To skip over the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel is to leave big holes in our understanding of Jesus–and what he came to do.
All this week, the daily Gospels at Mass have been from John’s Bread of Life discourse, found in chapter 6 of his Gospel. After Jesus mulitiplied the loaves and the fish last Saturday, the crowds chased him around the Sea of Galilee. In the synagogue at Capernaum, he challenges them: They aren’t just seeking signs. They are hungry.
Over the last several days, we have read Christ’s revelation of his identity as the Bread of Life in that synagogue, each day getting more and more intense. Today, we get the the shocking, definitive statement: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you” (John 6:53).
Jesus has repeated himself and doubled down. He has not changed his message for those who might have misunderstood (because they didn’t). He knows they will leave, and he will let them.
“Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him” (John 6:54-56).
Reflecting on the Gospel throughout this week, it became more and more apparent to me why The Chosen disapointed me this season. Don’t worry, you can continue to read without major spoilers.
I will not here attempt to defend The Chosen or explain why I think Catholics can and should watch the show. I have a podcast, Joan’s Take on the Chosen (available on Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc), that I started back in 2021 to give Catholic commentary to episodes (long before the show was known, watched, or discussed by most Catholics!). And while I tend to have a relatively open and sympathetic view to most of the decisions made by the writers and producers, as the seasons have progressed, I’ve grown more and more disappointed.
Perhaps I’ve managed to keep my positive outlook on the show because I haven’t expected it to be what it’s not. It’s not a Catholic exposition of the life of Christ; it’s not a catechism; it’s not a sola Scriptura presentation of the Gospels. It’s a television show, a piece of art, the fruit of prayer and lectio divina, a dramatic “what if.”
I admit that I never expected them to treat John 6. In fact, I rather hoped that they would skip it rather than disappoint me with some odd treatment that did a disservice to the profundity and extremity of Jesus’ words.
And yet… the extremity of Jesus’ words is vital to his mission. Coming off the multiplication of the loaves, the people want to make him a king. Confronted by the reality of his mission, after John 6, they leave him (John 6:66). It’s not unlike Palm Sunday juxtaposed with Good Friday. We want a king… but that one? No thank you.
Instead, Dallas and the writers of The Chosen have merged the feeding of the 5,000 with the feeding of the 4,000, making them one and the same. The crowds that wish to carry him off as king never confront the radical nature of what the miraculous feeding was to represent in that synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus never makes his bold declaration, confusing and uncomfortable.
And so we’re left with a half-story. A Jesus who is making waves, but in a more confusing way. And Judas? John 6 is a turning point for Judas. Judas’ betrayal begins in his heart in John 6 after the revelation of the Eucharist. It culminated after his sacrilegious reception of Holy Communion in the Upper Room. Without John 6, we need to twist the Judas story in order to figure out how he goes from disciple to betrayer.
To skip over the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel is to leave big holes in our understanding of Jesus–and what he came to do.
I want to be clear–this is not a call to boycott the show, nor is it some sort of assertion that the show is dangerous for Catholics. On the contrary, I think there is ample fruit to this endeavor. This will not dissuade me from finishing the series, nor from continuing the podcast. New podcast episodes will resume once the show is available for streaming, where you’ll hear much more of my Catholic commentary on Season 4.
I knew they would skip John 6, and I thought I would be okay with it. Instead, I’m left wanting more. Because the gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood, the source and summit of the Christian life, is too important to skip over.
Image credit: Photo by Sylvain Brison on Unsplash
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