Sermon for August 18, 2024 - The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Who is Jesus for me? How do I see and experience Jesus in my daily walk through life? I sat and wondered with these questions, and then slowly, as if I didn’t even want to acknowledge the emerging thoughts, I began to think about the shadow side of these questions; when have I not seen Jesus in others? When have I felt an absence of Jesus in my in my daily walk? These were just some of the questions that were swirling around in my mind as I prayed with our gospel for today.

Valckenborch, Marten van, 1534-1612. Feeding the Five Thousand, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

Once again, we are faced with a Gospel text that deals with bread and eating. But once again, this is not just a repetition of the last two Sunday texts. John is still exploring the truth revealed when Jesus fed the multitude way back at the beginning of Chapter 6; that story we heard three weeks ago. Even now, some thirty verses later, John is still peeling back the layers and drawing us deeper into the meaning of that revelation.

Last week, we were given the choice of relationship, an invitation to come to Jesus with all that we are and all that we have in the hope of an everlasting abiding presence in God. John gave us a glimpse of how it is that we are strengthened and sustained when we choose to be in relationship with Jesus, when we choose the Bread of Life, especially when we are surrounded by so much violence, suffering, and death. This week, John takes it a step further. We are presented with the choice of participation; eating and drinking the body and blood of Jesus.

While this is the first instance of Jesus references drinking his blood in John’s gospel, this is not simply a text about an appropriate theological understanding of the elements at the communion table. We can see here that John is pointing us towards something deeper. Our reflective gaze is directed towards promises, not instruction or even explanation.

In our text today, Jesus promises rather than instructs or explains. Jesus promises that whoever eats the flesh and drinks the blood of Jesus, the Son of Man, has eternal life now and will be raised up on the last day. Jesus promises to provide food for the life of the world, his flesh and blood. Jesus promises to nourish the world with the gift of himself. For the “flesh” and “blood” of Jesus, his incarnate life and very real death on the cross, is life-giving food for us and for the world. In, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, which is nothing other than Christ’s body and blood, Jesus nourishes faith, forgives sin, and empowers us to be witnesses to the Gospel.

All throughout John 6, Jesus has tried to help us embrace God’s wisdom, to borrow a word from Proverbs. This wisdom is not so much knowledge to be explained and understood as it is relationship to be trusted and embraced. For eternal life does not come through understanding correctly or believing the right things. Eternal life is being in close communion with Jesus. Eternal life is to remain in Jesus and to have Jesus remain in us. We take Christ’s body and blood into our mouths, into our stomachs, into our bodies, so that Christ remains in us and we remain in Christ. As we eat and drink, Christ moves us closer to himself. Christ moves us closer to the very life of God. Christ moves us closer to himself, so close that we are as intimate with Jesus as the Father is with the Son. When we eat the Bread of Life, when we engage in the mission of God, then not only are we are fully participating in a life in God but we can trust in these promises of eternal life.

So, our text is not simply a text about how real Jesus’ incarnation is in flesh and blood. It is richer in that it invites full relationship and participation in the life-giving power of Jesus. Jesus is telling us that the next step after choosing to be in relationship with Jesus, is to choose to fully participate in a life in Christ; to eat the Bread of Life. Of course, full participation is is not always as easy as one might imagine.

The crowds and disciples didn’t get it. They completely missed the boat. The point missed in the feeding sign was who Jesus was. The sign was to point to Jesus. Instead they got full of food and went back to how things were before. They went back to the literal level and missed the depth and riches that were right in front of them. By the end of the conversation, Jesus is telling them that they ate the wrong thing. They ate bread and fish, when they should be eating flesh and blood. Once their immediate needs were met, how did they fail to recognize Christ in the loaves and fish? If they got it so wrong, what hope is there for us then?

Well, another miracle was in that first text. Embedded there was the short story of the disciples’ simple recognition of Jesus in the dark once they heard his voice. That voice was enough to calm their fears. No grand miracle. Just a simple recognition of who Jesus was. Through these stories of Chapter 6, John demonstrates just how easy it can be for us to recognize Jesus and how easily we can miss him. It also reminds us how easily we can perceive Jesus’ presence with us and how easily we can perceive his absence. This then led me to reflect on who is Jesus?

We know from our texts that Jesus is the Son of God, sent from above, to feed the world for all time. Jesus is he who sustains the world in a way that makes living possible. Jesus is the one who speaks and we know he is here. Jesus is the one who draws us to himself. While these are wonderful descriptions of Jesus, the real question is who is Jesus for me? How do I experience Jesus in my life?

Throughout my life, Jesus has been a companion. Jesus has been a source of comfort in times of grief and sorrow. Jesus has been a source of strength when I could not find it within myself. Jesus has always been one place I could turn in my guilt and shame and not be seen only for my sins. I know that deep in my heart I find joy and peace when I recognize Jesus in others and serve as a companion in their spiritual journey.

But I also know that too often I have failed to see Jesus in others. I know that cries for help have fallen on my deaf ears. I know that I have walked by someone in need, only seeing them for their faults. I know that I have failed to perceive Jesus in my life and most often those are times when I am not engaged in regular worship, or fellowship, or in regular community with others. I know that I feel Jesus’ absence most when I choose to ignore Jesus in my midst and pursue my own selfish desires. I know that I too, like the crowds and disciples, have had my fill and moved on without recognizing God’s presence in that moment.

Between the continuing wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and so many other armed conflicts that go unnoticed around the world, and the major climate disasters like the fires that are raging across these lands, we're all living in a time of deep anxiety and sadness. It is all too easy to be consumed by the ever-encroaching walls of fear and anxiety. It is all too easy in these moments to forget about how God is still at work even in these difficult times. When we retreat, who will step up to do the work of God? If we choose not to engage, who will step in to fill our void?

So, it is then, that as we face the temptation to retreat further into ourselves and ignore Jesus, perhaps now, more than ever, we need to be reminded of the important role we play in resisting these temptations by fully participating in our call to discipleship. Now is the time to see Jesus in the needs of the people around us and to respond with loving service. Now is the time to reengage with God’s call on your heart.