Part Four: Eating Jesus [Proper 15B]
The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson John 6:51-58 Part Four: Eating Jesus Well, forget the bread. Everyone has lost their appetite. For a fleeting moment Jesus seemed like an amazing man. He worked miracles. He fed the crowd. He waxed poetically without a script. Had they never followed him across that lake, they could have held on to that beautiful image forever: five thousand people, sitting on a grassy hill, eating miraculous food until their bellies were full. In their heads floated dreams of his kingly reign – a reign of health and wealth, security and power. And Jesus, their miracle man, his compassionate gaze just warmed their hearts. It was idyllic, perfect. But they stuck around too long. After the meal, things devolved pretty rapidly. First he left them. He rebuffed their advances and slipped away under the cover of night. Then he started talking. And things got really confusing...