It’s A Good Question (A Good Friday Riff)

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The old, “Is Jesus talking about cannibalism?” question. It’s crazy talk. It really is. So I find it rather disingenuous and judgy to come down hard on those who couldn’t really swallow what Jesus was saying. (Pun intended).

We have the benefit of hindsight. We have the story of the Last Supper. We have been handed down the practice of the Passover meal transformed into the Eucharist. We are mostly inoculated to the shock of the flesh-blood metaphor.

I like to think that many of those who were initially freaked out by Jesus’ “eat my flesh and drink my blood” business eventually came around. That what at first felt like too much, one day became all they craved. That what at first came out as “I just can’t go there” transformed into “I want to go there.”

I like to think this because it gives me hope for myself. Jesus said seemingly crazy things back then; he still says seemingly crazy things today. Maybe he’s not as surprised by my responses as I sometimes am by him.

Rodger Otero

I'm a husband-father-musician-pastor trying to make a decent contribution to the world. California is the Motherland, North Carolina has my heart, Georgia is Home. These are mostly my riffs on formation, leadership, and being fully human.

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