A Communion Meditation on John 6
In the gospel of John, there is no last supper with the
disciples. There is no Passover meal in the upper room, no “This is my body,”
no “this is my blood.” That story belongs only to Matthew, Mark and Luke, and
also to Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. We get the words of institution
from those biblical sources. In the gospel of John, this is the nearest we have
to communion—the feeding of the five thousand and more.
“Jesus took
the bread and after giving thanks, he distributed it to them, likewise the
fish, as much as they wanted.” And there was an over-abundance: from five
barley loaves and two fish, Jesus fed more than 5,000 people and had 12 baskets
full of leftovers.
And that is
the miracle which we reenact every time we gather together. We bless, we break,
we give, and there is more than enough. It’s not bread that we break open, that
is only the visible symbol standing in for the invisible reality of the
presence of God which feeds gives us life.
And
sometimes, we don’t even realize what we have. We think all we have to share is
bread, all we have to give is money, or time. All we can do is feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned, and write to our senators
and congressional representatives about the needs of the poor and the stewardship
of the earth. All that is good, and has its place, but that’s not all there is.
If we think that’s all there is, we are to be pitied.
Life is
more than bread, and the body more than clothing.
The bread
that lasts, the font of living water… these are ours, and this is what we share
every time we gather. The bread of heaven, the living water… the presence of
God is what we are here to experience. It is the more we are always seeking,
the hunger that cannot be satisfied at any table but this one.
What must
we do in exchange for this bread? Nothing. Just trust in the one who provides
it. It will be given freely.
Come to the
feast.
