Wisdom’s Table
Proverbs 9:1-6; John 6:51-58
Wisdom’s Table
My mother, though good at many things, a fine cook and hostess, was not a bread maker. She rarely attempted home-made bread of any flour-y, yeasty kind and yet it was served at every meal. Rolls were out of a bag from the store and biscuits out of a can. Apparently, one time my brother said, “ewwww, old, homemade biscuits” when she went to the trouble to make them and that ended that! She admitted the biscuits were more like hockey pucks.
We are possibly feeling carb-loaded with all the bread we have had in our scripture readings for the past four weeks.
Jesus’ sermon in John Chapter 6 started with the Feeding of the Five Thousand. That’s what started the whole conversation about Jesus being a different kind of bread – Bread for Life. But the Old Testament readings, as well, have included starchy references: the Israelites receiving manna – bread from heaven and then, Elijah receiving the angel biscuits baked over hot coals. It’s almost enough to make your mouth water… Until we get to the gospel text today, which nearly turns your stomach to read it.[1]
“Eat my flesh.” Did Jesus really say this?
Before we consider John 6 any further, let’s examine Proverbs 9 where the culinary theme continues this week. Woman Wisdom invites all who will listen to come to her table. She is throwing a banquet – a feast! There is meat, spiced wine, and bread. She has sent her servants out into the streets to issue the invitations. Everyone is invited, but especially, the young and the foolish. The invitation is to come to Wisdom’s table to be filled so they might gain understanding and live. This is the whole aim of Wisdom literature – to teach young people how to live with wisdom, integrity, meaning and fulfillment. This is the good life she wants you to know. Not fame or fortune, material wealth. What a counter-cultural message then and now! The influencers and advertisers, politicians and product-makers want you to believe that the good life you are craving is all tied to the wealth and experiences you can acquire. The Israelite Wisdom teachers appreciated material prosperity, but they recognized that it was not life’s ultimate goal. Instead lives rooted in faithfulness, honesty, hard work and virtue were to be pursued. Wisdom’s banquet is a table of whole foods, good for the heart and soul. At Wisdom’s table, you are what you eat.
This leads us back to the Gospel reading and the table that Jesus is setting for us. When he offered his flesh to eat and blood to drink, were you bothered by this invitation? Jesus’ audience is shocked. They have learned all their lives from the Torah that eating meat with any blood left in it is strictly forbidden. Not only that, but eating human flesh – bleh!-- is practically impossible. So, the Jewish leaders ask in earshot of all those gathered, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
If this were written in Mark or Luke, we might expect Jesus to answer a question with a question as he often did. He could have said:
“Would you rather I serve up someone else?”
“Are you a vegetarian?”
But here in John, Jesus responds with an ultimatum: “Very truly, I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” On this side of the cross, we understand the imagery, the symbolism. We believe that Jesus is saying that through his sacrifice of flesh and blood, we might have life, abundant and eternal.
We might also try to understand it this way. The table Jesus sets and the meal he serves is a banquet of a completely consumed life with him. He wants to fill us, but we must be open to that. The invitation is to absorb his presence into our lives; to imagine his suffering as part of us, but his healing too. What if we could ingest his forgiveness, his mercy, so completely that we didn’t know the emptiness of our transgressions any longer? What if all our longing could be completely satisfied by a relationship with him?
When a grandparent says to their grandchild, “I love you so much, I could eat you up!” Whatever that means – That seems to be what Jesus and John are trying to say.[2]
This relationship between Jesus and [us] his followers is not fleeting but enduring (like Jesus and God, the motherly father, vs 57). … Jesus does not merely create and distribute food that humans need, he is food and gives himself, flesh and blood, for the world’s life.
In John’s gospel, “to remain” designates a mutual indwelling between Jesus and God, an eternal relationship that Jesus invites his listeners to share. What he experiences with God, he wants us to know in relationship with him. A relationship with Jesus should fill us with security and comfort, knowing we are loved and forgiven – and always in his presence and care. (to remain)
But if it were that easy, we wouldn’t need sermons about it every week. Life is full of distractions and temptations that prevent us taking in that holy eucharistic meal Jesus is offering. Like hungry toddlers at a picnic, children at Chuck E. Cheese, teenagers at a movie, and adults on a deadline… Many things so easily deter us from taking in what we so desperately need.
Therefore, let us expand our look at Proverbs 9 to include a few verses more. After Woman Wisdom’s banquet is offered, by contrast Folly issues her own invitation. Her words sound similar, “You who are young and inexperienced, come to my table!” She is loud and overbearing. Her doorway is wide and her home is easy to find. But at Folly’s table, the water is stolen, her bread is “secrecy,” and her guests are already in the depths of the grave. Indulging in this banquet leaves one feeling bloated and nauseated. Folly’s feast may be tempting, but this diet leads to death.
What is the equivalent of Folly’s feast today? You may be unaffected by the charms of fame and fortune or acquiring wealth and riches for yourself. That isn’t you. You may not be tempted by extravagant banquets, clothes, or vacations. You may not be tempted to hoard property, or assets, or degrees, or awards, or positions of importance… Perhaps these are not the things that get in the way of you swallowing Jesus whole-heartedly. But… we all walk around with these small screens tethered to us and those can be just as distracting and life-draining. (Or maybe it is that big screen in your living room that holds you captive!)
Have you noticed that a lot of the language we use about this little device and its uses is food oriented? We “consume” too much media; we check news “feeds”; we have to “fast” from checking Facebook. This might be the modern-day version of Folly’s feast that impacts the most of us on a daily basis. We feed our boredom with silly social media updates, and empty-headed gossip about celebrities. We numb our feelings, or worries, with inane games after we have consumed, of course, a steady diet of outrage, fear, repetitive sound-bytes in our newsfeed – that merely reinforce our own biases! One writer said, “Folly’s feast is alive and well in our pockets, and it is hard to refuse her loud, overbearing [notifications, I mean,] invitations.”[3]
● I don’t know what your vices are that prevent you from seeking Wisdom’s virtues.
● I don’t know what appetites you have that tempt you away from the enduring nourishment of the Bread of Life.
● I don’t know if the busy-ness of work and family is causing you to skip a spiritual meal where your spirit could be more fully fed.
What I DO know is that Jesus could not have said it any plainer than he did in our scripture today. He wants you to feast on him, his love and grace, his mercy and forgiveness. That’s what’s being served at Jesus’ table, and there is a plateful for you.
Christ is inviting you to remain in him to enjoy the fruits of this relationship with him and through him, with a loving God.
How will you respond to this great invitation to enter a deeper relationship with Jesus?[4]
Benediction
Filled to the brim with the goodness of God; The nourishment of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, And the power of the Holy Spirit.
May we take our place at Christ’s table and make longer tables for all God’s children. Amen.
[1] Schifferdecker, Kathryn M. Commentary Proverbs 9:1-6, Working Preacher
[2] Garnaas-Holmes, Steve “Unfolding Light” Worship resources
[3] Schifferdecker
[4] Ajer,