Current Readings: Allusion and Meaning in John 6`

At the moment I'm reading Susan Hylen, Allusion and Meaning in John 6 (BZNW 137; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2005). John 6 is a juicy little passages, one of the most controversial discourses in John, the manna, the Jewish scriptures, and esp. the "eat my flesh" thing. I've never quite been able to get into anthropophagi so I'll happily side with Zwingli on this one (did ya hear that Jim West!). I've always thought that Luther's consubstantiation sounds alot like transubstantiation by another name.

Susan (the sheila on the right) teaches NT Interpretation at Vanderbilt (so we can safely assume that she's not an evangelical). After running a marathon with the historical Jesus, going toe-to-toe in the ring for 8 rounds with Paul, and doing occasional sprint-work with the Gospel of Mark, I love to sit by the pool with John and relax. This should be a good read. Here's the blurb:

Many interpreters read John 6 as a contrast between Jesus and Judaism: Jesus repudiates Moses and manna and offers himself as an alternative. In contrast, this monograph argues that John 6 places elements of the Exodus story in a positive and constructive relationship to Jesus. This reading leads to an understanding of John as an interpreter of Exodus who, like other contemporary Jewish interpreters, sees current experiences in light of the Exodus story. This approach to John offers new possibilities for assessing the gospel's relationship to Jewish scripture, its dualism, and its metaphorical language.