August 19, 2018
EAT AND LIVE
“Eat and live”
John 6:51-58
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”(John 6:51) Eat this bread and receive life eternal…what a great gift that our Lord gives us; yet a gift that we seem to ignore, reject, and despise.
Have you ever taken a real good look at all the things that you have? The grass always seems to be greener on the other side. You might have a house…but your neighbor has a bigger house. You might have a nice reliable car but your brother just bought a new Bentley. You might have good tractors but that other farmer just bought a brand new John Deere S790 Corn combine with all the features (the base price is just $ 512,361. so why not throw in the premium leather seat for just $2,132 more…). You may have gotten a car on your 16th birthday…but your best friend got a brand new car…just like they always seemed to get on the old MTV show My Sweet 16. It just doesn’t seem fair that someone always seems to have it better than you.
Yet, God has given you friends and family. God has given you a house and home. God has given you the abilities to make a living and provide. God has given you life!
Even when we do have the many things that God has given us…sometimes it isn’t enough; or good enough; or what we wanted. Many times we have the attitude that if we ask God in prayer for something he’ll automatically give it to us…and if we don’t get it…God just didn’t answer our prayer.
This reminds me about a song by Garth Brooks and his song about God and his answering or non-answering of prayers. He sings, “One of God’s greatest gifts…is unanswered prayers.” While the song attempts to say that God is in charge and intentionally doesn’t answer prayers, the truth is that God does answer all of our prayers. Sometimes they seem to take forever and other times the answer to our prayers is not what we wanted but what we needed. God answers all of our prayers with what we need…“for the life of the world.”
In our defense it’s hard to understand God at times with all the pain and suffering that occurs in our lives or trust that God is giving us all that we need. But truly God even gives us what we need working through bad things for our greater good. God uses the most terrible circumstances to bring us closer to Him. Yes, God indeed even uses suffering to bring us His gracious gift of life…the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.
We know that suffering occurs in our lives and is caused by sin. Suffering is punishment to the wicked non-believers, but for Christians sufferings are turned into blessings. Suffering even produces perseverance. God gives us character, endurance, and hope even when they come through toil and tears. Our hope of everlasting life is just as sure as the atonement and our justification. Like Job who says “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” (Job 19:25-26) Though abandoned by every earthly joy, Job has true hope that he will see God. This is the same hope we have by faith today.
But where do we go when we don’t feel that hope? Where is it we go when we feel down and depressed. Where do we go when we worry about our salvation? All too often when people have problems they look to the wrong place for “help.” Many people look to work, gambling, drugs, alcohol and sex to ease their mind…or at least forget it for a while. But the problems of life are still there. Others will reject a God that will allow bad things to happen. Many others will simply ignore God and the Church. There are far too many people that say they believe in God…but reject His Church. To despise Church is to despise the place we receive God’s Word and Sacrament…it is to despise God himself. Let us not reject Jesus like those in our text that said “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52) and reject the gifts that Jesus gives us through the Church. Heed the warning of Christ: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)
Instead we must go to Scripture and the foot of the cross, where Jesus suffered and died “for the life of the world” and pray to our Lord who takes every burden upon himself. Christ our Lord is not satisfied to simply give you a book and say “figure it out for yourselves.” You are not left floundering all alone. God is always with you and has given us the Church that we may meet with other sinful people that need the forgiveness of their Lord and Savior. God has given us Pastors and teachers as well and has placed them into your life to give you the riches of His Word.
Christ takes us aside through parents, teachers, brothers, and sisters, and pastors, and places His Word of hope into your ears and on your lips. Because of these great gifts that only He can give, Christ opens your ear to hear His Word and your mouth to sing His praises.
“Jesus said to them, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:54-58)
Christ’s blessings don’t end there. He gives you His very Flesh, His own body and blood to receive in your mouth. By His body and blood your life is restored and renewed. Christ heals all wounds and hurts of body and soul. There will come a time when all of your sorrows will be gone, all of your hurts and wounds from sin will be wiped away, when all of the sheep shall be gathered together in His kingdom which shall have no end. This is our hope as He promises to give us the fullness of His grace and mercy now and eternally. God has given us all good things…he has given us faith; he gave us His only Son on the cross; Jesus has given us himself in the Holy Sacraments. Our Lord has given us all these things “for the life of the world.” Life that is eternal. Life with all the saints. Life with Jesus in heaven. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
