John 6:56-62

“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’” vs. 60

In John’s gospel Jesus frequently says things that his disciple found difficult to accept. When he spoke in figurative terms they almost always took him literally, and occasionally it seems as though he’s deliberately trying to be obscure. His lengthy teaching regarding himself as the Bread of Life is one of those times, and finally it seems, many of his disciples gave up. Sometimes people in our age will express their regret at not having been able to hear Jesus speak in person. But chances are we wouldn’t have done any better than those who were there. There’s just something tough about really “getting” Jesus. Often we can’t even understand what our pastors are talking about in their sermons, even when they dumb it down for us. We all tend to be such literalists, and Jesus was all about mystery and the unseen ways God brings life to our spirits. Sometimes the best we can do is open up our hearts and soak in the word, trusting that the Spirit will use the words to enrich and restore us. The point is not in understanding the gospel, that’s far too cerebral. But it is as we receive the Word that it becomes enfleshed in us, and we become one with Christ. 

Thought for the Day: How has the Word changed me?