Sunday is coming! “What if it’s true?” John 6:51-58

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true true food and my blood is true drink.” (John 6:54-55)

The promise sounds a bit too good to be true. The practice sounds more than just a little disgusting. Jesus calls us to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Gross. Weird. Abnormal.

Here are a few common explanations:

–Perhaps it is some weird cult that believes in human sacrifice… the Romans thought that – so they persecuted the early Christians for it to eradicate what they thought was their cannibalism. (They were not too fond of Christians calling Jesus ‘Lord’ either – a title reserved for Caesar.)

-It must just be a metaphor. The word ‘is’ must not mean ‘is’ but mean ‘is like.’ That sounds more palatable… Some of the early Protestants believed and taught a much easier to ‘chew on’ doctrine (pun intended) that bread and wine somehow only “represent” Christ’s body and blood or that somehow we receive them only spiritually. Other Christians push back and say, “Wait a minute! the word ‘is’ means ‘is’ and if Jesus said ‘is,’ then it ‘is’ what Jesus says it ‘is’ (or something close to that – just ask Martin Luther at Marburg in 1529). The church is still deeply divided in understanding what is happening when we share the holy meal of Jesus (a.k.a. The Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Altar, Eucharist).

–Maybe these words are not about the holy meal of Jesus at all, but about the relationship Jesus calls us into instead. That certainly would be a way to get around how disturbing John 6 is, especially when Jesus says, “Whoever eats me will live because of me” (John 6:57).

However…

What if – Jesus actually meant what he said?

What if – when Jesus said, “eat my flesh,” he was telling us exactly what he was calling us to do; to give us exactly what he has promised?

What if – when we gather around the altar today; when the bread is broken and the wine is poured, it ‘is’ exactly what Jesus says it ‘is’ – ‘his true body and blood give for us Christians to eat and to drink?’

What if – even though this story comes after the feeding of the five thousand, and the audience in the narrative were practicing first century Jews who were both offended and grossed out by Jesus words (as any normal person should be) – this story is really told for the church (then as much as now); to wrestle with and experience; to invite and proclaim, to practice and believe; as Christ reigns supreme not only over the cosmos but ‘for you’ in a real, tangible, personal and communal way in the eating and the drinking?

What then?

Perhaps we need fewer explanations and more invitations into the mystery in which Jesus proclaims. The eternal awaits, right now. Jesus is offering himself for you. Come and eat.

PGS

http://2baldpastors.com/sunday-is-coming-what-if-it-is-true-john-651-58/

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“No shoddy merchandise” a Bread of Life sermon on John 6:35-51

8/12/2018

John 6:31-51
“No shoddy merchandise”

St. Paul Lutheran Church
Old Saybrook, CT

2 Bald Pastors / Season 3, Episode 3: John 6:35-51

http://2baldpastors.com/3-3/

Sunday is Coming! “Approaching Jesus with our hunger and longing” John 6:35, 41-51

“They began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’” (John 6:41)

‘We are beggars, this is true.’

This statement is attributed to Martin Luther as his last words from his death bed. It should be noted this statement is not meant as a slight to those who are in need, but is rather a reminder that we are to approach Jesus as if we have nothing to bring other our than our longing for him. As people of faith we are not to rely on our own personal strength, understanding or efforts, but instead depend upon the grace, mercy and love of God who gives us life, sustenance, forgiveness and salvation.

In a world that is built and personal achievement and often defines people by what they do (or fail to do); it is good for us to approach God with our utmost humility as we bring our deepest needs and longings.

How can we come as ‘beggars’ to God – trusting we will be fed and nourished?

One way is prayer. Jesus assures us that our prayers will be heard (Matt 6:5-15; Matt 7:7-12; 1 John 5:14-15).

Another way to approach God with our need to be fed is in the heavenly meal of Jesus we know the Sacrament of the Altar, the Eucharist, Holy Communion, and the Lord’s Supper.

How can this be?

A small piece of bread and a tiny sip (or dip) of wine hardly seems like a significant way to fill our deepest longings, yet each time we come to receive the means of grace we receive a true treasure – Jesus, “the bread of life” (John 6:35).

One can debate whether or not John 6 is a direct link to this heavenly meal shared among us but the dynamics between the people in this passage asking, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Jospeh, whose mother and father we know?’” (John 6:42) seems somewhat similar to our own question “How can eating and drinking do such great things?” (Luther’s Small Catechism – see below).

The people in the crowd seem to be asking (just as we do), “Does God really meet us in ordinary things, like a man from a small town in Galilee, or simple thing like bread and wine?”

The resounding answer Jesus gives is, “Yes, that is exactly where I meet you. Come, eat and be filled.”

Jesus meets us in ordinary things, with an extraordinary promise of the eternal at work among us. “I am the living bread from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).

As we will continue to see throughout John 6, this promise is (to use a bad pun) a tough word to swallow, yet all that is required of us is to come hungry, ‘beggars’ that we are, with outstretched hands and longing hearts to be fed by the Eternal One.

Come ‘beggar,’ come.

Eat, drink, and meet the Christ who will lead you to eternal life. And pray. Jesus will meet you there too.

-When has God met you in your deepest needs and hungers?

-What longings do you still have?

-Where could you meet others still longing to meet him?

PGS

—

From Luther’s Small Catechism:

“How can eating and drinking do such great things?

Eating and drinking certainly do not do it, but the words ‘given for you’ and ‘shed for you for the forgiveness of sin.’ These words, when accompanied by eating and drinking, are the essential thing in the sacrament, and whoever believes these words has what they declare and state, namely, ‘forgiveness of sin.’” (Martin Luther, “Small Catechism” [1529], Evangelical Lutheran Worship. [Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2006], 1166).

2 Bald Pastors / Season 3, Episode 2: Faith Questions

http://2baldpastors.com/s3e2/

Sunday is Coming! “Focus on the Bread, not on the bread” (John 6:24-35)

“‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that leads to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’” (John 6:27-28)

There is an old proverb that says, “Give a child to fish; feed them for a day. Teach a child to fish, feed them for a lifetime.”

The feeding of the 5000 was such a powerful moment, that after people experienced it, they hoped for another sign, and the guy who fed them with such abundance. To put it simply: the people wanted more bread. They were fed for a day, and want to be fed another day.

Jesus’ response to them is so interesting, because he is not just interested in feeding people for a day or even for a lifetime – but to offer a Living Bread that leads to eternal life…himself!

Jesus claims: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Yet the people are still focused on the meal they ate – recalling the story of the people eating manna in the wilderness in the time of the Exodus. Jesus reminds them it is not the bread that is the important part of the story but that it was sent from God, just as he is sent from God.

Like them, too often we miss the point.

The purpose of the signs Jesus give us is to point us toward who Jesus is as the One who is sent. Too often we focus on the bread we hunger for; only to miss the Bread of Life present with us that will satisfy all our longings.

We see this oversight at work all the time in our churches. Traditions, programs, furniture, and wallpaper become not the means which point us toward Jesus but instead become the end of our focus and devotion. While that might sound absurd, consider how many conversations you’ve had about the ‘good old days’ or what it might take to ‘save the church.’ Then ask yourself, ‘Are these longings really about seeking Jesus or are they about preserving the means we have used in the past to see Jesus?’ Or to put it another way: ‘Are our expressions of faith really about the bread that perishes or the Bread of Life that is eternal?’

The crowd asks, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ (John 6:28).

Is our discipleship about practice or is it about the focus of our practice?

When we focus our hearts, minds, bodies and souls to seek Jesus in the midst of whatever it is we are doing or experiencing, we are more open to not only receive the bread that will feed us for a day, but developing the skills and relationships that that will keep us fed for a lifetime. Keeping our focus on Christ reveals his grace that points us towards the eternal, here in our eating and drinking.

– Where in your life are you focused on bread rather than the Bread of Life?

– How might the Bread of Life re-order your focus in the way you live now?

– What do you see?

PGS

http://2baldpastors.com/sunday-is-coming-focus-on-the-bread-not-the-bread-john-624-35/

“This Changes Everything!” 2018 ELCA YOUTH GATHERING PRESENTATION

7/22/2018

Mark 6:30-34
Ephesians 2:1-22

“THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!”

St. Paul, Trinity, and Bethesda Youth

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Old Saybrook, CT
Trinity Lutheran Church, Centerbrook, CT
Bethesda Lutheran Church, New Haven, CT