we will be together

Friday August 28th, John 6: 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. John’s Gospel was written to a group that largely consisted of Gnostics who believed in the dualistic nature of humanity, with the pre-existent spirit living within the earthly body. You could call them first century Mormons. For them, the Spirit was good, and the body, or sarks, was evil. Jesus’ talk of eating his flesh and drinking his blood would have been a major offense to them. It most likely turned their stomach. To any Jews listening, this would be a major offense to all of the purity laws they felt were handed down by God. Here John is bringing the dualistic aspect of Spirit and Body together. It is not a matter of escaping the evil of this world in some spiritual journey, but rather, living in and loving this world and those who live in it as brothers and sisters in Christ. That too turns the stomach of some. But in the end, God will prevail; we will be together, brothers and sisters in the image of God. In the end, what will really turn our stomach is how many times in this life we lived the antithesis of that calling.