John 6
This is one of those chapters that just doesn't seem fun to me.
It has two bible stories that I have heard my whole life.
over and over
Jesus fed the crowd with loaves and fishes.
Jesus walked on water.
(water again. Jesus had a special relationship with water, didn't he?)
maybe with everything...
Anyway,
I can't escape the childhood memories I have of these stories,
I can almost see the cartoons in my head.
Even now, I can hardly give them more meaning
than they had when I was a kid,
because with the foundation of belief I have now
(that science and religion and physics and faith can co-exist)
these events just seem like magic.
I can't fit them into my rational worldview.
So I will just leave them alone for now
Jesus fed thousands with five loaves and two fish.
They saw Jesus walking on the sea.
One thing seems logical, though.
These claims seem so outlandish
that no one in their right mind could make them up!
Who would believe it?
If someone was going to invent things
to promote Jesus,
they probably wouldn't make up a story
with 5000 witnesses, would they?
But how could this have really happened?
What was the reason of it?
Are there people in the world today
who hear these things and gain faith?
They really become stronger christians
by knowing about these miracles?
No matter how impossible they seem?
I know God works in mysterious ways,
but what was the point of walking on water?
Did Jesus even think anything of it?
Did he realize he was doing anything special?
Was he just going from point A to point B
forgetting that most of us couldn't do it that way?
Or was there a lesson he was hoping we would see?
I missed it.
Now, its gonna be really interesting,
(or maybe embarrassing)
if I go find a bible study about this chapter
and suddenly my eyes are opened.
ha.
That would be fine, though.
For the record:
I will cheerfully accept looking foolish in hindsight
if it means I gain a better understanding in the long run.
Well, I found something later on in the chapter
that I think is really interesting,
Great question!
They just asked him point blank
"What should we do?"
and the work couldn't be easier.
"Believe"
or maybe that is deceptively simple to say
and hard to do?
Am I that naive?
He also stresses something that he already said in the last chapter
and another related one
I never realized how often he points to God.
I mean I know he always points us toward God,
but he almost seems to be saying
that even though he is the savior
and is from God
and is a ultimately most special guy the world has ever seen
the power is still from God.
after reading that last verse,
another thought came into my head
that was kinda squirmy.
Just about EVERYTHING I do is MY own will.
hmmmm....
At the end of the chapter,
he is teaching in the synagogue,
and it gets pretty deep,
and this time I know its not just me,
because some fall away from him right then.
He says:
after some "murmering",
Jesus announces that some of his disciples don't believe,
and
weird, that verse is 6:66, huh?
Well, I am trying to reconcile
my early Catholic memories of communion
with what I have been learning recently.
but it's hard.
Is there a difference between "breaking bread" in his name,
and eating his flesh?
Are these just expressions?
I think I would be murmering too,
but I sure wouldn't want to be one of those
who "walked no more with him".
well, this chapter was kind of a bust for me.
This might be one of those times
that I should seek some teachin'
from people who know more than I.
I'm off to the commentaries....
.
It has two bible stories that I have heard my whole life.
over and over
Jesus fed the crowd with loaves and fishes.
Jesus walked on water.
(water again. Jesus had a special relationship with water, didn't he?)
maybe with everything...
Anyway,
I can't escape the childhood memories I have of these stories,
I can almost see the cartoons in my head.
Even now, I can hardly give them more meaning
than they had when I was a kid,
because with the foundation of belief I have now
(that science and religion and physics and faith can co-exist)
these events just seem like magic.
I can't fit them into my rational worldview.
So I will just leave them alone for now
Jesus fed thousands with five loaves and two fish.
They saw Jesus walking on the sea.
One thing seems logical, though.
These claims seem so outlandish
that no one in their right mind could make them up!
Who would believe it?
If someone was going to invent things
to promote Jesus,
they probably wouldn't make up a story
with 5000 witnesses, would they?
But how could this have really happened?
What was the reason of it?
Are there people in the world today
who hear these things and gain faith?
They really become stronger christians
by knowing about these miracles?
No matter how impossible they seem?
I know God works in mysterious ways,
but what was the point of walking on water?
Did Jesus even think anything of it?
Did he realize he was doing anything special?
Was he just going from point A to point B
forgetting that most of us couldn't do it that way?
Or was there a lesson he was hoping we would see?
I missed it.
Now, its gonna be really interesting,
(or maybe embarrassing)
if I go find a bible study about this chapter
and suddenly my eyes are opened.
ha.
That would be fine, though.
For the record:
I will cheerfully accept looking foolish in hindsight
if it means I gain a better understanding in the long run.
Well, I found something later on in the chapter
that I think is really interesting,
Joh 6:28
They said therefore to him,
"What must we do,
that we may work the works of God?"
Joh 6:29
Jesus answered them,
"This is the work of God,
that you believe in him whom he has sent."
Great question!
They just asked him point blank
"What should we do?"
and the work couldn't be easier.
"Believe"
or maybe that is deceptively simple to say
and hard to do?
Am I that naive?
He also stresses something that he already said in the last chapter
Joh 6:32
Jesus therefore said to them,
"Most certainly, I tell you,
it wasn't Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven,
but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
and another related one
Joh 6:38
For I have come down from heaven,
not to do my own will,
but the will of him who sent me.
I never realized how often he points to God.
I mean I know he always points us toward God,
but he almost seems to be saying
that even though he is the savior
and is from God
and is a ultimately most special guy the world has ever seen
the power is still from God.
after reading that last verse,
another thought came into my head
that was kinda squirmy.
Just about EVERYTHING I do is MY own will.
hmmmm....
At the end of the chapter,
he is teaching in the synagogue,
and it gets pretty deep,
and this time I know its not just me,
because some fall away from him right then.
He says:
Joh 6:54
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55
For my flesh is food indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me,
and I in him.
Joh 6:57
As the living Father sent me,
and I live because of the Father;
so he who feeds on me,
he will also live because of me.
after some "murmering",
Jesus announces that some of his disciples don't believe,
and
Joh 6:66
At this, many of his disciples went back,
and walked no more with him.
weird, that verse is 6:66, huh?
Well, I am trying to reconcile
my early Catholic memories of communion
with what I have been learning recently.
but it's hard.
Is there a difference between "breaking bread" in his name,
and eating his flesh?
Are these just expressions?
I think I would be murmering too,
but I sure wouldn't want to be one of those
who "walked no more with him".
well, this chapter was kind of a bust for me.
This might be one of those times
that I should seek some teachin'
from people who know more than I.
I'm off to the commentaries....
.