"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink."
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There are times when we read a section of the Bible and say, "Hmm. Not sure I really get that one. Should I take it literally?"
In these verses from John's Gospel, Jesus is speaking at the synagogue at Capernaum. The message he delivers is a very literal one. Eating his flesh and drinking his blood? That sounds a little odd. In trying to make sense of these verses, I looked at 9 or 10 different translations of the Bible to see if there were any different takes on the original Greek for the words 'eat' and 'drink'. There were no differences. Every single one of them used 'eat' and 'drink'; no variation. Even a Spanish version used conjugations of 'comer' and 'beber'; 'to eat' and 'to drink'...as well as 'carne' (meat) for 'flesh'.
What are we to make of this? In one of my earlier posts I talked about the Catholic tradition which believes that, during the Eucharist, the wafer and the wine actually become Christ's Body and Blood...not symbols of these, but the real thing!
Why do we eat and drink? Lots of reasons, for sure: the basic need for daily nourishment; after hard exercise, to replace what was taken out of us; when together as family and friends, a means to have fellowship. I suppose Jesus must have chosen to deliver His message in this way to make sure there was no confusion in how we should bring Him into our lives. We should take Him in and by doing this, He will be in us...and us in Him. For when we take in food and drink, they become a part of us. The bread and the wine become a part of each cell of our bodies. Flesh and blood mingles with our own and those things which were separate and distinct, become one.
It is likewise with the Holy Spirit. When thinking about the concept of how the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and the Son, comes into us, my love for the power and meaning of "words" is manifested. One of the many 'names' for the Holy Spirit is the Greek word 'pneumos', which means 'wind'. There are many prayers which ask for guidance "by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit". Inspiration...a fun word, once again. It can mean "to breathe in" (like the 'wind' of the Holy Spirit...get it?) or to be "inspired"...'motivated', for lack of a better word. Either way, this is all about taking something, bringing it into us and using it for our benefit.
Maybe I get it. Jesus wants us to literally take Him into us. And, by taking Him in, He becomes one with us...a part of our being to the core.
So, today, when you think about Jesus and His teachings, His love and His sacrifice...eat heartily...drink deeply. Take in His Body and Blood, make them a part of your being and be nourished!
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