John 6:51-58

Jesus said:

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;

And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

We can readily understand why skeptics of Jesus' day asked:

"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

The disciples themselves must have been confused! When Jesus handed them the

bread and wine, saying they were his body and blood---his body was still

unbroken, his blood yet unshed.

In every congregation of our day, there are folks with unanswered questions.

They have received the sacrament countless times, yet they still feel empty.

Simply put, the question that plagues all of us from time to time, is:

 

"How do we internalize Christ?"

"How do we make Christ a part of us?"

"How does this great gift of God become ours?"

Today's text reminds us that Jesus did not come to earth in order that he

might set an example for living and dying. That was part of his coming, but

not as large a part as we might think! No, Jesus came to earth---most

importantly, primarily, and thankfully---in order that we might have fuller

lives now and live eternally. Consequently, as Christians, we do not simply

have opinions about Jesus---his life, death and resurrection; we literally

receive him---take him inside ourselves and have life through him.

If kept on the outside, Jesus Christ remains merely an interesting figure. We

can talk about him in much the same way as we talk about Columbus or Galileo

or Socrates, but he cannot be a part of the soul within us.

It all begins, of course, with our desire to receive Christ and it continues

with nothing less than our own willingness to be changed. It is absolutely

crucial to our faith and faithfulness that we understand this. Receiving the

gift of Jesus Christ, into our very hearts, goes beyond intellect. The

communion command, is:

"Take and eat; not take and understand."

Day by day we all write our own individual "faith stories," all the while

knowing that the real story is never just about us. Peter, James, John, and

the other Apostles, including Saint Paul, were all men of boundless faith and

strong beliefs, but they did not believe in themselves. They believed in

themselves, only "in Christ." They knew that following Christ is not just a

matter of being like Christ or even doing Christ-like things. They knew that

following Jesus Christ entailed being connected to and with him such that

they would be able to do what would otherwise be impossible.

True communion with Christ is then a continuing relationship. It is being

nurtured and nourished by Christ. Our task, as Christians, is to live "as if"

all that we believe can be proven beyond a doubt---when, in fact, it cannot!

One of my seminary "preaching professors" liked to quote John Wesley the

great Methodist preacher and hymn writer:

 

"Preach faith until you have it.

Then preach faith because you have it."

It is said that Deitrich Bonhoeffer, while distributing imaginary bread and

wine to those who, with him, were awaiting death in a Nazi concentration camp

spoke these words:

"This is the bread we don't have.

This is the wine we don't have.

This is the Christ we do have."

Most mornings, I drink coffee from the same blue, St. James "anniversary

mug."  It has two chips here, near the bottom (show), but I still hang on to

it. I have fancier cups on my study shelf and yet, this aging mug is the one

I always reach for because, frankly, I drink years and years of memories

along with my coffee. Memories of problem solving alone or with others;

memories of meetings with the church council and standing committees;

memories of marital and pre-marital counseling sessions; memories of time

spent with bereaved family members as funeral services are planned for a

loved one; and, memories of conversations with members and friends, as well

as transient strangers seeking some form of assistance.

Drinking memories is not all that we do at the Lord's Table but it is an

important part of what we do. We remember the way Jesus Christ, "The Bread of

Life," is with us. We remember days past and loved ones, who once knelt

beside us. Can you remember communing alongside a now deceased parent or

grandparent? Alongside Fred Boulton, Bob Abby, Bob Hansen, Henry and Edna

Liska, John and Betty Kay, Mandy Nellans, Eric and June Bark, Ella Wade, Emil

and Olga Lindstrom, Roy and Ellynor Andrews, Rudy Deutshmann, Paul and Gladys

Zeleski, Viola Long, Hendrix and Roumelle Blue, Barbara Hall, Bridget

Husenger, Karianne Grodt, Ione Bopp, Mike and Anne Shannon, Everett and Nancy

Moore, Vendla Nilsson, Betty Matta, Anna Arazan, David Quade, Bill Nissen,

Debbie Van Singel, Marianne Koska, Paul Adams, Gary Severseike, David Berg,

and Marion Levy? Can you remember kneeling and communing alongside friends

who have moved to other places and other congregations? ---friends, like

George and Adele Prill, who returned to kneel beside us again last Sunday.

Indeed, Jesus Christ was with family and friends we have lost to relocation

or retirement and to death and, he is with them even now, in places of new

employment, retirement and that place we call heaven. Likewise, those with

whom we now kneel, before the Lord's Table, receive this same "Bread of Life"

and will continue to receive it after we are gone; and hopefully, will

continue to remember us, in the real presence of the living Christ!  To that

end we pray. . . 

Loving and merciful God, with reverence and affection we remember before you

all who have served in this place in their time. Keep us in union with them

through faith and love toward you, that hereafter we too may enter your

presence and be numbered with those who have served you and who now live with