Guerrilla Eucharist

Read John 6:24-35

There is an old piece of Jewish humour that tells of a man who had dinner at a restaurant where he ordered the soup of the day. It came with two slices of bread. After his meal the owner of the restaurant came and enquired about his meal. “Lovely,” said the man, “But I would have preferred more bread.”

The next day, the man came back to the restaurant and the owner, recognising this strange patron, made sure that when the man ordered the soup of the day, he had four slices of bread next to his soup. When he checked in with the man at the end of his meal, the man replied, “Lovely as always but, again, not enough bread.”

The owner was perplexed but determined to satisfy his customer, so when the man returned the following day he was prepared. He had asked the bakery to bake two special loaves of bread and when the man ordered the soup of the day, it was placed before him with these two fresh loaves on either side of the bowl. He demolished the lot. The owner approached, confident he had finally done his patron proud. He asked after the man’s meal.

“Lovely,” came the reply, “But I see you have gone back to giving me two pieces of bread.”

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I like the “I am” sayings in John’s story of Jesus for their rich symbolic depth. But I like the John 6 saying most of all because it is Jesus at his most Buddhist. His conversation with the weary seekers who have followed him all over Galilee reminds me of a Buddhist master at his most oblique. Jesus offers smoke and mirrors for their concrete questions.

In Buddhism there is a concept called Tanha, which translated literally means thirst. Its technical usage in Buddhism can mean desire, craving, wanting, longing, yearning, hunger, appetite and so on. The second of the Four Noble Truths describes Tanha as the origin of all suffering. As we seek to fulfil our desires we realise that all satisfaction is impermanent and therefore cannot really satisfy. We may become addicted to transient satisfiers or cynical and jaded, even frustrated, angry and resentful - maybe even murderous.

The third Noble Truth describes the path out of suffering which is to seek that which is permanent. This comes through meditation by which we are enabled to see the permanent things in life.

Jesus says: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” Very Buddhist…

In the play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, we are introduced to the power of Tanha to destroy. The main character, Blanche DuBois, has a nervous breakdown as a result of her infatuation with her sister’s husband. Blanche travels on a streetcar (tram) called “Desire” in order to get to Stella’s house and this streetcar becomes a symbol of the force that leads to her destruction. Just as her streetcar journey is ultimately doomed, so is her own desire.

It is worth dwelling on that symbol. Desire gives us life and movement. It propels us into new places, friendships, adventures and commitments. All life has desire. Without it, we cease to be alive. And yet, if not held in check, it becomes as destructive as a run-away vehicle, taking us over the edge into our destruction. How closely these three go together: Desire, Life and Death.

Be this as it may, it still seems strange that Jesus replies in the way he does to the faithful who travel so far to be with him. These are poor people, whose last hope is this strange man who listens to their problems and often grants real reversal to their pain and oppression. No doubt they are hungry after chasing all over the countryside for him, hence their question (almost accusation).

So how is it that Jesus be so fuzzy now? (Remember the previous story was the feeding of the 5000) More to the point, how can Jesus be so callous as to suggest that he is the bread these people need in the face of their poverty, when they beg him to use his power to reverse their plight?

But then we should also ask, how can we, who follow Jesus down the generations, hold aloft a morsel of bread in the face of global hunger and proclaim it as this world’s salvation?

“I am the Bread of Life.” Indeed! What arrogance!

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Satisfaction is not guaranteed. In fact the reverse is guaranteed. Even if all the hunger in the world were satisfied, it would not be enough, we would want more…

This is not to say we shouldn’t fight poverty, but we will not succeed if we think we can solve global poverty by only feeding hungry people. We need to address the cause of hunger - the cause of poverty - and that is greed: the insatiable desire for more…

And so in the face of global hunger a morsel is the answer. You will be satisfied when you control your desires, rather than they control you. It is by disciplining our cravings that we approach the mystery of God and consequently, the possibility of righting the world’s injustice. The ultimate answer to world hunger is not in providing food, but in curtailing greed.

So the church should be teaching the rich to fast, and teaching the poor to speak up about the fast they are forced to endure. The poor who are the majority in almost every country of the world need to be shown the power of that morsel. Imagine the poor churches of our country celebrating communion with those tiny wafers in front of the opulence of Parliament, or shopping centres where the wealthy wallow in a glut of consumerism. Imagine them wearing filthy rags and parcelling out those tiny sips of wine, while all around them in the busy intersection luxury vehicles pass by brimming with suits. How about a communion service on pension day at the welfare office, where the bread is replaced by the slip of paper each pensioner signs to receive his or her measly allowance? What about a communion service at a fine restaurant where the celebrants ask for the waiters to bring them wafers instead of the main course? Maybe you have an idea. Rise up and spread the Word…