BREAD

 

Do you like bread? I love bread. There are so many different kinds of bread: white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, sour dough. There are many ways bread can be formed: sliced sandwich bread, dinner rolls, hoagies, sticks, and so on. Pizza is a form of bread. So are tacos. That’s not even counting pastries and donuts.

I mention bread today because over these weeks, we are hearing from the Gospel of John, Jesus speak about himself as the Bread of Life. Now, there are many healthy benefits to eating bread, but none can compare with the Bread of Life, Jesus’ Body.

As Lutherans, we believe that Jesus’ Body is truly present in the bread we receive at communion. He’s present in, with and under the bread. Some people do not believe that. Some believe that the bread is no longer bread, but becomes Christ’s flesh entirely. Others believe that because Jesus is sitting at His Father’s right hand in heaven, he cannot be in the bread.

To that, all I can say is, we are right, and they are wrong. We believe that Jesus is present in the bread and wine and offers us strength and comfort.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Belief about the Body of Christ

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon title is What the Body Believes about the Body, and my focus is our Gospel (John 6:51-59). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Body. When I say the word body, what is your first thought? I begin with that question because the word is used in numerous ways. My doctor advises me to care for my own physical body by keeping a good diet and getting plenty of exercise. I can use the word as a descriptor by saying, “He had a fat body but thin arms and legs.”

If my car is involved in a fender bender, I take it to an auto body repairman. A group of people join together to form a student body or an advisory body. Justice Antonin Scalia left behind a body of work as his legacy. An ocean or a Great Lake is known as a body of water. So, when I entitle my sermon, “What the Body Believes about the Body,” I make three points: church body, what we believe about our Gospel, and the Sacrament.

Body of Christ is a way of naming and connecting Christian experiences: the physical body of Jesus of Nazareth; the reality of the Resurrected Christ; the community of Jesus’ followers in communion with Him and one another; and the presence of Christ in the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper.^[1]

When St. Paul began using the word body to name the covenanted people or the Church, he relied upon his Hebrew experience. The origin of that is Joshua 7, a strange, barbaric, but remarkable tale which shows how the people of Israel belonged to one another. We find it strange because our culture interprets reality differently. We think of ourselves as unconnected individual persons until some attraction or tragedy occurs. Friendship develops because we are neighbors, coworkers, classmates or teammates. It also occurs when we band together after a tragedy. When surviving family members from 9/11 met, they bonded as one. When a person in a congregation suffers an accident or death, individual Christians come together. 

But St. Paul was a Jew, and his interpretation of human reality was in rooted in his background. His conversion experience^[2] describes how he was on his way to persecute Christians, and in a white-hot moment of divine revelation, God spoke to him: “Why are you persecuting me?” The answer to his question, “Who are you?” was “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” He eventually understood that his persecution of this body of people was actually the persecution of Jesus Christ. He then began to teach Christians that because through baptism and the Lord’s Supper we are physically joined to Jesus Christ, there are moral and immoral activities. There are rules for living. As members of this Christian body, the Church, we can eat whatever food we choose, but we cannot engage in sexual activity with another unless we are married to that person, because, as Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?” (1 Cor 6:15)^[3] As individual Christians, we are joined to Christ and to one another, and as individuals, we must avoid giving scandal not only to one another, but also to unbelievers who seek to dishonor and destroy us.

The Body of Christ (His Church) embraces and transforms us into one people. Baptism makes us all equal. There is no privileged hierarchy in our Church. St. Paul wrote about this in Galatians 3:25-29, where we read that “you are all one in Christ.” We lay that teaching next to what Paul wrote regarding different ministries in 1 Corinthians 12:27-30, to understand that not all of us can be apostles, prophets, teachers or healers. These two parallel teachings are in accord with Jesus’ teaching to his disciples, which ends with, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Mt 23:12)^[4]

My point is that as the Body of Christ today, our beliefs about almost anything are rooted in Scripture with a whole history of discussion and debate, councils and creeds, arguments and anathemas. The Church has something to say not only about worship on Sunday, but also about moral and immoral living throughout the rest of the week when we interact with one another and others, believers and unbelievers. We are the Body of Christ, and we remain intimately connected to Jesus Christ and one another.

Now, what if I choose to separate myself from this Mystical Body? In 1^st Corinthians (12:12-26), Paul teaches that being connected to Christ once means being connected eternally. Whether it likes you or not, your big toe does not get to decide it’s no longer going to be part of you because you stub it so often. It is connected whether it likes it or not. In a like manner, we do not get to decide if we are connected to the Body of Christ or not. We are. Being baptized into the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ redeems our connectedness and deepens it beyond anything I can describe.

Like you, I sometimes ponder if I am connected to all of you. You may feel more closely connected to your dog than to the people sitting around you, and if that is the case, let me ask you: When did you last take home the bulletin to pray for the people listed in it? When is the last time you had free time and reached out to another member of this Body? Is your time during the coffee social spent talking to people you do not know well or do you always sit with the same people? When is the last time you laid awake at four in the morning and prayed for all the people around you and the people who have not yet returned to this church? If I do not feel connected, have I tried to understand my connection to everyone else in the Church the way Paul did after his white-hot experience with the Living Person of Jesus Christ? Remember, Paul’s personal relationship with Christ eventually led to his communal and cosmic relationship with our Triune God, His universal Church and all of creation.^[5]

On to my second point, Believe. What do we believe about what Jesus said in the Gospel today? To believe is to accept that something is honest or true. It also means that I accept someone’s word or the evidence. Since the Greeks put stock in the teaching of the ancient ones, we begin with some of the early Church Fathers before going to the text itself.

When some challenged Jesus’ statement, they asked, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” St. Cyril of Jerusalem stated that we should not think of the bread and wine as mere physical food. “In accordance with the Lord’s declaration, they are body and blood. If our senses suggest otherwise, let faith confirm you. Do not judge on the basis of taste, but on the basis of faith be assured beyond all doubt that you have been allowed to receive the body and blood of Christ.”^[6]

When Jesus responded to his critics, St. Cyril of Alexandria taught that the “power of learning follows on those who believe. … Faith should first be rooted in [belief] before understanding.”^[7] A more recent author wrote that when Jesus speaks of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, it means the whole man, which is why we receive Eucharist under both species. In faith, we receive the whole Christ.^[8]

Now, why did Jesus say that his flesh is true food and his blood real drink? First of all, Jesus was not contrasting his flesh and blood with manna in the desert. Rather, He insisted on the genuine value of his flesh and blood as food and drink. Eating and drinking the whole Christ and receiving His abiding presence into our lives harkens to the vine and branches statements Jesus spoke, for that too is eucharistic. St. John echoed this in his first letter, where we read, “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 Jn 4:9)

There is no Last Supper scene in John’s Gospel like those in the Synoptics; so, when you read chapter six, read it this way. Think of Jesus explaining to his disciples just what he meant when he gathered around the table with them and said the words of institution. In Matthew, we read that after blessing and breaking the bread, Jesus gave it to his disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” He took the cup, gave thanks, and then after he gave the cup to them said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mt 26:26-28) St. John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this section as a way for us to understand not only what happened at the Last Supper, but also what happens each time we take the Lord’s Supper in church, in the home of a homebound person, or in the nursing home or hospital.

This Bread of Life teaching (John 6) represents a convergence of Jesus’ twofold presence to believers in the preached Word and in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This twofold presence is the structural skeleton of our liturgical service. Imagine Jesus standing before you explaining what it is we are doing here when we worship. Through Word and Sacrament, we who have an individual personal relationship with Jesus are made one with Him, the Father, the Holy Spirit and one another – even those who we need to forgive – every time we take the whole Christ in Holy Communion.

That brings me to my third point in What the Body Believes about the Body. As Lutherans, we take Christ’s words “This is my body” and “This is my blood” at face value. He spoke those words, and as His last will and testament, we cannot change them. We also find them in Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 11:25). We believe and teach that the presence of Christ’s body and blood are in, with and under the bread and wine, In reminds us that where the bread and wine is, there is the body and blood of Christ. With reminds us that with the bread and wine we receive the body and blood of Christ. Under reminds us that the body and blood of Christ are hidden yet present since the bread and wine continue to exist. If I put a napkin or cloth over a loaf of bread, the bread under the napkin is still present even if I cannot see it.

The reason I point out what we read in the Small Catechism is because not all Christians believe this. Catholic transubstantiation means that that Christ’s body and blood replace the bread and wine. The Reformed Churches, those that are based upon the teachings of Zwingli and Calvin, do not believe that it is possible for Christ to be at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, and in the bread and wine. They teach that the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper are not Christ’s Body and Blood, but only symbols. We accept what Christ said, and do not change the meaning of His word “is” to “symbolize”.

At a recent study session, one of the pastors noted this difference as written in the Book of Concord, adding that many Protestants point out the errant teaching of Catholicism, but fail to see the danger in Calvin’s teaching that Christ cannot be present at the Lord’s Supper. If Christ is not present, how does He offer comfort to us, and how do we offer thanksgiving to Him?^[9] “The Sacrament was instituted to comfort terrified minds. This happens when they believe that Christ’s flesh is given as food for the life of the world (Jn 6:51) and when they believe that, being joined to Christ, they are made alive.”^[10] Martin Luther and the Fathers of our Evangelical Church remind us to believe Christ’s words that He is in the bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. They also remind us that the act of eating and drinking His body and blood assures us not only of the forgiveness of our sins, but also everlasting salvation.^[11]

I have recently completed a biography on Luther in which the author points out that for Luther “the Real Presence of Christ in the Mass (Worship) was not something that could be explained.” As the controversy created by Zwingli and Calvin continued, “it became clear that insisting on the Real Presence was a fundamental part of Luther’s theology.”^[12]

That Christ is truly present is not only Luther’s teaching, but we can cite others such as Augustine, John Chrysostom, Irenaeus, St. Paul and Christ Himself. But what does an understanding of Christ’s Real Presence in the Sacrament have to do with our daily living? It has to do with the realization that as each of us consumes the whole Christ in the Sacrament, we are made one with Christ and one another. We go from being 50 or 80 individual believers to one body of believers. In this Sacrament, Christ makes us one Body.

Earlier I spoke about Paul’s view of human reality and how he came to see that we are the Body of Christ. Several weeks ago, I spoke about how little time we spend in prayer each day, less than ten minutes per day. I asked if you take home the bulletin and pray for those people listed in it. And providentially, some one sent me a link to a sermon, in which the pastor asked the same question to his church members: How much time do you pray for the Church?

Praying for my own needs is too small for us. Praying for the needs of others is what we should be doing. I pray for the needs of others, and the greatest need you and I have is an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, His Father, the Holy Spirit, the saints of the church (one another), and the world’s sinners because Christ came to redeem all of mankind. Friends, when you pray for me and one another, pray that all the people you know and do not know experience a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ and His brothers and sisters. When you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Bernard Lee, “Body of Christ,” The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality. Collegeville MN: The Liturgical Press (1993), p. 100.

[2] See Gal 1: 12-17; Acts 9:1-14; 22:5-16; 26:10-18.

[3] See chapters 5-8.

[4] See Mt 23:8-12.

[5] See Ephesians 6:12; Roman 1:20; Colossians 1:15-20.

[6] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament IV_A John 1-10, Ed Joel C. Elowsky. Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press (2006), p. 239

[7] Ibid.

[8] Brown, 282.

[9] The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV: The Mass, Par. 75.

[10] Apology, Article XXII: Both Kinds in the Lord’s Supper, Par. 10.

[11] Formula of Concord: The Solid Declaration, Article VII: The Holy Supper, Par.62ff. See also the Small Catechism, Question 362.

[12] Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet. New York: Random House (2016), p. 280

MAGNIFY GOD!

 

Do you know what a magnifying glass is? It’s a piece of glass or lens that makes something look bigger. The lens of the magnifying glass is thicker than plain glass and makes objects appear larger than they really are.

If you look at the words on this piece of paper, they appear normal. Now, if you place this magnifying glass between the paper and your eye and look at it again, the words appear bigger.

I show this to you because in our Psalm today (34:1-8), we hear the words “magnify the Lord with me.” … Doesn’t that sound strange to you? How can we magnify the Lord? Can we look at God through a magnifying glass?

The Psalmist didn’t mean that we make God larger than He is like we make the words on this page larger than they are. But if I make something larger, then do I become smaller?

How about this for an example. In my sermon last Sunday, I mentioned Sydney McLaughlin. She’s the young woman who won the Gold Medal at the Olympics in the 400-meter hurdles. After she won, she gave all the praise to God. Her prayer is: “God, let me be the vessel in which You’re glorified, whatever the result is — how I conduct myself, how I carry myself, not just how I perform.” She magnified the Lord, and humbled herself. She made God greater and herself smaller.

You can be a star and be humble when you magnify God, but you don’t have to win a medal to start. You can praise God for your looks or grades, your athletic ability or musical talent. If you don’t have those, you can praise God for creating and loving you.

With that, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ the King

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Kings, Prophets and Christians and my focus is 1^st Kings (19:1-8). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

You may have missed it, but in January of this year, Denmark’s Queen Margarethe II handed over the scepter to her son Frederik after exactly 52 years on the throne. Once known as a rebellious party prince, Frederik, now 55, has spent a lifetime preparing for the job, but has been reluctant to assume the throne. The Danes are happy to see that the King and his wife, Queen Mary, have also produced heirs to the throne. The King enjoys an 80% favorable rating among the country’s citizens.

This transition is unlike the former practice of dying on the throne. Abdicating the crown has become common in recent years, and is not as newsworthy as Edward VIII of the United Kingdom who stepped down in 1936 when he married Wallis Simpson. As Americans, we never took seriously establishing a monarchy. First of all, we despised King George III. On the other hand, as Christians, we sing of Good King Wenceslaus. The English word king comes to us German word König. It is likely that it was originally from the word kin meaning a “leader of the people.”

The books of Kings are the fourth part of what tradition calls the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings).[1] These are history books, but not political or social history. Rather, they are theological history books. Most likely, written by one author, Kings recounts Israel’s life in its own land from the occupation under Joshua to the Babylonian Exile.

The author’s interest is not an accurate chronicle of events, but an explanation of the tragic fate of God’s people. The purpose of Kings is to explain how God’s people came to be in exile. The explanation is that Israel and Judah led by their kings were guilty of cultic infidelities so numerous and so terrible that destruction was the only fit punishment.[2]

David is the paragon for the rulers of Judah. He was faithful and obedient to God, who in turn promised him an unending dynasty. We read in 2^nd Samuel the words of God spoken to David through the Prophet Nathan, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”[3] But beginning with Solomon, most southern kings (Judah) failed to follow David’s ways. Even those who are faithful were praised with some reservation. Only Hezekiah and Josiah received unqualified approval. The northern kings (Israel) were condemned without exception.

After reading and studying Kings, a question comes to my mind that the author may have thought: How did we get here? I will ask that question again when we get to my third point, but for now, my second point, prophets.

The role of prophets in the unfolding history of Israel is a central concern, particularly in the sections of Kings that deal with Elijah and Elisha. Through the prophets God continually confronted the errant people and would call them back to His ways. The prophetic word could be an assurance of victory or a promise of peace, a threat or a condemnation.[4] In every case it is God announcing in advance the plan of history – a plan that reaches fulfillment inevitably. In short, God is in charge and reveals his counsels to his servants the prophets.

So, who is this guy named Elijah?[5] He is the loftiest and most wonderful prophet of the Old Testament. What we know of his public life is sketched in a few popular narratives in 1^st Kings, which bear the stamp of an almost contemporary age. Most likely, these stories took place in Northern Israel, and are full of the most graphic and interesting details.

Given what I said about the kings of Israel and Judah, the people of God needed such a prophet. Under the baneful influence of his wife, Jezebel, King Ahab, though perhaps not intending to forsake altogether God's worship, had nevertheless erected in Samaria a temple to Baal and introduced a multitude of foreign priests. Undoubtedly, he offered sacrifices to the pagan deity, and, most of all, hallowed a bloody persecution of the prophets of God.

We know nothing about Elijahs's origin. His whole manner of life resembled the Nazarites and is a loud protest against his corrupt age. He wore a leather and skin garments, slept in cliffs or caves, and was a fast runner.

He appeared abruptly on the scene to announce to Ahab that God had determined to avenge the apostasy of Israel and her king by bringing a long drought on the land. He delivered his message and then vanished as suddenly as he appeared. Guided by the spirit of God, he went to a brook the east of the Jordan River, where ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and evening.

God chose Elijah to defeat the prophets of Baal, but before that happened, he provided an endless supply of flour for a widow and raised her young son from the dead. Elijah was able to accomplish this not because he possessed any extraordinary power, but because he prayed passionately to God. He relied on God, not himself to accomplish deeds. When he challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, he said this prayer: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Scripture tells us that “the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”[6]

After God consumed the holocaust, the issue was fought and won. The people knew that Yahweh was God, not Baal. At Elijah's command they slit the throats of the pagan prophets. And then something happened that we often overlook. That same evening the drought that plagued Israel for a very long time suddenly ended with a heavy downpour of rain. In the midst of this monsoon Elijah ran to the entrance of Jezreel before Ahab in his horse driven chariot.

Yet, in a matter of days, Elijah went from complete jubilation to complete depression. You see, Elijah suffered from depression. He went from fearless confidence in God to fearing for his life. He went from feeling like a special messenger of God to feeling like a fruitless and worthless vine. It was so bad that Elijah even asked God to take his life. Why? Because Queen Jezebel ordered his death. Now, this could only occur if Ahab permitted it. So, not only did Elijah fear the hit on his life, but also realized that the king remained faithful to his queen and Baal.

Elijah’s haste to flee and his later complaint against Israel suggested that the people’s conversion to God on Mount Carmel was shaky. They could turn away from God on a whim. For this reason, he fled to the southern desert to save his life. Once there, he prayed to die, and Elijah’s ambivalence set the tone for today’s passage. His flight was a journey out of this ordinary world, symbolized by leaving behind companionship and food, and a pilgrimage to a sacred place.

Many people think that the prophets were morally or spiritually superior to us, and it’s easy to think of Elijah in this way. The truth is, he wasn’t. Like us, Elijah needed correction, encouragement and the knowledge that other believers were standing against Baal too. Elijah was not exceptionally spiritual or superior. He was completely human. Yet, what made Elijah extraordinary was his complete commitment to the Will of God. Elijah gave all his energy and heart so that the world would know the one true God. To sum it up, God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.[7]

So, what do Kings and Prophets have to do with my third point, Christians? Why are the accounts of Ahab and Elijah relevant to us and me? In other words, as I concluded my first point, you and I now ask, “How did we get here?”

We can ask that question on many levels. As an individual, how did I get to this point in my life? No matter if we are talking about a successful career or being unable to make ends meet on social security and savings, pondering the happiness of grandchildren or wondering where my marriage failed, marveling at my athletic achievements or musing about the last days of my life, we ask, “How did I get here?”

As a congregation that’s bursting at its seams or turning out the lights, how did we get here? As denominations grow or shrink exponentially, dazzled at the work of the Holy Spirit or bewildered at the sinful acts of their leaders, members must be asking how did we get here? And like citizens in many other countries, we too wonder how we got here.

Without laying blame or pointing fingers, perhaps it is time to ask another question, “Now what?” We know that Kings was about the infidelities of the people through their leaders. We know that God spoke to the people through His prophets, as strange as many of them were. We also know that the answer to “Now what?” is, “Turn to God.”

Elijah is an important figure not only in the history of Israel, but also in the salvation history of Christianity. Not only did he dedicate his life to getting people to turn from idols and return to the one true God, but he is also mentioned throughout the Gospels, particularly on Transfiguration Sunday. Meeting a man like Elijah may make us feel uncomfortable. However, his message to us would be no different than his original message – trust God completely.

Now, The Small Catechism reminds us to submit ourselves to governing authorities, which may not sit well with some of us. Yet, we read, “It is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”[8]

That said, what do we do when we suspect that our authorities are not acting as God’s servants? What do we do when judges authorize whatever is necessary to prevent pastors and congregations from gathering to worship? Do we acquiesce or oppose? Do we submit or resist? Would we elect governors and presidents who would force churches to shut their doors like they did in 2020 and 2021? What do we say to fellow Christians whose churches and pro-life pregnancy centers have been burned to the ground or vandalized while elected politicians say they understand the feelings of violent protestors?

At times, Elijah stood tall and at other times he fled. When he was so distraught that he wanted his life to be over, God strengthened him for the journey and His mission. Like Elijah, Moses and Jesus, we should seek first the Kingdom of God. We should submit totally to the Will of God. Friends, the purpose of Elijah’s life was not to trust in himself, but to trust God totally. Why? Because the Church needs prophets. God’s world needs Christian prophets – people dedicated to our Triune God and to prayer. Our world needs people dedicated to listening to God’s Word in the depths of their hearts.

Friends, I ask you to consider how God’s Spirit poured into your hearts, nurtured through Sacrament and Word, prayer and action, will make all the difference in the world – even if that world is small. And when you do, may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Walsh, Jerome T and Begg, Christopher T. “1-2 Kings,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ (1990), p. 160.

[2] Ibid., p. 161.

[3] 2 Samuel 8:16.

[4] Walsh and Begg, p. 161. See 1 Kgs 20:13, 2 Kgs 7:1, 1 Kgs 22:17, 2 Kgs 1:3-4.

[5] See Elijah at https://www.newadvent.org

[6] 1 Kings 18:36-38.

[7] Lesli White, “Who is Elijah in the Bible and Why is He Important?” www.beliefnet.com

[8] The Small Catechism, Of Citizens.

HEAVENLY BREAD

 

Have you ever sat down to eat and asked, “What is this?” Maybe your mom or dad tried a new recipe that you never ate before or maybe you were visiting a friend whose family eats different things than your family. A friend of mine told me that when he gives his grandchildren something new to eat, like green beans, and they ask what it is, he tells them, “It’s pizza.” Then, he said, they eat it. I am going to try that with our grandchildren.

I mention this because in our first reading (Ex 16:2-15), when the people saw the manna in the desert, they asked each other, “What is it?” Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”

Have you ever thought that whatever is on your plate is something that God has given you to eat? It may not always be pizza, but whatever it is, it will nourish your body.

But what is it that nourishes your soul or your heart? It is the Bread of Life. It is the Body of Christ. It is the Sacrament that we receive during the Lord’s Supper.

Jesus said to the people who followed him, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Whenever you are hungry for God, ask God for Christ’s Body and Blood. Even when you’re too young to receive the Sacrament, believe that what you will one day receive will make all the difference in your life. With that, let us pray.

Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless these and all children, and give their parents the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bear With One Another

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon is entitled Bear, Body and Believers and my focus is Ephesians (4:1-16). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”  Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

My friend, Dave Gruseck, once told me that he was known as The Bear. At that time, Dave was a broad-shouldered man with forearms like Popeye. He was also a Civics teacher and the Athletic Director at Oliver High School on Pittsburgh’s Northside. Yet, I never knew how he came to be known as The Bear. Until recently. I sent Dave an email and he responded quickly.

“There were actually several elements that all came together to make the Great Bear my totem. First, I just was fascinated by Grizzlies, particularly their power. My temperament for a long time resembled that of the bear. I often needed to get my pound of flesh before I showed mercy. Reserved until disturbed then reactive and aggressive.  When I got to Oliver High School, the mascot was the brown bear.... but I made it the Grizzly.

I was also impressed with the bear's protective nature toward cubs. I purchased a ceramic statue with a Native American wearing a bear hide wrapped around his family. The protector, the provider.

Finally, he added, “Check the hymn ‘Lift high the Cross.’ It mentions a crucified bear. Have fun with it.” Dave is right about that, but not exactly as one stanza reads, “All newborn soldiers of the Crucified Bear on their brows the seal of Him who died.”

That said, the English word "bear" comes from Old English bera. A bear is any of the family of large heavy mammals of America and Eurasia that have long shaggy hair, simple tails, and feet with soles. They eat fruit, plant matter, and insects as well as flesh. They come in many colors and sizes and are popular mascots.

Paul did not have in mind hairy animals when he wrote to the Ephesians. Rather, after spending three chapters detailing all that God freely did for us, he exhorted Christians to live rightly. In short, when Christians understand how much God did, they naturally want to serve and obey Him out of gratitude. Understanding who we are is the foundation of this worthy walk. In other words, Christians walk worthily because God loves us and not so that God will love us. Christians are motivated out of gratitude, and not out of a desire to earn merit.

So, when Paul wrote, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” it was a reminder that a worthy walk before God is marked by lowliness and gentleness, not a pushy desire to defend our own rights and advance our own agenda. Before Christianity, the word lowliness always had a bad association to it. In the minds of many it still does; but it is a glorious Christian virtue. A Christian can be happy and content when not in control or steering things his or her way.

When Paul advised Christians to bear with one another in love, he meant that the inevitable wrongs that occur between people in God’s family will not work against God’s purpose of bringing all things together in Jesus – illustrated through His current work in the church. In short, if God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31). St. John Chrysostom defined this as the spirit that has the power to take revenge, but never does. It is characteristic of a forgiving, generous heart.

And when Paul encouraged Church members in Ephesus to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, he taught that this humble, forgiving attitude towards each other naturally fulfills this gift of the unity of the Spirit. Christians must endeavor to keep this unity because we do not create it. God never commands us to create unity among believers. He created it by His Spirit; our duty is to recognize it and keep it. This is a spiritual unity, not necessarily a structural or denominational unity. It is evident in the fellowship possible among Christians of different races, nationalities, languages and economic classes.

Okay, let’s move from my first point, Bear, to my second, Body. Paul continues his letter by writing about the one Body. Now, because I am going to delve into the word body in two weeks, today I am going to explore the Seven Unities of the Church. Often, when we hear or read this passage, we gloss over these unities.

The seven-fold foundation for church unity is described in verses 4-6. These seven unities reflect the triune structure of our creeds. The church is one because it is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

The church should reflect unity, however, Paul made clear that the perfection of the church is a process and not a completed event. Christ equipped the church with gifts so that the church as Christ’s body may reach maturity. The body metaphor shows the church as growing into its own body. Christ is already mature. Yet the church, which is Christ’s body, must build up the body until it arrives at the stature of Christ. Likewise, the image evoked at the end of our lesson today is that of the body growing up to meet its head, Christ. In Paul’s view, the church is already the body of Christ, even as it continues to grow toward Christ.

The unity to which the church is called can have challenging implications for contemporary churches. In the first century, many Jews and Gentiles struggled to accept the message of reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles. We see that especially in Acts, Chapter 10. Yet, God’s gift of reconciliation means that those who were understood to be “far off” are now those who are equally gifted by God. In its unity the church should embody the reconciliation made possible in Christ, who “has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (2:14).

Unity, we know, is not the same as uniformity. The mystery of God that is revealed in Christ and results in the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles does not obliterate the distinctions between these different groups. Instead, what is made known through the church is “the wisdom of God in its rich variety.” Part of the call of Chapter 4 is to tolerance, or “bearing with one another.” The assumption is not that all distinctions will cease, but that even with the persistence of differences, the church may nevertheless grow together as a body.

So, how do we grow together as one body? How do we mature? As an example, we look to our children or grandchildren. We notice how they mature in their ability to assume responsibility with household chores, such as making the bed, cleaning their rooms or setting the table. We see this maturing not only in children and teenagers, but also adults in their spiritual, professional and personal lives. We grow more proficient in particular skills and more polished as we live in relationship with spouse, family and community.

When you examine your own life as an individual member of the Body of Christ, how have you matured? When you examine our congregation as the Body of Christ, how has it matured? As you ponder those questions, allow me to move from my second to my third point, from Body to Believers. 

As mature believers we have as many opportunities to share our faith as we have members. In the midst of the Olympics, I read some excerpts about American track and field athlete Sydney McLaughlin who set numerous world records as a sprinter and hurdler. She has a book out entitled Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith, in which she encourages young people to conquer their fears in Christ's strength and to stand strong in their identity in him. Sydney is a woman who shifted from anxiety to boldness, from limits to freedom, and from perfectionism to purpose—and now shows the world that often what we think is impossible is possible with God. 

An article in The Federalist states that, “McLaughlin isn’t just praiseworthy because she’s good. She …heads to the Olympics with all the right priorities, using the competition as a chance to glorify God and honor her country instead of a means to cheap self-ingratiating publicity.”

She was the youngest Olympian in 50 years to compete at age sixteen, and she gives all the credit to God. In McLaughlin’s words, “I think the biggest difference … is my faith, trusting God and trusting that process, and knowing that He’s in control of everything. As long as I put the hard work in, He’s going to carry me through. And I really cannot do anything more but give the glory to Him at this point.”

After setting her world record at the Olympic trials, McLaughlin noted on Instagram: “I no longer run for self-recognition, but to reflect His perfect will that is already set in stone. I don’t deserve anything. But by grace, through faith, Jesus has given me everything. Records come and go. The glory of God is eternal.”

She uses her Instagram account to share scriptural encouragement and personal testimony. “It’s not me, it’s literally Christ inside of me. The goal of my life is to glorify him in everything that I do and to be more like him every single day when I wake up.”

The goal of my life is to glorify him in everything that I do and to be more like him every single day when I wake up. I repeat that line because it’s one that each mature believer can state. There will be times when bearing with one another may be about as easy as a loving confrontation with a grizzly. There will be times when we think that the Church Body is fractured and broken beyond unity. There will be occasions when we fall flat where we have the opportunity to glorify our Triune God.

But, my friends, do not despair, hope. God is not finished with any of us individually or corporately. We will continue to grow. We will continue to sin. We will continue to be forgiven and forgive, to be loved and to love, to reach deep within and to reach out. So, never despair and always hope. Hope in God who pours forth into your heart the Holy Spirit who will move you not only to bear with one another, but love one another as Christ loves us. When we do that, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.