This is a special musical presentation of Good and Simple Gifts sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.
Grace to you and Peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Ellen sent me a sermon that she used a few years ago when we had the Gospel lesson we are using today. She told me to “make it my own”, so here goes.
I suspect that most of you are familiar with Pig-Pen, a major character in the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles Schulz. Constantly followed by a cloud of dirt, Pig-Pen was simply a dust magnet. In fact, Charles Schulz once called Pig-Pen a “human soil bank.” Our son Nate, whom some of you know from the years when he, Laura and the 3 kids attended Faith, was the opposite of Pig-Pen. He didn't enjoy the fun of swilling in the dirt when he and his brother Ben were young. In fact, he’d constantly try to keep clean, often licking his hands (demonstrate) to clean away any dirt on him. It drove us crazy. Finally, Connie found the cure. She made a mud pit in the backyard in Lima one mild day in late February when he was 5 ½. She announced that “we’re going to play in the mud.” (show the two slides) That took care of the keeping clean problem.
Pig-Pen and my son came to mind as I studied today’s gospel lesson. The gospel writer tells of this argument between Jesus and the Pharisees, an argument about washing hands before eating. And, quite frankly, I think I probably would have sided with the Pharisees. You see, I wanted my kids to have clean hands when they came to the table for dinner. And now, the same thing for the grandkids. I want to have clean hands when I eat dinner. If I am eating out, or in today’s Covid situation, picking up food to take home, I want the people who are making my food and serving me to have clean hands. In fact, with Covid still a problem and the flu season just around the corner, many of us often use hand sanitizers and wash our hands to keep from passing germs as we try to prevent the spread of disease. Having clean hands is just good hygiene.
Today’s gospel reading tells us the Pharisees confronted Jesus, asking why his disciples ate with defiled, dirty hands. Now, truthfully, the hand washing ritual, part of a purity code system, probably had some roots in maintaining cleanliness and probably did exist for some good reasons. However, for the Pharisees, it had become a required religious ritual, one that was much more important than the inner attitude of the heart. Having reduced religion to “doing the right thing” and carefully following established rules, these ritual specialists seemed to find strict enforcement of purity codes more important than having one’s heart in the right place. With their arduous adherence to purity codes, they created sharp social boundaries which, in turn, became a means of excluding people they considered dirty and contaminated. While the Pharisees washed and maintained clean hands, they simply did not have clean hearts. They suffered from a form of heart disease where they had lost touch with the very heart of God.
So, Jesus begins addressing the nature of people’s hearts – the Pharisees, the disciples and ours. Jesus knows that, for the Pharisees, observance of ritual, tradition and, quite frankly, the way they had always done things, had become more important than compassion and love. Jesus responds by quoting the prophet Isaiah. Listen to the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus’ response in The Message.
Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right about frauds like you, hit the
bull’s-eye in fact:
‘These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they are worshiping me,
but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
For teaching whatever suits their fancy,
Ditching God’s command
And taking up the latest fads.’”
Now, I have to say that rituals are important in our lives and in the life of the faith community. And, Jesus is not telling anyone to do away with ritual and tradition. I make the bed every day, I try to use our elliptical machine regularly, I vacuum the floors when needed. Connie says that’s not her thing, by the way. However, there needs to be a balance in regard to ritual and a life of faith. Yet, sometimes I do wonder if we also suffer from the same form of heart disease. Do we suffer from this kind of heart disease when our rituals become antiseptic and hollow, when they are not vehicles of the love and grace of God? Do we suffer from this kind of heart disease when we create social boundaries within our culture and divorce ourselves from the outcasts of society, from issues of the poor, the homeless and the forgotten? The “Others?”
Theologian, Daniel Clendenin, in his weekly blog asks this question:
“….What “outcasts” do I sanctimoniously spurn as impure, unclean, dirty, contaminated, and, in my mind, far from God? The mentally ill, people who have married four or five times, wealthy executives, welfare recipients, people who hold conservative political opinions, people who hold liberal political opinions….. How have I distorted the self-sacrificing, egalitarian love of God into self-serving, exclusionary elitism? What boundaries do I wrongly build or might I bravely shatter?”
Following Jesus’ response to the Pharisees, he does something quite interesting. He intentionally begins addressing the disciples, and that includes you and me. Jesus begins to take us to a much deeper place by teaching even more about the human heart which, by the way, in the Bible is a metaphor for one’s whole being, for the total person. He begins to explain his teaching about the human heart and the problem of evil. Again, to quote Eugene Peterson’s translation in The Message, Jesus says, “It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life.” Jesus describes this heart disease as something that comes from within. He is talking about the stuff that originates in the human heart. Jesus says it is not what we touch and what goes into us that makes us unclean. Instead, it is what is deep in our hearts and then comes out of our mouths through the harmful and hurtful things we say, and through the harmful actions we take - this is what is unclean. This is the stuff that pollutes, the stuff that ruins relationships and destroys community.
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were all about addressing the human heart, the totality of our beings. And, the gospel good news is that Jesus turns the purity code system upside down and inside out when he teaches about a radically new social vision. Instead of hearts that pollute, Jesus announces that, through him, our hearts are transformed. Through Jesus’ life, ministry and death, he introduces a radical alternative to community. He proclaimed his vision of a new community where the heart is the source of compassion - compassion for all – even those we don’t like and those we might consider dirty and unclean. Through this vision of a new community, there is not a focus on external compliance to purity codes. No, the focus is on an internal compassion for all. And, Jesus calls us to live into this vision of community – one that is not shaped by rules of purity, but by the gift of compassion. (Marcus Borg)
In conclusion, as I think about the world today, I have to wonder if we who make up the body of Christ, have too often been shaped by the rules and ideas of purity. Isn’t it interesting that, in the person of Jesus, God intentionally enters into the depth of our darkness and the dirt of our lives, to love us as we are and to change us from within by changing our hearts? Just maybe, as we love others and welcome them into community, we need to be less focused on cleanliness and be a bit more willing to get our hands dirty.
This is a special musical presentation of Bread of the World sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 22, 2021
Faith, Okemos
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18, Psalm 34:15-22, Ephesians 6:10-20, John 6:56-69
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed.
Psalm 34:18
Who of us who has seen this week the pictures of those on the tarmac, some even clinging to a departing plane at the airport in Kabul, who of us has not felt the great anguish of those desperate to flee their Afghan homeland? Who of us who witnessed the tears of the Haitian people following the devastating earthquake compounded by torrents of rain from tropical storm Grace, who of us has not wondered how it could be any worse for a country still scarred by the earthquake of 2010 in which thousands died and by the recent assassination of its president? And who of us who week after week see the grieving faces of those whose homes and even whole towns have been reduced to ashes and naked chimneys and blackened remnants of cars and trucks from the still raging fires in California and the Pacific Northwest, who of us cannot but wonder if our whole world is edging toward irreparable brokenness and unyielding darkness?
But all this week as I read and re-read the scriptures for today, the words of the psalmist refused to be extinguished:
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed.
We pray this morning for the Afghan people, especially for the women and children, especially for all who supported the Allied forces over these past 20 years, We pray that they will know that God, whom most in Afghanistan name Allah, whom we as Christians know most intimately in Jesus, is near them is their great desperation. We pray this morning for the people of Haiti, clearly overwhelmed and fragile and afraid, that they, even now, will know our suffering God is fully immersed in all the tragic chaos of our fallen world, that God in Christ is near them. And we pray for individuals and families in or near towns like Grizzly Flats, California that they will know that the Lord’s own tears are mingled with their tears.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirits are crushed.
And then I read and re-read these opening words in the text from the letter to the Ephesians:
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
I thought not only about the plight of the most vulnerable in Afghanistan and Haiti and California, but also about us….because the devastation and darkness in all those places is highly transmissible, not unlike the delta variant of Covid-19. Even if we are not directly in the path of brutal soldiers or in the midst of flooded or crushed or burned homes and cities, on our own the immune systems of our souls cannot withstand “the cosmic powers of this present darkness.”
I think now about the questions asked of us or of our parents and sponsors when we were baptized:
Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?
Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?
To which we or our parents and godparents/sponsors answered: I renounce them.
This renunciation is the first step we would wisely take each day to keep at bay the corrosive, infectious power of the devil, the power of death and darkness, the power of despair. It is the first step we would wisely take each morning, akin to taking a tablet of vitamin C or a zinc pill, to strengthen our immunity to the wiles of the devil, to what this scripture calls “the spiritual forces of evil…” We would ask ourselves each morning: Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? And we would answer: I renounce them.
But then early in the day we’re also implored to take a second step, to get dressed. In this letter, attributed to Paul to the church in Ephesus, are these words:
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
What follows are metaphorically what we are to wear: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness (i.e. mustering the heart and will to both boldly and gently do what is loving and just); to put on shoes enabling us to go to our neighbors with the gospel of peace (of healing and reconciliation); to take up the shield of faith “to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” And lastly we are to put on the helmet of salvation (the mental awareness that in this moment, in this day, God in Christ is reaching out to save me and the whole world), and finally, take into our souls the sword of the Spirit with words from God like “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power,” words that can cut through the paralyzing fears which would cause us to quickly stumble and fall.
As it was in the time of the early church when these words about the armor of God were first written, when until the year 313 it was illegal to be a Christian in the Roman empire, so today, though it may or may not be illegal for us to give our ultimate allegiance to Christ, it is still a serious struggle, a battle we can’t fight alone to speak truth in the face of so much misinformation. It is still a struggle to patiently and lovingly persevere in actively giving of ourselves and our resources to our neighbors both here in mid-Michigan and wherever in the world our neighbors suffer and prematurely die. No less than for the early church, we must struggle mightily and bravely today to be Christians, to authentically live the gospel of sacrifice and suffering for others, to stand up for them, to die to our self-centeredness and then to rise up by the power of the Spirit. Wearing the armor of God, we rise up each day with Jesus at our side, giving ourselves once more for all who are suffering and dying.
Here is the gospel: we have this armor, perfectly fitted for each of us, perfectly fitted for congregations like Faith. We have this armor of God, from God, to do battle against the wiles of the devil, against the spiritual forces of evil.
And we have the gift of prayer:
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…
With this gift of prayer we think about and pray in the Spirit of Christ this morning for President Biden presently under considerable fire for not foreseeing and planning for an earlier exodus from Afghanistan for those especially endangered by the sweeping takeover of the Taliban. We pray that each day he may be given wisdom and courage. We pray that he would put on the whole armor of God.
We pray in the Spirit this morning for the staff of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, for the leaders and volunteers of Lutheran Disaster Response, for Samaritas, and for all others who are called to the hard, complicated, arduous work that lies ahead in bringing comfort and hope to those who are brokenhearted, whose spirits have been crushed.
In the guiding, powerful, comforting Spirit of God ever stirring within us, let us also pray for ourselves that we too might be bold in living and sharing the mystery of the gospel. With grateful hearts for this gospel, for this good news that Jesus through his suffering and dying and rising truly equips us with exactly the armor we need to engage in daily battle against the wiles of the devil, against the forces of evil, against “this present darkness,” may we know and trust in our hearts and minds that our Lord is near to us and to all who are brokenhearted. May we know and trust that our Lord wills to save all whose spirits are crushed.
Amen.
This is a special musical presentation of They Shall Soar Like Eagles sung by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.
When my kids were young and I was home with them
there was a period of time when I baked all of our bread
Yeast bread is not difficult to make
It requires just a few staple ingredients
But it does take time
It is a process that requires revisiting the dough many times
It is a process that cannot be rushed
It is a process that is dependent upon the temperature of the room
It is a process that is physical
When beginning yeast bread, the yeast must be activated
Yeast is an incredible thing
If the water is too hot you can kill it,
too cold it will remain dormant
Once the flour and other ingredients are added, the dough must be kneaded
This was always one of my favorite parts of bread making
Really using the muscles in my hands, arms, and shoulders
Massaging the ingredients together into a satiny, firm, dough
Kneading requires strength and purpose
Integrating all of the parts into the dough
Then the dough must rise in a warm place, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit
It has to sit, rest, and grow in this place
Then, for most recipes, you punch the dough down . . .
All of that rising and growth,
Was gone in an instant with a few pounds of my fist
But the yeast is incredible
It raises the dough once again, growing and rising
When the dough is finally ready to bake, there is no smell quite like fresh baked bread
The warm, grainy smell filled my nostrils, bringing me warmth, fullness and satisfaction
Jesus continues his discourse on the bread of life in the Gospel of John this week
We are quite familiar with this use of words
Words like “eat my flesh” and “drink my blood” are common in Christian communities as we regularly celebrate the Lord’s Supper
But to these people, these words were disturbing
The Jewish people abided by strict dietary codes
These words from Jesus would sound abhorrent
Yet we know that Jesus doesn’t often speak literally
He most often speaks in parable and metaphor
So while we hear clear connections to the Lord’s Supper in Jesus’ words today, this Gospel is really a bit more complicated than that
The Greek word that is translated as “eat” can also be interpreted as “chew on”
We often use a similar idiom, “chew on this”
to mean not literally to eat something
but to process it thoughtfully
Interpreting Jesus’ words in this way we hear:
Unless you chew on who I am and how I live
You have no true life within you
Those who really chew on my teaching will have a meaningful life
I will uplift them
I am true
Those who chew on my ways allow me to dwell deep within them
And they dwell deep within me
This indwelling is not only with me and them, but also with God
Because God sent me
So chew on this
And find meaningful life
The people Jesus spoke to were familiar with the process of making bread
Bread is an ordinary thing that they could relate to
Making bread isn’t difficult
But it is a process that requires time
A process that calls you back again and again
A process that invites you to be aware of what’s happening around you
A process that involves your whole self
Chew on this
Dwelling in God and accepting God’s indwelling in us is a process
Like yeast that causes the bread to grow and rise
Indwelling requires warmth and nurture
Indwelling requires rest and patience
Chew on this
Sometimes we get punched down
Deflated
Yet God’s indwelling within us causes us to rise once again
And what about drinking Jesus’ blood?
He instructs the people to drink his blood 4 times within these 7 verses
Bloodlines were a significant and critical life force in ancient times
Bloodlines ensured survival and success
This ideology of ancestry and heritage persists today
Throughout the bible, we hear stories of stress and division over bloodlines
Abraham and Sarah fretted over their inability to produce an heir
Jacob tricked his father, Isaac into blessing him with the family inheritance over his older brother Esau
Newly widowed, Ruth went to great lengths to secure a future for herself and her mother-in-law
Continuing one’s bloodline through heirs was essential to survival
And here Jesus is challenging this ancient foundation of family and society
He declares that his blood is available to all people
His blood brings meaningful life to everyone
This Holy blood runs through the veins of all humankind
Stress and division over bloodline end when we are all one in Jesus’ blood
Everyone is welcome, cared for, and included when we accept unity in Christ
This redefinition of family in Jesus’ blood has special meaning to me
It strips away what I have learned from culture, society –
About who is family to me
This Holy blood has broken open my heart
And persists in flowing throughout my entire being
In a way that leaves me no doubt of the interconnectedness we share with others
In a way that gives me no choice
But to be broken open and shared
By Jesus’ holy definition of family
All together, through flesh and blood,
Jesus is inviting us to embody God,
By living like Jesus
To allow God to fill our flesh and course through our veins
To be united through God
Made whole,
And to receive unimaginable experiences in life and love
We’re given a lot to chew on in today’s Gospel reading
Jesus is challenging and inviting us to grow and change
Jesus is reminding us that Christ abides within us –
and within all others
Jesus knows that living this way is a process, it takes time
It’s difficult to overcome rigid thinking and barriers
that have been perpetuated in society for thousands of years
So, as you go about your week
Chew on this
What process of change is God raising within you?
Feel the pulse of Holy blood coursing through your veins
Embody Jesus the Christ in your everyday life
God is calling you
Rise up
Rise up and follow Jesus
Rise up and unite in God’s Holy blood
Rise up and live fully into this gift
Amen
Sometimes Jesus is so annoying
We are in the midst of the Gospel of John’s discourse on the Bread of Life
It began a couple of weeks ago when Pastor Ellen read about the miracle of the loaves and fish feeding 5,000 people
Everyone is in awe of witnessing this incredible miracle
Jesus has them in a really good place
He captured their attention in a big way
They suspect something incredible is going on
They seek him out, track him down, and really are curious
They engage him, wanting to understand what’s going on
And then he blows it
He rambles on and on for three weeks in the lectionary about being living bread from heaven
I’m with the Jews on this one
They are feeling confused, frustrated, and they begin to complain
“Hey, we know you – we know your mom, we know your dad – what do you mean ‘You came down from heaven’?!”
And then Jesus doubles down on being annoying
First, by telling them not to complain
And then by talking way over their heads about learning from the Father, coming to Jesus, hearing from the Father through Jesus…
Their one assurance,
Very truly
Is that Jesus is the bread of life.
I think that the reading from Ephesians offers us more information that seems actually helpful
We are given instructions that we can apply… like
Speak the truth
Don’t make room for evil
Lift one another up
Be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving
Why didn’t Jesus “very truly” speak more directly like this?
I wonder about the message he’s sending us through this twisted discourse
I see the closest connection between Ephesians and John when I read in Ephesians:
“We are members of one another” and
Give yourself to one another like Christ is given to us
I think Jesus is being annoying on purpose
Because there are no easy answers to the incarnation of Christ in the world
There are no universal solutions to living into God’s presence within YOU
There are no easy answers for the disciples or the Jews –
Or for us –
When we’re asking about who God is and how God works and where God is found
Even after the obvious presence of a miracle of God through the feeding of 5,000
God can’t be pinned down
God is on the move, flowing in and out of everyone, everywhere, always
If we allow God
This whole chapter causes me to think about the Lord’s Supper
I think sometimes we hear the words and do the thing so often that it’s hard to grasp its significance
Every week, and again in just a few minutes we will hear the words:
Our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
The way Jesus talks around things I doubt “do this” is literally get the bread and share it
I wonder if Jesus is inviting us, our very selves
To be taken
Broken open
And given
In remembrance of him
We are taken into Christ through baptism
We are broken open in so many ways
We are given to one another in community
I want to be specific about how I think about being broken open
This isn’t a breaking down of oneself
This isn’t admitting to sinfulness and therefore brokenness
God doesn’t call us to be broken down by the world
No
God invites us to be broken open to the world
God calls us to recognize Godself within our soul
And crack through the layers of ego that have buried Godself so deep inside of us
And break open our true self
Revealing the incarnation of God in US
This sounds beautiful and lovely in theory
But there are no turn by turn directions for being broken and shared
And Jesus doesn’t try to give us directions
He gives us a promise
Because cracking through our outer protective layer to reveal our true self is scary
Being broken and shared feels incredibly vulnerable and can be emotionally painful!
I don’t want to do it!
Jesus promises that if we go for it
Then we will truly live
If we let go
God will be with us so obviously
Life will be more incredible than we imagine!
Sometimes Jesus is so annoying
Especially when everything within my being resists what he’s trying to tell me
Especially when I’m trying to be tough
And smart
And look like I’ve got myself together
I don’t want to be baptized into being broken and shared!
I’d rather be baptized into comfort and wholeness
And this is the miracle God does within us
Like the feeding of the 5,000
When we allow ourselves to be broken open
And shared with one another
God makes us whole
God makes us whole
And them whole
And wholeness is God’s miracle
Sometimes Jesus is so annoying
We’ll get another week of his unclear “very truly” explanations
God is asking us to really sit with this one
Like maybe it’s really important
Like maybe it’s getting to the core of being Christian
It’s so important we’ll spend half of the summer wrestling with it
Jesus doesn’t offer a clear answer for us
I sure don’t have an answer for us
So I pray,
may Jesus the Christ,
allow us to sense the unique gifts God has placed within each one of us.
May that sensing be a sign,
may our wondering be a guide,
may Jesus’ promise be an inspiration,
and may we have the audacity and courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable.
Within that vulnerability may we be broken open,
so that all of our insecurities,
and doubts
held up by our egos,
fall away to reveal God’s incarnation inside us.
May we be bold
in our belief in abundance
to give ourselves to one another in community,
and may we celebrate the wholeness
that this broken and shared living brings.
Amen
I find it interesting the way words change meaning and morph over time. For example, at one time when we used the word text to tell of our Sunday morning gospel, we could count on the fact that people would interpret it as a passage from one of the gospels. However, the meaning of the word text has changed remarkably with the invention of iPhones and droids and the myriad of communication devices we now have available for our use. In fact, the word text has morphed from a noun to a verb as we talk about texting our friends and family members.
Another word that has morphed in meaning over decades is the word consumption. For most of us, consumption refers to consuming food and “stuff.” This word comes from Latin and means “using up” or “wasting.” In fact, at one point in time it became a word used to describe the horrible disease known as tuberculosis, a disease that had no cure, devoured the body and was usually fatal. However, over the past century, the word consumption has morphed and is now a universal term that describes what we purchase and our patterns of purchasing.
I thought about this morphing of the word consumption as I studied today’s gospel passage. Jesus had just miraculously fed a crowd of thousands. Last week we heard that Jesus had blessed a scarce commodity of five loaves and two fish and then, miraculously, there was an abundance of food. In fact, after the people had consumed as much as their bellies could hold, they were amazed to find food leftover. And, that experience made them even more curious and inquisitive about this Jesus.
So, with today’s gospel passage, things start to get more interesting. When the crowd meets Jesus the next day, they want to understand what happened. In response, Jesus does not answer their questions, but makes a statement that questions their motives for seeking him. He is looking at their deeper needs, not just the need to consume food. Perplexed by what has happened, the people simply do not get it. I can almost hear them saying in amazement, “Do it again Jesus, do it again!” Yet, Jesus provides different answers and they become more puzzled. The crowd comes asking about sustenance - about bread - and Jesus answers them with words not about bread that fills their bellies, but words that indicate he is talking about something much more than physical sustenance. In him, there is richness and food that endures and does not get used up!
As I studied this reading, I found myself asking if we can really relate to this story because, for most of us, the reality is that we are not going hungry. Or are we? Is it our hunger, a hunger deep within us that lies behind our insatiable need to consume more and more stuff? Is our addiction to consuming symptomatic of a much deeper problem? And, does the fact that most of us live a life of comfort insulate us from our deeper needs? In fact, has our level of economic comfort protected us from feeling vulnerable, even making us less dependent on God?
We have become people who are trained to be consumers and our economic system is dependent upon our consuming. We are so deeply entrenched in consumption that the mall, Meijer, and Amazon have become the Meccas in our culture. Buying stuff, whether it is food, shoes, clothing, or cars, has become a kind of nourishment for us. It is as though our purchases become a part of us, as if the stuff we buy will give us energy and strength. Consequently, we live with the illusion that life is nourished through purchasing things, stuff. But, after the newness wears off, the stuff we purchase always leaves us wanting more.
Could it just be that the wasting disease of consumption has become an economic and, quite possibly, a spiritual disease within our culture? Could it be we live with the illusion that free competition and a malignant form of capitalism feeds others? It is an illusion because the fact is that self-interested consumption does not bring justice to those who are hungry and those who go without. And, could it possibly be that the waste produced by our insatiable need to consume is not only toxic, but is also consuming us? Just think about what plastic has done to our oceans and the precious forms of life that exist in those waters. Just think about our addiction to fossil fuels and what that addiction is doing to our climate as it threatens the very existence of life on this planet. Is the consumption that is so present in our culture and in our lives devouring us? If our answer to these questions is, “Yes,” then where do we find the cure? Where do we find the antibiotic for this deadly disease?
Jesus said to the crowd, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus invites us to live into an alternative way of being. As we gather around this communion table each Sunday to eat and drink, we are nourished with the very life of God’s son. Though the portions are small, we are nourished with abundance, an abundance of grace and love. And, we are nourished, not by something we consume, but by one who welcomes us with open arms, by one with whom we commune.
Catholic theologian, William T. Cavanaugh, suggests:
The Eucharist tells another story about hunger and consumption. It does not begin with scarcity, but with the one who came that we might have life, and have it abundantly…..The insatiability of human desire is absorbed by the abundance of God’s grace in the gift of the body and blood of Christ…{And,} the consumer of the body and blood of Christ does not remain detached from what he or she consumes, but becomes part of the body. (Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire, p. 94-95).
In Jesus, we become part of the body of Christ and the act of consumption is turned inside out. We who are consumers become consumed by the love and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and we are changed. Nourished by the body and blood of Christ, we are enabled to live that communion of grace everyday of our lives as we enter into the communities where we work, serve and play.
Now, I must say this way of life and being is not always easy. When we live life as members of the body of Christ we take the way of the Cross, a way that means a dying to self, and living for others. And, that way means that the pain of the hungry person, the pain of the world, and even the pain of a broken creation, are all the pain of Christ and therefore, that pain becomes our pain. But, we are fed by the one who not only went to the cross, but went through the cross to resurrection, bringing life and love to this very broken world. And, when we live this communion as one body in Christ, the love of God empowers us to do things like: feed the hungry, care for the sick, care for creation, and yes, care for and love our neighbors as ourselves so much that we do things like wear masks and get vaccinated because we can then protect others. This love of God also empowers us to work for justice and peace, and the very healing of all creation in this hurting, broken world.
Consumption kills and it is deadly, but communion is life giving. In the person of Jesus Christ, God has invaded not only our lives but the life of world. Jesus is the bread of life. And, when the body and blood of Christ is working in us and through us as we daily live compassion and love, God is transforming the world. So, come, be served. Jesus is the host and has spread a table before us. Eat and live into the abundance of God.