April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
WORD OF FAITH
What does God want?
'Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.' - John 6:57
Biblical wisdom isn't the ability to win at "Jeopardy." When our sacred authors speak about a wise person, they're describing someone who can look at the world and both see and reflect on patterns in God's creation which lead the person to uncover patterns in God's actions in our lives.
If, for instance, we see ants working against all odds to accomplish difficult tasks, then God must be working just as hard to accomplish good for us.
Scripture scholars remind us that Scripture contains a "wisdom debate." Some authors, like the author of Sunday's Proverbs (9:1-6) passage, are convinced we can find such patterns.
Others, like the author of Job, believe such patterns don't exist. For them, God can do whatever God wishes, in spite of our preconceived notions about God's behavior.
New roads, new doors
Like their Jewish ancestors in the faith, Christians struggled to surface God's will and actions in their lives. Though they appreciated the insights of authors who sided with the Proverbs writer, they were also convinced that, through Jesus, God was leading them down roads for which there was no precedent. They found themselves going through doors few people had dared open.
In the midst of such newness, the author of Ephesians (5:15-20) follows Paul's lead, relying on Jesus' Spirit to help surface God's will. The writer's command is short and to the point: "Be filled with the Spirit."
He presumes the Spirit is such an integral part of his readers' lives that they'll often find themselves "addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual song, singing and playing to the Lord in [their] hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father."
Faith isn't something they can turn on or off at will; it's their very life.
Although John's Jesus approaches this issue from a different perspective (John 6:51-58), he basically agrees with our Ephesians writer. It's essential to the fourth evangelist's theology that we can be certain we're doing what God wants us to do in our everyday lives, because there's no distinction between us and the risen Jesus. Those who carry on the ministry of Jesus have evolved into other Christs.
One with Jesus
Not only does Jesus' Spirit guarantee that unity, but the eucharistic food and drink He gives makes certain we can never be separated: "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me and I them. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also those who feed on me will have life because of me. Whoever eats this bread will live forever."
John carries this conviction even one step further: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you."
Considering the eternal implications of these words, it bothers me that many Christian denominations today rarely celebrate the Lord's Supper. Yet the Council of Trent in 1545 showed some of the abuses in Catholic eucharistic celebrations around the Reformation, so no wonder so many reformers wanted nothing to do with "the Mass."
John's Jesus presumed we'd all "do the Eucharist right." If we suspect we're not doing so, it's material for an examination of conscience.[[In-content Ad]]
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