10.15 Holy Communion 23rd August 2009

Ephesians 6:10-20 & John 6:56-69

Life is in the blood. Flesh & blood

A few days ago I had a bit of a shock. I was on my own, at home, relaxed and off-guard. Suddenly something happened which let me know that I was not alone in the room after all. My visitor was not a guest and hadn’t been invited. I’m not saying any more about that (you can press me afterwards if you want); that’s not the point of the story – what happens next is what matters. I came over to the cathedral and immediately a colleague said “Are you alright, Andy? You look very pale.’ So I related what had happened and then went to look in the mirror. To my surprise, I had lost some colour; the blood had drained from my face leaving me feeling a little lifeless for a while. Of course this is what’s called the ‘fight or flight’ response; it is a survival mechanism to ensure blood gets to the essential organs. The blood had drained from my skin and that’s why I didn’t look right. Flesh and blood go together, physically and metaphorically. We talk about a relative being our own ‘Flesh and blood.’

And yet anyone hearing our readings for the first time might be left a little confused. If weren’t familiar with the Bible you might be a bit puzzled. The phrase ‘flesh and blood’ occurs in both readings but used in different ways. In John, Jesus says that we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood to abide in him; a very strange way of speaking which we’ll come back to. And St Paul says this in Eph 6:12: “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” What does Paul mean by ‘flesh and blood’ here? Either that our struggle is not against our own fleshly (or carnal) nature or the people who are enemies of the faith, such as those who opposed Paul and put him in prison (from where he was writing); or he could mean both. The real enemy is unseen Paul says; there are forces of evil at work in us and around us, forces which pull us away from what is good, what is wholesome and what is true. We need to be on our guard and protected from those forces which undermine God’s work in us. Yes, we struggle in our body of flesh and blood – it is in our bodies that we work and fight for truth. But there is an inner struggle behind this, so it is within us that we need strengthening. Let’s hold that idea as we move to John 6.

This is a little bit shocking – if you weren’t shocked it’s because it’s become familiar. It certainly shocked the disciples and maybe they went a little pale when they heard it! As Jews they would know Leviticus 17 which teaches that the life of an animal is in the blood and therefore explicitly forbids the drinking of blood or eating meat (flesh) with the blood in it – hence the need for meat to be Kosher (permitted). What’s going on here is that John is setting this discussion about the death of Jesus in the context of the Passover Festival and sacrifice. More than that, the old system of sacrificing animals for worship and to atone for sins was a temporary one until the one true sacrifice could be offered. That’s why Jesus said earlier: “My flesh is the true food and my blood the true drink.” And here: “this is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate and died.” So here, says Jesus, is the real thing. Unless you accept and receive this offering I am making for the life of the world, you are not part of me. What does that mean, to accept and receive? It means to believe. This was the first stumbling block for the Jews, and sadly (as we see here) even for some of his disciples. But the inner work must be done first. ‘Do you believe?’ Jesus is constantly asking them. Then, if you do, accept and believe, you need to receive. This is the outward bit. Take and Eat. Drink this in remembrance of me. Take my flesh and eat, take my blood and drink. The inner and the outer must match. Let’s put it another way.

Just taking bread and wine is not enough - it needs faith and some understanding (which is why the church has down the ages observed a Eucharistic discipline).

But equally, just believing the bread and wine are symbolic is not enough, it must be taken physically. The Word became flesh; God affirms the physical. There are two implications of this which I’d like to identify before finishing.

Firstly, and very obviously we need to take flesh and blood. We need to take Communion regularly. And as Frankie was saying last week, it is painful not to be able to take and share the cup during this swine flu epidemic. Flesh and blood go together. St John Chrysostem, Bishop of Constantinople in the 4th century, would not have been v comfortable with our present arrangements. In his theology of the Eucharist he links it directly with Passover in which the angel of death passed over the houses where blood was sprinkled on the door posts. St John taught new Christians that what you drink from the chalice is the blood that saves us from death. He says this: “So today if the devil sees the blood of the reality smeared on the lips of the faithful, which are the doors of the temple of Christ, with all the more reason he will draw back.” Well, other theologians have not taken such a literal stance but it does offer a rich picture of drinking with our lips. So that’s the first implication of the physical and the spiritual being inseparable. We need to TAKE flesh and blood.

Secondly, we need to BE flesh and blood. Again, as Frankie was pointing out last week, you and I ARE the Body of Christ. We are in communion with each other. We express that when we physically touch in the Peace – flesh touches flesh in a handshake – an outward sign of the unity that we have in Christ. You and I ARE the flesh and blood of Christ. It’s never enough to just believe in the saving love of God and not enough to talk about it– we have to embody it too. And we saw that yesterday in a wonderful way. The Body of Christ here put flesh and blood on the unconditional love of God by swinging into action. Michael and Hirut were married here yesterday – a lovely Christian couple but, through circumstances, a couple with very meagre resources. Yet they had a joyful wedding with true celebration in it, and lots to celebrate with. Many of you here worked hard and gave generously to provide a wonderful buffet reception (along with others from another church). The love of God was embodied, and it IS here in many and varied ways.

We are called to take flesh and blood and to be flesh and blood. What we believe on the inside is expressed on the outside: may it continue to be so. And may the life-giving blood of Jesus run in our veins and continue to run in the veins of His Body. Amen.