Title: Are Christians Cannibals?

Preacher: The Reverend Canon Maggie McLean, Missioner

Date: Sunday 18 August 2024, Sung Eucharist on The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

There is a story told of an enthusiastic vicar who was planning a special service for his church. He went about this very carefully, preparing a printed liturgy that contained everything needed for the service. On the day when the service took place all went well until a certain point when the order of service said: ‘the organ will now play”.

There was a pause. The vicar looked at the organist and raised an eyebrow. The organist was sat with her arms folded and, when she responded to his enquiring look, she said: “I know – I’m waiting for it to play as well”. Of course, such a thing would never happen at York Minster.

Perhaps, in this story, the organist was feeling unappreciated, but it’s also true that we sometimes expect people not simply to respond literally to what we say, but to grasp the meaning which we intend the words to carry. Taking things literally, and missing the point, is a device used by St John time and again in his Gospel. You might recall the story of Nicodemus meeting Jesus at night. Jesus talks about being born again and Nicodemus wonder how an adult can re-enter the womb in order for this to happen.

There are many, many examples of this in the Gospel of John including the one in our reading today. Jesus has been talking about the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist. He has said very clearly: ‘I am the bread of life … whoever eats of this bread will live for ever’. He goes on to make this even clearer:

‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in me’.

Over the years I’ve read many, many books and articles of theology. And, while I’m sure this has shaped my thinking, I can’t say that I remember the title or author of very many. Perhaps only a few. One that does stick in my memory had a tile in the form of a question and this was: ‘Are Christians cannibals?’ It’s not hard to see, on the basis of today’s Gospel, why some people have asked that question. In fact, in the second century, it was one of the rumours taken up by the Roman authorities to persecute the Church. Looked at from the outside, and taken literally, the words of Jesus seem to suggest some very peculiar behaviour. Consequently, as is the habit of John, the crowd listening to Jesus take him at his word and: they ‘disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”’

Not an unreasonable question.

Jesus is pointing to a greater truth than the superficial meaning of his words. It’s little wonder that the people are startled. In the Jewish scriptures blood is the life of an animal, and it was forbidden to consume the blood of sacrifices. Jesus comes to offer himself as a sacrifice but, unlike the offerings made in the Temple, we are invited to receive the fulness of Christ as both body and blood. There is something here that is more than the simply repetition of a sacrifice to satisfy a God who is displeased at our behaviour.

Understanding this requires us to move beyond the surface of the words. We need Wisdom. Wisdom to see more deeply into the significance of the words Jesus uses.

We must move beyond immaturity and “walk in the way of insight”. Insight which sees beyond the surface and sees the greater truth beyond the words.

I always love the very Anglican solution to the question of ‘how’ the bread and wine become for the us the body and blood of Christ. Rather than attempting some narrow and doubtful definition many Eucharistic prayers say simply: “may they be to us the body and blood of Christ”. How that key word “be” is understood is a matter of faith and wisdom.

St Paul tells the Christians at Ephesus that “the days are evil”. I imagine that it has felt that way for Christians across all the centuries, and many will feel it to be true today.

Thankfully Jesus is Wisdom made flesh and, in him, we are fed with the life that steers us through the dangers of our time. We need to see beyond the surface of words and discern the truth that lies within. To help us remain alive to this task we are offered spiritual food. The vitality of Christ offered to us in Holy Communion. An invitation expressed so beautifully in the Book of Proverbs with which I end:

‘Come, eat of my bread

and drink of the wine I have mixed.

Lay aside immaturity, and live,

and walk in the way of insight.’