The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.’ He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. John 6:52-59
Those who held with the tradition of the time could not accept that Jesus was something new and saying things that frightened them. They were comfortable and had control of their lives and families. In the face of change, they argued and challenged, just like we do. But could they hear what is meant to say "I will raise them up on the last day?" How did it feel to hear that, when the world had rejected you and refused to help you up? How glorious those words must have felt to the outcast, the broken, the crippled, the poor and those wandering aimlessly. Jesus saw them and cared for them. He lifted them up in life and promised to lift them up in the afterlife. And his promise is for all of us, everyone, even those who question and struggle.
Gracious Creator, you lift up the struggling
you sing a new song of life to the hopeless
and carry those who cannot walk any more.
We are so worn down from the violence
fear and worry seem to invade us all
and we refuse to listen to the cries of others.
Take our hand, dear Savior, and lift us up
so we might stand tall in violent times
and sing new songs of new life to the weary world. Amen.
