“When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?””
John 6:60
This verse comes from a passage in scripture that I have thought about a lot.
There was a time in my life when I was in the middle of enduring tremendous injustice at the hands of a church owned institution. A former student of mine asked me why I even continued with the church. I pointed to this passage as the reason.
The short version is that after Jesus fed the five thousand, He left town only to be followed by the masses. When they approached, He knew that they were not truly seeking Him, but only the food He offered. At that point, Jesus said that to follow Him, they would need to eat His body and drink His blood. The disciples (not just the twelve but the larger group of followers) found this teaching incredibly difficult, and many of them left.
Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked if they were going to leave. Peter answered, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
I am convinced that Jesus is True. He certainly teaches things that are hard. One of those hard things is that we are to emulate Him in His love for the church. I choose to love the church not because it is always good, not because it has never hurt me, but because Christ loves it, and I love Him, and I seek to love what He loves.
Jesus teaches us to eschew power, to love those who seek to harm us, and to see the image of God in those who are undesirable by whatever measure. He teaches a way of living that stands in contrast to every priority the “world” says we should have.
I don’t believe that what was hard about Jesus’ teaching was the idea of cannibalism. I believe that those who heard Him knew he wasn’t calling them to tear apart His body. What was hard was that He was saying that His bread nourished more than the manna God provided in the wilderness. He was saying something that ran counter to the very heart of their culture.
It is easy to follow a faith that emulates our familiar culture, but hard to accept teachings that contradict it.
A Quote to Consider:
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
If you have seen my artwork, you may understand why this quote resonates with me. My work is fairly simplified. Even when pieces are full of particular detail, there is a simplicity that unifies my work.
If you have heard me talk about my work, you know there are many ideas that go into it. The observed simplicity is not a reflection of a lack of conceptual depth. Hopefully, it reflects the aesthetic sophistication and conceptual resolution I bring to the work.
This principle of simplicity is just as true in the life of faith as it is in my work in the art studio. When we have considerable experience and wisdom in our faith. When our faith develops beyond easy platitudes and trite behavior, we begin to see that, amidst all the complexity, there is a profound simplicity.
Traditionally, the Old Testament law is seen as containing 248 positive commands and 365 prohibitions, for a total of 613 commandments. That is a lot of complexity. Yet Jesus said it all boils down to loving God and loving our fellow humans. 613 commands boil down to love. That is the ultimate sophistication.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Your words challenge us, yet they are the words of eternal life. Give us the courage to follow You when the path is hard and the teachings difficult. Teach us to love what You love, and to live in the simplicity of love.
Amen
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