The “duck test” – an old principle – if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck. – What something appears to be must be what it is - If something looks and acts ordinary – then it must be ordinary. It seems like a good approach, and one that is commonly appealed to.
It is also the principle that the crowd is appealing to when they object to Jesus’ claims. The gospel today is a continuation of the dialogue between the crowd and Jesus that we heard the beginning of last week. Jesus claims to have come down from heaven – and he claims that it is not possible to come to the father except through him – and most bizarre – he claims that the bread of life he will give is his own flesh. The crowd is not happy with Jesus.
Looking at the situation – it seems reasonable – Jesus looks like a man – eats like a man – while what he talks about things that seem crazy – he talks like a man – and to top everything off – they know his parents, Mary and Joseph – and as such he must be an ordinary man, even if a bit of a crazy one – he has not come down from heaven, he can’t be the bread of life – or so their logic goes
But this is only true if one looks only at the physical – the “duck test” is limited to the physical appearance – and as such, while it does has its legitimate uses, it is prone to error – As effective as it may seem, many things can be far more than they appear to be. That which looks ordinary maybe far from ordinary. What might be missed if one were to only look at appearances?
A Wedding ring looks like a small band of metal – but it is not just a band of metal – but a sign of the marriage bond between the spouses – I think just about any married couple would be shocked if their wedding ring was called “just a band of metal”
Grandfather’s old watch, if judged by appearance alone, is a tarnished old watch that is not very good at keeping time – but usually people are not using their grandfather’s old watch because it is the best at keeping time - but because it is a sign and link to their grandfather - to reduce the watch to mere appearance is to completely miss what that watch actually is.
The art projects of children are often treasured and put in the prime locations on the kitchen fridge – it is not just because of the quality of the art - but because of who made it – The fact that someone who is loved made it makes it mean more than just the quality of the art.
In a like fashion, we hold all sorts of physical things around because they are more than just their appearance – from family pictures and family heirlooms to old hand-written notes and Christmas ornaments the children made when they were little - The “duck-test” misses this reality, and it is this that the crowd misses about Christ.
Jesus is more than an ordinary man – and he is more than a sign of something greater - He is actually the son of God taken on flesh – and - despite the crowd not understanding how - he has actually come down from heaven – if one does not consider him as the son of God, what he says really does make no sense - it is no wonder that the crowd was grumbling at Jesus – but recognizing who Christ really is, it is possible to approach what he says in new light – looking beyond what seen. We can look to where we receive this bread of life – the body and blood of Christ which he talks about giving us.
This we receive here in the Eucharist - if we apply the “duck test” to the Eucharist, all that is seen is bread and wine – for that is all it appears to be – but if we looking beyond appearances –we find something else - yes the Eucharist starts with bread and wine – but it becomes the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ – It is no longer bread and wine at all - here we can consume the body of Christ – the bread of life which he has provide as he promised.
However, if one limits themselves just to appearance, this is completely missed - The crowd could not understand Jesus on the bread of life – if one continues to read the gospel past what we heard today they would hear of the crowd’s objection to the impossibility of consuming his body and blood.
How much is missed when things are limited to only appearances –the value of all sorts of keep sakes – who Jesus is – what the Eucharist is – and this only scratches the surface - if we assume we understand something just because we know what it appears to be, what are we in danger of missing? The crowd missed Jesus and the Eucharist - Let us not limit ourselves the “duck-test” – but look beyond appearances – for we only can truly see what things are if we are able to see beyond mere appearances.