Sermon for August 15
May the words my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen
A few months ago, the Vision Team for Restoration Chapel was meeting one morning going over our fundraiser. We Happened to be talking as a sidebar about the Ladies’ Night Supper our Lutheran Men were having. We mentioned that we would have someone to give a short presentation on what we were doing in Greenwood concerning the women who were suffering from various addictions. One of the women pastors there said that she would like to come to that event. The immediate response by one of our illustrious members was, “You’re not invited.” That phrase has now caught on and has become one that is now familiar to all our members.
She obviously was invited and, in fact, took part in the program. And that was a wonderful event. We ate, we talked, we laughed, we had a good time while trying to come to grips with a very serious issue. We came together as family.
In our gospel reading today, Jesus is still with at least some of the 5000 he fed the day before on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They were trying to get another meal from him. And Jesus was inviting them. But he was inviting them to a different kind of meal—a spiritual meal, a meal that would last them forever.
In John’s gospel, Jesus was known as the Word. You remember: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. In the reading today, Jesus says something very strange: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” “Eat my flesh, drink my blood”. He couldn’t have meant that. It was against the Mosaic Law to do such. So what did he mean? Believe in me. I will give my flesh and blood—I will die so that you will have eternal life. I am the bread, the living bread come down from heaven. This bread is different than any you have had before. The bread that your ancestors ate in the wilderness kept them physically alive for a while, but they still died. Those who eat the bread Jesus offers, the Word, that he offers will never die! Take it in, let it permeate. Just as gravy is absorbed by a piece of bread, absorb the Word into you very being!
This morning we will experience two Sacraments. One, Holy Baptism, the other Holy Communion. In Holy Communion, we gather around the table, the altar, and partake of bread and wine changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. We gather around the table as one body of believers, one family.
The other Sacrament we have already experienced is Holy Baptism. The Sacrament in which we are reborn. By water and the Word God delivers us from sin and death and raises us to new life in Jesus Christ. And the more water, the better, representing the coming up out of the water with new life.
But during Baptism part of the service, we responded to some questions. We responded to some questions about our faith and we promised to help these young people grow in the Christian faith. We, you and I, promised to support these young people. We did this as a congregation, as the body of Christ, as children of God, as a family. We are called to feed and nourish, to provide the food that nourishes us spiritually as we have also been fed.
Jesus invited his listeners in John’s gospel to a meal. He invites us to the same meal. It is an invitation to do an ordinary thing. To eat, to drink, to form bonds of love and cooperation through while we sit around the table. We are invited to not only join Jesus at the table, but to be at home in the love of God. We can do that when Christ makes his home in our hearts and lives. So come, eat, and get to know God. You are invited!