Texts: I Kings: 8, 22-30, 41-43; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69
We continue the story of the family of King David, which we have been reading in recent weeks. In today’s lesson, David’s son, King Solomon, has just completed building the Temple in Jerusalem. Solomon consecrates the Temple in a ceremony for all people to gather and worship the God of Israel. He mentions God keeping his covenant with Israel, and renews Israel’s commitment to follow God. Solomon even includes Gentiles in this commitment. He is just that sure when foreigners see the magnificence of the Temple they too will want to worship the God of Israel. To the Jewish people the Temple was the place where God was believed to be physically present, on the mercy seat, in the holy of holies.
Have you ever been to the National Cathedral in Washington? It’s massive and wonderful, on the highest hill in D.C. It took over a hundred years to build, even with modern machinery. It soars to the sky and is full of beautiful stained glass windows, and intricate stone and wood carvings, and the largest tapestries I’ve ever seen. The stonework was carved by generations of stone masons from Italy. The air in the cathedral holds a certain coolness and one can smell incense. Great thought and deliberation was put into every square inch of it, all built for the glory of God.
Though it can hold over 1,000 people and it’s a thrill to sing hymns there, and to hear that tremendous Aeolian Skinner organ, I like the smaller chapels. The St. Mary’s Chapel is my favorite. It’s very quiet there, and early on Sunday mornings no more than 60 people gather to worship. There’s a votive candle stand just outside the chapel and most of them are usually lit. To me, it’s an invitation to come into the presence of God, like coming into the holy of holies in the Temple. The moment I come into the cathedral I feel the awesome presence of God, and I just want to stay there forever.
Having been created in the image of God, for the purpose of communion with God, all human beings, both Jew and Gentile, have planted deep with us a desire to know God. This is true even if sin has smothered that desire and our minds have become confused. Paul acknowledges this in his letter to the Ephesians this morning. He says we need to put on the whole armor of God. We need protection from the evil one who wants to take away our desire for God.
We do not have a Temple in which to draw near God for strength, and many Christians do not have an awesome place like the National Cathedral in which to worship, but we do have this Body of Christ within which we do live. This is the place where all sins are forgiven and we receive new life. All those beautiful gifts Paul mentions in his letter have been and continue to be offered to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit within this Body of Christ, the Church.
Once believers have been gathered together in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the next step is communion with God and with one another. “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” The disciples considered this to be offensive, because it violated the Jewish rites of purification. To have contact with human blood was to be defiled. Only certain people in the Jewish faith could touch a dead body. This was a new teaching and it was confusing to them. We’ve had the benefit of about 2,000 years to try to figure out what this means.
Then Jesus continues, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless.” This does seem to contradict what he just said about his own body. But Jesus is no mere human, he is also God. Eventually the disciples would come to more fully understand this.
The purpose for which God came to us in human form was to communicate to us his love in its most pure form, which is is body and blood. There’s a difference between the idea of love and the reality of love. Words are great to express love, but sometimes we just need a hug, the touch of another human being. Jesus touches us in Holy Communion.
However, our own flesh can become useless when it becomes a distraction from God, whether we are experiencing pain or bliss. Sometimes, when we just cannot see beyond ourselves our flesh has become useless.
Simon Peter then acknowledges that there is another form of life than that which is simply within the flesh. When Jesus asked him if he wanted to go away, Simon Peter responded, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” While we are often distracted by the limitations of human flesh—by hunger, pain, fear, or lust—we do sense there is something beyond this life. It’s that thing planted deep within us, the desire to know God intimately.
In a few moments we will enjoy communion with God and one another in the Holy Eucharist. Christ has kept his promise to us, to give his body and blood to redeem us. We are simply asked to accept it, to receive it as it is offered, not as a small piece of bread and a sip of wine, but as Jesus himself. We remember that this is how God chose to come to us, in the flesh, in the mystery of the Incarnation. Now we accept him in the mystery of the Holy Communion.
Amen.
