Bread of Life
Robyn Black • August 18, 2021
John 6:51-58, 15th August 2021
Well, a common question at the moment is ‘how are you going?’. We often ask this question of one another, but it seems to have taken on more significance in COVID times. It’s like it’s full of meaning …how are you REALLY? When people ask me I usually say “Fine. I’m doing OK. Lockdown is boring but I’m OK.”
How are you, is an important question though. Last week Lifeline reported that it had recorded its highest ever number of calls for a single day in its 58 years - 3345 calls to Lifeline in a single day. The journalist reporting on this quoted a neuro psychologist, Susan Rossell, who likened the coronavirus pandemic to an international conflict.
Professor Rossell said, “There are very few pandemics that have lasted this long. So, the comparison to wars, especially wars that last a very long time, is a good one, During the conflict times, so, during the pandemic time, it elevated stress and anxiety, loneliness, confusion, poorer quality of life – all the things that we are seeing at the moment.”
There are many people who are struggling each day. We used to fill our lives with visits to family and friends, going to the gym, going to social groups, volunteering out time, visiting a coffee shop, going shopping, getting a haircut (oh the hairdresser is going to be busy once we’re out of lockdown), going to work…that’s been huge, the number of people forced to take holidays or unpaid leave.
But that’s all been taken away. All the ‘doing’ of life is suspended…and people are left with what? For some people it’s left a yawning hole in their life. There’s nothing to do, and doing life has become strange and unknown.
But there’s a difference between doing life or having life; that’s the issue Jesus is concerned about. That’s the focus of today’s gospel. It is important enough that it has been the subject of the last several Sundays of gospel readings. Each week has brought us closer to the unspoken question behind today’s gospel: Is there life within you?
That’s a hard question and one which many will avoid or ignore. They will turn back and walk away rather than face the question. “They may answer, I’m fine, I’m ok’. But not really answer, is there real life within you? The question pushes us to discover the hunger within us and the life Jesus wants to feed us. That’s what Jesus has been after these last few weeks.
Three weeks ago 5000 hungry people showed up. They were fed with five loaves and two fish. They didn’t understand. They thought it was about loaves and fish. It was really about life and where life comes from. Two weeks ago Jesus challenged us to consider the bread we eat. Is it perishable bread or does it endure to eternal life? Last week Jesus declared himself to be the bread of life, the living bread they came down from heaven.
Today he says, “You’ve gotta eat my flesh. And drink my blood.” This was an interesting week with the reading, because most of the commentaries that I read spoke about Eucharist or Communion…this bread is my body, this wine is my blood.
Now, you know I didn’t grow up in the Salvation Army and I enjoyed communion for all of my worshiping life until I became a Salvo. But as I read this passage I thought, but how could it be about Eucharist or Communion, it wasn’t a ‘thing’ at this point. They hadn’t had the last supper, Jesus hadn’t broken the bread with the disciples. And I thought what might the original hearers have understood.
Well one group of original hearers were the Pharisee and they were horrified. Even you and I would find it pretty icky if someone saying you’re got to drink my blood. But Jewish Law was very particularly against partaking of any blood…it was forbidden by God’s law. For Jewish and Muslim people God’s law is still that way…they are NOT having a slice of black pudding for breakfast (you can look that up latter if you’ve never heard of it).
I’m convinced this was more than just a reference to the future practice of Communion and Eucharist. I think it’s about so much more. This is about the only way we ever have life within us. Jesus is very clear and blunt about it. His flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. Any other diet leaves us empty and hollow, hungry and bereft of life. In verse 53 Jesus says “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.” Those are serious words, ominous words, words about eternal life. But Jesus is talking about quality of life now - a life that is beyond words, fulfilling, beautiful, indescribable.
Most of us spend a fair amount of time, energy, and prayer trying to create and possess the life we want. In spite of our best efforts sometimes we live less than fully alive. Sometimes the outside and inside of who we are don’t match up.
We ask ourselves, “What am I doing with my life?” We wonder if this is all there will ever be. Is this as good as it gets? We lament at what has become of us and our life. Nothing seems to satisfy. We despair at what is and what we think will be. Despite family and friends we find no place in which we really belong.
Those questions and feelings are not so much a judgement on us, but a diagnosis of us. There is, however, treatment for our condition and food for our hunger. The flesh and blood of Jesus are the medicine that saves. One dose, however, is not enough. We need a steady diet of this sacred medicine, this holy food.
Apparently when Jesus said that we were to eat his flesh the word eat means to really “chomp”. Jesus is not talking about some half-hearted nibble on life with Christ. Just nibbling here and there. Reading his word now and then, meditating on his goodness every so often. The Message Version of this verse urges us to bring “a hearty appetite to this eating”.
But there’s the thing that I said last week…we’ve got nothing to lose by surrendering completely to Jesus. Jesus is our medicine and our health. He is our life and the means to the life for which we most deeply hunger. We don’t work for the life we want. We eat for the life we want.
We eat and digest his life, his love, his mercy, his forgiveness, his way of being and seeing, his compassion, his presence, and his relationship with the Father. We eat and drink our way to life. So leave nothing behind. Push nothing to the side. Lick the plate clean…miss nothing of the goodness of Jesus.
When everything else is taken away…we are NOT left with a void, we are NOT left with nothing. We are left with God the Father who loves us, nurtures us, feeds us. We are not alone, we can thrive when all else is gone, we can survive and thrive again after heart ache. But we need to be close to Jesus, receiving the bread of life every day.
Sermons For The Moment
New Year - Matthew 2:13-23
Do not be afraid - Matthew 1:18-21
Luke 2: 4- 15
Luke 1: 26-33
This is a subtitle for your new post
Ruth Chapter 4
Ruth 3
Ruth 2
Commitment from Love, Ruth 1: 1-18
This is an interesting Psalm – another psalm of ascent. We spoke about these Psalms of Ascent a few weeks ago. They were songs the Jewish people sang as they made their way to Jerusalem to go to the temple, through the forest, along the tracks, camping by the roads. And I believe songs like this kept them focussed and kept their spirits up. I can imagine days of walking together, tiring, boring, hot and dusty. And singing some of these Psalms keep them focussed on the faithfulness of God. Much better then eye spy for the kids. Journeys are not all their cracked up to be even if the destination is worth it. As you know, when I was growing up we always holidayed at Bawley Point past Ulladulla, and in those days it was about a 4 hour drive from Sydney. We always left later than we meant to…and the last 20 mins was on a dirt road. One year when I was probably about 4 years old it was dark by the time we got to the dirt road, and half way along the dirt road, was a dodgy wooden bridge over a river. I think part of the bridge had been damaged and we had to wait a bit in the pitch black darkness before we could proceed. Dad was out with a torch ensuring the bridge was safe to drive on and mum and us 4 kids were sitting in the darkness – no street lights, no moonlight. Of course, you might be able to guess what I said to mum in that car, with fearful crying…you’ve probably heard it from kids before. I said ‘I want to go home’. Mum said to me, ‘we can’t go home Robyn, we’re almost there’. In truth, after the bridge we had the last 10 minutes of a 4 hours journey left. We safely crossed the bridge and we were OK. But I remember it. I remember the feeling of being scarred in the darkness. I remember not liking this journey at all. Even though I always loved the destination. Well this psalm celebrates the end of the journey and the arrival at the destination. Psalm 126:1-3, “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!” Before we can understand the laughter and joy of the Israelites, we have to understand their journey. This Psalm looks back to when they arrived back in Jerusalem after 70 long years in Babylon. The captives had experienced great sorrow and mourning in exile. We read these heartbreaking words in Psalm 137: “Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:1-4). Their tormentors demanded they sing joyfully, but they were like – that’s impossible, it doesn’t come from our heart. So they just sat by the waters of Babylon and wept. But now by an amazing work of God they were suddenly back in Jerusalem. And so their joy came from their heart. The wait was over, the journey was complete. “We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.” The journey is the hard bit though isn’t it? I was reminded of this, this week. An Officer couple I was speaking to, said that their teenager said some very hurtful things to them. Stuff like, ‘you make my life worse’. As they spoke to me, I did very little but listen and pray with them. They do have other supports in their life as well, already seeing a psychologist. But what I was thinking in my head as they were speaking was ‘oh the teenage years, I’d forgotten them’. Though we have 2 wonderful young adults in P and K, they were times when it was more than tense. K wears her heart on her sleeve, and to this day apologises for some of the things she said to me. And P, you wouldn’t know what he was thinking, and then all of a sudden all his thoughts and feelings for the last 3 years would come out like molten lava everywhere. A few days later I checked in to see how the couple and their teenager were going. I mentioned in passing about teenage years and very briefly about our experiences. I didn’t want to make it all about me. But I said teenage years can be painful and those years can really hurt everyone in the family. Teenager included. They know that we have a good relationship with P and K and they said to me, you know, this is helpful. It gives us hope. I was like, yep, this too shall pass. Because when you’re in the midst of the journey of pain and sorrow, you sometimes wonder if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. If you’ll laugh again or experience joy again. You begin to wonder, “Is this all that God has for me? Will I ever be happy again?” And here’s the promise in Psalm 126:4-6, “Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” When you are going through a time of deep sorrow, Psalm 126 is strong medicine for your soul. It carries a powerful message of hope. It tells you that times of trouble and sorrow do not last. It tells you that God will turn your sorrow to joy and your tears to laughter. If you are going through a challenging time right now, I pray that this psalm will speak to your heart this morning. Let me tell you right up front, whatever you’re going through, it will get better. God will change your tears to joy. This week I found something I wrote about 10 years ago. I had written it on a piece of paper and there was a whole reflection about my life. At the time we had my mum living with us, she had dementia, and mostly I remember the good times and the fun times with her. I was also the Corps Officer at Glebe and Bob was the manager at William Booth House. After a page of writing I had written something like this “I’m often anxious, I’m usually stressed, I have eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth. I always feel pressed.” I went out to Bob in the lounge room and I’m like, ‘oh my goodness, eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth’, often anxious, usually stressed. The thing is, my life feels a long way from that now, and I’d forgotten what that part of my journey felt like. I’m sure when I was there I couldn’t look ahead and see a time of joy…but the truth is that “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” This too shall pass. ‘Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!’ says verse 3. God is faithful – he does the healing, the restoring, he brings the streams in the desert that renews and brings fruitfulness. I don’t need to tell you – it takes time. Today, I’m praying for a work of healing in your life, a gradual restoration of joy, of laughter. Like me as a kid, sometimes we don’t like parts of this journey at all. Even though we know our destination is good. And ultimately, we have a destination like no other and that’s the promise of God. A home in heaven made possible through Jesus. May God bless you this week as you look to Him, listen to Him, find your hope in Him and find courage and healing in your journey.