Session 5: Q & O

Questions and Observations from Our Time Together

In my notes on Mark 6, I noted that the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:30-44 employs the four fold construction common to the celebration of Holy Communion.  The bread is taken, blessed, broken, and given.  I remarked that I believe this four fold structure (taken, blessed, broken, given) is way to understand the life of Christ as well as the life of those who follow Christ.  Let me share a bit more about what I mean.

The structure of taken, blessed*, broken, given*, occurs repeatedly throughout the gospels:

• Matthew 14:13-21
• Matthew 26:26-28
• Mark 6:30-44
• Mark 8:1-10
• Mark 14:22-24
• Luke 9:12-17
• Luke 22:17-20
• Luke 24:28-32

*In some of the stories "blessed" is spoken of as "given thanks for" and words such as "shared" or "distributed" are used for "given".

"Behold what you are. Become what you receive."

Taken - To be taken is to be recognized, embraced, and chosen.  This is most poignantly seen in Jesus life at his baptism.  When he emerges from the waters the various gospel traditions each speak of voice that marks him as the beloved.  "You are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased," Mark 1:11.  The scriptures affirm with conviction that in Christ we too are the beloved daughters and sons of God (1 Thessalonians 1:4, 1 John 3:2).  To be chosen is not something we earn but a gift of grace bestowed upon.  Being chosen by God does not follow exclusionary nature often seen in the world (ie if one is chosen that means others are not chosen).  Instead, when we open ourselves up to the idea that we are beloved by God, that we have a unique role to play in God's story, that we are chosen to live into the divine mystery, it opens the eyes of our soul to see the chosenness in others.  When we dare to see ourselves as taken by God, we can see that none are abandoned.  We are taken/chosen, in order that we might be blessed.

Blessed - To be blessed is to have words of life spoken over you and through you.  Again, in the baptism story we see blessing spoken over Christ.  We see it again throughout his ministry as he spoke words of life over others and as the divine spoke words of life over him (eg the transfiguration in Matthew 17:5, "This is my son the beloved, in him I am well pleased.  Listen to him" ).  We too are blessed by gifts in order that we might be a blessing.  The scriptures speak of spiritual gifts, of opportunities for good works prepared for us, of words of life and healing spoken over us.  Through creation, the scriptures, through others, and any number of ways God affirms the beauty, strength, and good that he created within us.  By these gifts we are blessed with a role to play in the bringing to life the divine dream for creation.  Yet, our blessedness and our blessing though is inextricably tied to our brokenness.

Broken - To be broken is be opened up.  Because Jesus spoke words of life and healing, because he challenged the systems and ways that lead to death and separation, Jesus was broken.  On the night of his betrayal, in the wee hours of his arrest and torture, in his crucifixion, he is broken in spirit and in body.  Even before the gruesome events of Good Friday we see evidence of his heart breaking for creation (eg Luke 7 & 13).  We too know brokenness; broken relationships, broken dreams, broken bodies, broken lives.  All of us have experienced brokenness in one fashion or another.  The reality of life is that sometimes circumstances, sometimes compassion, sometimes failure or success has a way of breaking our hearts and minds open.  We live with our brokenness by owning it and by placing it under the light of our blessing.  Through this our brokenness can because a way that our lives our shared.

Given - In speaking about his life in the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit."  The church has long connect Isaiah's prophecy of the Suffering Servant to Christ.  When speaking of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 he says, "by his wounds we are healed."  It is through being broken that Christ, in mystery and in power, is shared and multiplied.  In our own lives, it is by moving through this process of being taken, blessed, and broken that we begin to shed our insecurity, our fear, our self-centeredness and are empowered to give of ourselves.  The spirit of God does the miraculous when we live and speak from that place of authenticity that only comes from vulnerability.  Our stories of being taken, blessed, and broken can be shared to be inspiration for others and help them to see their takeness/chosenness (and so begins the cycle again).

Luke 24 shares a story of disciples wandering in bewilderment trying to figure out what to make of the Jesus death and the wild stories circulating of how his body vanished from the tomb.  It says that as they were walking along the road a stranger came alongside of them.  The stranger asked about their conversation and they shared with him about the death of Jesus.  The stranger proceeded to tell them about the prophets and how this person of Jesus fit perfectly with the message of the prophets.  They were enthralled.  When they reached their home they invited the stranger to stay for a meal.  They gathered around the table and there it says the stranger took bread, blessed it, broken and gave it to them.  In that instant they recognized that the stranger was in fact Jesus.  I am convinced that when we live the life of the beloved, when we are taken, blessed, broken, and given then others will see Christ in us.

The late teacher Henri Nouwen wrote of this in his book, Life of the Beloved.  This quote from the book summarizes the idea beautifully.

“To identify the movements of the Spirit in our lives, I have found it helpful to use for words: taken, blessed, broken and given. These words summarize my life as a priest because each day, when I come together around the table with members of my community, I take bread, bless it, break it and give it. These words also summarize my life as a Christian, because, as a Christian, I am called to become bread for the world: bread that is taken, blessed, broken and given. Most importantly, however, they summarize my life as a human being because in every moment of my life somewhere, somehow the taking, the blessings, the breaking and the giving are happening.” - Henri Nouwen

If you're interested, perhaps I can share with you my experience of living in China and how I see that time in my life through this structure of being taken, blessed, broken, and given.

Marcus Borg

Finally, last night Marcus Borg's book, The Heart of Christianity, was lifted up.  I think it's a great read and I would also highly recommend his final book, Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most.  For me, this final book communicated what I heard so often from him in person, his theology through the lens of a pastoral heart.

I also think the book he co-wrote with NT Wright The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, is very interesting as both Borg and Wright studied under the same teacher and came to differing conclusions as to the Historical Jesus.  It's illuminating to hear their differences.  Oh and fun fact, Marcus Borg was a prominent member of the Jesus Seminar.