjure up hunger. It is not up to us to force ourselves to come to the communion table. It is not up to us to lure others to worship under false pretenses. It is not up to us to beat our neighbors over the head with the Bible or the crucifix in order to get them to turn to Christ, or for that matter, to become more Christ-like. That's a God-thing.

5. I ran across an interesting essay in The Christian Century by Dennis M. Bell, Jr., entitled, “God Does Not Demand Blood.” In this article, Mr. Bell challenges the commonly held tenets of the satisfaction or substitutionary theory of the atonement. The satisfaction or substitutionary theory of the atonement basically says that Jesus' suffering and death was meant to take the brunt of God's wrath that was aimed toward us, that his wrath would surely destroy us save for Jesus, the Christ's, spilt blood which satisfied and appeased an angry God. In other words, God was aiming an arrow at us, but Jesus stepped into the path of the arrow and accepted it for himself, satisfying God's wrath. The problem that Mr. Bell points out is that this perspective does not provide a completely consistent or accurate description of New Testament passages. Furthermore, when this line of reasoning is followed, it takes us down dangerous path of both justifying and advocating the use of violence to combat violence.

Instead, Mr. Bell suggests that Jesus’ suffering and death represents how far Jesus, the Christ, was willing to go to demonstrate his love for us and to infuse life into this world. And so it is the love of Christ that saves us, not his shed blood.

"This love of God expressed in Jesus saves us. It is the love that would rather die on the cross than give up on us. We reject God, so God sends Jesus with the offer of life again and we reject it again; Jesus could have abandoned us, or called down fire from heaven to destroy us. But he did not. He remained faithful to his mission, reaching out to us until the end: “Father forgive them. . . ”
"As we are joined to Christ and made part of his body, we are not somehow submitting to the logic of blood sacrifice. We are not simply being let off the hook for our sin by deflecting the punishment for that sin onto someone else. We are not satisfying an angry god by throwing that god a piece of innocent red meat. We are not offering a bloody sacrifice for the sake of reinforcing how important the moral law and order are.
"Rather, as we are joined to Christ we become transformed (sanctified) and live our lives according to another logic. As Paul wrote, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ.” The point is that in Christ we are not just pardoned but are also healed of our sin and made a different kind of people, a new creation, who live by a different logic. We love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We forgive, as we have been forgiven. We renounce violence as a means of defending or securing or saving ourselves or those we love. To the extent that our savior is Christ, our defense, security and salvation depend on Christ and the love that overcomes enemies. We live out the ministry of reconciliation (2Cor. 5:17-20)
This way of life may entail enduring suffering – not because suffering is in some way good or redemptive, not because this is the what God wants or because it is punishment for our sins. Rather, it is because suffering is the cost that humans in their sinful rebellion impose on other humans. Moreover, being prepared to suffer does not mean that we must seek out suffering or passively endure it. The logic of our new way of life does not reject justice, accountability, or discipline; this way of life is disciplined and accountable and seeks justice. It may include practices such as incarceration or even just war. But justice and discipline shaped by the charity and mercy of God are significantly different from the so-called justice and discipline that belong to the law and order of blood sacrifice."
(Bell, Jr., Dennis, God Does Not Demand Blood, Christian Century, February 10, 2009, p. 26)

Our discussion today is impacted tremendously by our understanding of the atonement. If we are to consume the flesh and blood of Jesus, the Christ, then we are compelled to specifically identify what the flesh and blood represent. If we were to embrace Mr. Bell’s theory, then consuming Jesus’ flesh and blood would mean that we are consuming a love that will not give up on us – as differentiated from one associated with a blood sacrifice. But even becoming a very loving person is not deemed to be sufficient to regenerate us, in and of itself.

6. Let us also recall that the “body of Christ” is the church universal. So, if we are to eat his flesh and drink his blood, we must consider what it might mean for us related to the church universal. Are we to consume one another? Perhaps the better question in light of Bell’s theory about the atonement, is “how shall we offer one another our complete love, just as Jesus, the Christ, offered his complete love to us on the cross. By doing this, we are offering not our own flesh and blood, but the flesh and blood of Jesus, the Christ, which has permeated our own existence to the point that it is no longer my life that expresses itself. Instead, when I love in such a way, it is because Christ lives in me.


The Eucharist is one means by which we become like Jesus, the Christ. Reading and studying the Bible is another means, along with obedience. There is also the important factor that becoming Christ-like is certainly not up to us entirely. Jesus, the Christ, has a vested interest in our development and his Spirit will bring this about. We have also seen that consuming his flesh and his blood may more about the outpouring of his love rather than the shedding of his blood. We also share his flesh and blood as we love one another. May I suggest that each of these perspectives on eating his flesh and drinking his blood have validity, but that none of them stand alone to the exclusion of the others.

In any case, consuming the flesh and blood mean that, over time, his substance becomes our substance. Paul says that it is not him, “but Christ who lives in me.” Such is the result of regularly consuming the flesh and blood of Jesus, the Christ. As we consume the life of Christ, we will be becoming like the living Christ.

This happens because the essence of who he is gradually permeates our entire existence as individuals, as the church universal, and indeed the entire world.

You are what you eat from your head down to your feet. Enjoy the love of Jesus, the Christ.