26 August 2012
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 6:10-20 / John 6:56-69
We haven’t used hymnals regularly in worship at Nativity since 2005, when we started printing the entire liturgy and all the hymns and songs for worship in the worship folder. So when our new Evangelical Lutheran Church in America hymnal came out in 2006 the change we noticed here was that we suddenly had more hymns and songs available to us ... most all of the music from all the ELCA hymnals of the past twenty years is available for download from the Internet.
However ... for those churches who rely on the hymnal each Sunday for their worship, well, they did notice some changes. The book color – from green to red. The print size – smaller, and the paper, thinner. But the loudest complaints I heard from colleagues who use the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal were over the hymns left out of the new hymnal. Those who rushed to find something, anything wrong with the new hymnal didn’t have to go too far.
They left “Onward Christian Soldiers” out!
Yep, “they” did. Look in the red ELW hymnal … it’s not there.
To some, this was a travesty of the highest order. But for others of us … well, we didn’t mind.
I think “Onward, Christian Soldiers” got left out because, frankly, it’s just not that great of a congregational song … there are many, many others which sing our faith far better. Theologically, it’s quite the opposite of Lutheran Christian belief, because it’s full of the theology of glory … telling lies about the church … “we are not divided, all one body we, one in hope in doctrine, one in charity” … ha! What planet are you living on?????
And in 2012, “Onward Christian Solders” does promote a view of the church that sounds, well, like Christian jihad. “Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war …” this isn’t the image of the church we want or need to be projecting, in this day and age when the rest of the world … both outside and inside this country … especially people under the age of 40 … largely sees Christians as culture-terrorists who will stop at nothing to cram their view of history and their political, social, moral will for the future … to force down other’s throats.
But then, we come to this morning’s New Testament text.
And this text we have before us this morning, as we conclude our late summer walk through the book of Ephesians with some more advice from the apostle Paul to his friends at Ephesus, this text could, can well sound to us like more “Onward Christian Soldiers.”
Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil … for our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood … but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
There’s lots to potentially offend and put people off, in these verses.
It sounds combative. It sounds like Paul is saying that, to be a good faithful Christian, you have to be on the offensive, out there beating back evil at every step, calling a spade a spade, a sinner a sinner, “if you haven’t repented of all your sins, trusted in the literal word-for-word truth of God as he wrote it in the Holy Scriptures, and accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you will BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY … so wouldn’t you just rather believe?”
That’s the way many of our brothers and sisters of this tribe called Christian believe and behave. But that kind of offensive talk … is offensive. Offensive and off-putting to people who are on the receiving end. People have gotten bruised and beaten up and driven away from Christians and Christianity over talk like that.
But just a minute. This is not what Paul is saying here either. His advice to the Ephesians is not at all about “how you can be the most offensive.” No, everything Paul describes here … it’s all DEFENSIVE. The wardrobe he lays out for the Ephesians … and for us … is all about protection.
Granted, it doesn’t sound that way at first. Armor, shield, breastplate and helmet sound to me … probably to you, too … a lot like standard issue military gear.
And guess what … they would have sounded that way to the Ephesians as well. For who would have been the one normally wearing such apparel in their place and time? The symbol of military might … the fearsome Imperial Roman Soldier. Sent around the world to fight, and conquer, and add more subjected peoples to the realm of Caesar. One who would – and should – strike fear into the hearts of anyone who saw him.
But what Paul’s doing here is a compare and contrast. Darn right he knew that the Christians in Ephesus would think “conquering, crusading Roman soldier” when they heard these words. But every description Paul uses here is about defending oneself. Not making offensive moves. Paul’s not talking about Christian storm troopers here, crusading their way around in a holy war, bringing the Word about Jesus by force to the heathen, idolatrous Roman world, the same way the crusading Roman army brought the word of Caesar to the world … NO WAY!
What he is doing, is saying “depend on God to protect you in the days and hours … times that have come and will continue to come … when you must stand up for what you believe in the face of evil … enemies not of flesh and blood, but spiritual forces that cause brothers and sisters to make bad choices. Armor you’ll need when you stand up for the truth … stand up for the poorer and weaker of your brothers and sisters … stand up for ‘the weightier matters of the law’ that Jesus spoke of … justice, mercy and faith … in an unjust, merciless, faithless world.”
That more contemporary of commentators on this text, CS Lewis, portrayed this passage well in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” When Saint Nicholas happens upon the children and gives them gifts … what does he give them? A shield. Healing medicine. Arrows, sword and dagger, yes … but to be used only in defense … when the time would come that they would need them.
And so here with Paul. The clothing, accessories and yes, weapons are all to be used for protection. The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. Shoes that will make you ready to proclaim the gospel … of peace. The shield of faith, which will quench the flaming arrows of the evil one. The helmet of salvation.
And yes … a sword … but whose sword is it? The sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God. Not to be used to lash out at others, but which the Ephesians were to use for protection … God’s word, studied, received in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, meditated and prayed upon, lived into every day, so informing their words and actions that it would act just like a sword, separating out good choices from bad.
And to complete it all … prayer.
Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.
Pray for your friends.
Pray for your enemies.
Pray for those who bathe you in love.
Pray for those who revile you and utter threats against you.
Pray for boldness, to speak, to live the Gospel good news of forgiveness, life and salvation.
It’s a far different image of the “Christian soldier” than what’s being peddled these days … making the life of faith out to be some kind of hand-to-hand combat that the faithful are to be fighting everyday, our fundamentals and fundamentalists against yours … until we either usher in a Kingdom of God made in our own image by our own force … or, more likely, send everyone to Kingdom Come.
No, Paul’s words here … are all about Believing God. Not just believing in God, but really and truly believing and trusting that God will do what God says God will do.
God will protect us, US … God’s people. God will help us tell and live in the truth … be righteous people … proclaim peace … live in the salvation God gives us, washed in our Baptism – its flowing streams of living water, always for us … fed at his table of Eucharist, Thanksgiving, Christ blessing us with his very presence and we, giving thanks, receiving, eating and drinking … and then, being sent out not to CONDEMN and DESTROY the world but to live in it – faithfully – with our brothers and sisters … praying, keeping alert, speaking boldly … until the day when Jesus comes again.
Believe God … we have all we need to live in this world, enough to proclaim his word of hope and salvation to those hungry to hear it, enough to be faithful in living as children of hope, clothed in his Word, living it every moment of our lives.
Jesus was right on when he asked his disciples, in our Gospel reading … Does this offend you? Yes, indeed, these words will be offensive … to some of us, all the time … to all of us, some of the time … but let it be God’s Word of love that offends, rather than brute force and ignorant speech and actions that do nothing but turn others off to Christ and Christians.
Believe God … in Jesus Christ, we have all we need. For now, and for-ever.
And be bold, be strong in sharing that Word, into the world.
Amen.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
19 August 2012
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 5:15-20 / John 6:51-58
19 August 2012
People in Spokane are wondering what is going on.
Someone has, in the middle of the night, been stacking picnic tables in the public parks ... stacking them like giant pyramids ... one on top of another. Stacked so high that police have called these pyramids public safety hazards, and taped them off so people can’t get too close. Stacked so high that it’s taken city cranes and forklifts to disassemble them.
People in Spokane are wondering, what is going on.
Is it … the work of Wazzu frat boys, out for a evening prank? Space aliens, who got tired of crop circles? Extremely neat visitors from Idaho?
Nah.
It’s obviously someone who has been hearing our Sunday series of readings this past month, and decided to make a physical representation of them.
Well ... maybe not.
But these Scripture texts we’ve heard and read this past month, from the end of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, from chapter six of John’s gospel, they do build, one on another, don’t they?
Three weeks ago, Bishop Boerger started us off with the miracle-story of Jesus’ feeding of thousands with a few loaves of cheap bread and several small dried fish, one which points toward Holy Communion as well as the larger theme of God’s great generosity to his people.
Two weeks ago, we took a deeper look at “the bread of life,” and heard about how this sacrament of Communion is given to us, to bring us exactly what we need from it … more than just forgiveness … it is a meal of life and salvation, and not just for the future, but for TODAY.
Last Sunday, we heard instruction for this life of ‘walking wet’ in God’s promises, advice for imitating God in Jesus Christ, and the means … the Bread of Life … on which we are called to feed, to lead us in growing in discipleship and faith.
Now, today … well, let’s just see where the texts take us … and build us up to … next.
First, these words from Ephesians. Again, like last week, it may seem on the surface like just more unsolicited advice …
Be careful then how you live … making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
So do not be foolish … do not get drunk with wine … be filled with the Spirit… giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ah, but when we go deeper …
When we go deeper, into the author’s words, not our own tepid translation …
Start stacking those picnic tables.
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time...
Uh-uh.
There’s a reason that seminaries teach us the Greek of the New Testament as preparation for pastoral ministry. There’s one word here in Greek that takes the place of “making the most of the time” … and it is the same word Paul uses when he wants to say ‘redeem’ – what Jesus does for us.
But redeeming time doesn’t seem to make much sense, either, in this context. So we have to look at the literal meaning of the word ... which is ... to take something out of the market place. To take something out of the marketplace.
So, for us, today, then, the best way for us to understand Paul’s words would be to read them like this ...
“Load up your carts like most people do at Costco ... load them up full to overflowing with time ...”
And the time that Paul wants us to stockpile? Round time. Jesus time. Time which can’t be marked on a calendar or with a clock, with notes and minutes, rules and regulations ... time which passes, never to come around again ... time which we think we can control, use to our own benefit ... in other words, chronological time ... no, this is kairos time, time which was, and is, and will be ... time for repentance, and reflection, and renewal ... time for faith, time for relationship with God and time for faith friends, too... time which is not “one and done” but rather, “time for amendment of life,” time which came around and comes around and, Jesus promises, will keep coming around until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he, the Potentate of Time, comes again and becomes Time, in himself, for us, for ever.
“Load up your carts like most people do at Costco ... load them up full to overflowing with time ... because the days are evil."
The days are measured in straight line time. Time the way we keep track of it, calendared, datebooked, noted and minuted, time which we try so desperately to control. And what we do with this time as we try to master it ... it’s the same thing we do with property and health and wealth and all those other good things which God wishes to give to us ... the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the powerful and mighty get more powerful and mighty and the weak get weaker, because of our human selfishness and greed and sin.
It is the way of things.
The days, indeed, are evil.
So make the most of the round-time, Jesus-time, kairos-time ... as God has given it to us.
Don’t be foolish ... don’t be without good common sense which helps you in the marketplace of life to make good, wise decisions ... but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Which is ...
Don’t let human made spirits take over your life ... but be filled with the Spirit of God.
Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts ...
And here ... here ... is where we get our weekly bread. Our Daily Bread.
... giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, we go back to that Greek language, to a familiar word ...
Giving thanks ... eucharist.
The way we become thankful, truly thankful to God, for the gift of round time, Jesus time, is right here at this table, in this meal, this sacrament of the table, this Holy Communion, this Lord’s Supper, this Eucharist.
You will recall in the other sacrament-gift from God, Holy Baptism ... as we’ve been steeped in and splashing around in this water all the past year ... Holy Baptism, as we’ve confessed each week ... Holy Baptism is God’s good gift to us, washing us clean, making us whole, setting us on the discipleship way of walking wet in and through those flowing streams of living water. We will have a baptism here this morning ... we will witness God’s gift first hand ... let’s once again confess, using the words of Luther’s Small Catechism, what this gift is ... from page 8 in your worship folder ...
What then is the significance of a baptism with water?
Baptism means that we hear the call daily to repent to God and our neighbor – to confess the bad things we think and say and do. And daily through that repentance, God promises to forgive us, so that we may live new lives, for the sake of the world and each other.
And so Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist ... the meal that Christ himself gives to us, his body and blood given and shed for you ... this meal he gives us as pure gift, for us to eat and drink as often as we gather in his name to worship and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God ... this meal, this Eucharist, this Thanksgiving ... is simply a gift of God, in and through Jesus Christ so that we may give thanks in eating and drinking for our lives and the life of the world.
The life of the world? Yes. Just as we heard last week, that the future of the world is intrinsically connected with the relationships we make and keep, every day of our lives ... so this meal, this Holy Communion, this Eucharist, this Bread of Heaven ... this crumb of bread and sip of wine, quantitatively small though they are ... qualitatively, they are huge ... as we feed on Jesus’ body and blood, we are given life, life to go forth and live God’s saving grace into the world ... simply, care-fully, lovingly, through the relationships we already have with others ... and as God’s Spirit comes to us in this meal of Thanks, we pass it on, through those relationships, spreading Christ’s life and love all ways, in all ways.
Not surrendering to the way of things, not giving up and giving in to how everyone else is ... but standing up and standing firm for the Kingdom of God ... a Word, a Way, not just off in the sweet by and by but in the evil here and now, standing for justice and righteousness, peace and generosity for all, because This Is God’s Way Of Things. Walking wet, we go, we live, from this table, as Kingdom People, for the sake of the world God loves.
So come and dine. Come and eat and drink the living bread which came down from heaven, for your sake and for the life of the world ... stock up, load up on Jesus-time, time for amendment of your life and the life of the world ... eat, drink, go forth and share this Word of Life, this Bread of Life, Jesus, God’s son, who comes into to the world not to condemn the world, but to love it, to love us, to make us into new people, to break us free from the selfish sin-trap of straight-line time, to see, to live, to love in that Jesus-time which IS REAL, AND TRUE, AND JUST ... FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD ... FOR YOUR LIFE, AND MINE, AND THEIRS.
Come and eat ... and drink .... and live.
Amen.
Ephesians 5:15-20 / John 6:51-58
19 August 2012
People in Spokane are wondering what is going on.
Someone has, in the middle of the night, been stacking picnic tables in the public parks ... stacking them like giant pyramids ... one on top of another. Stacked so high that police have called these pyramids public safety hazards, and taped them off so people can’t get too close. Stacked so high that it’s taken city cranes and forklifts to disassemble them.
People in Spokane are wondering, what is going on.
Is it … the work of Wazzu frat boys, out for a evening prank? Space aliens, who got tired of crop circles? Extremely neat visitors from Idaho?
Nah.
It’s obviously someone who has been hearing our Sunday series of readings this past month, and decided to make a physical representation of them.
Well ... maybe not.
But these Scripture texts we’ve heard and read this past month, from the end of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, from chapter six of John’s gospel, they do build, one on another, don’t they?
Three weeks ago, Bishop Boerger started us off with the miracle-story of Jesus’ feeding of thousands with a few loaves of cheap bread and several small dried fish, one which points toward Holy Communion as well as the larger theme of God’s great generosity to his people.
Two weeks ago, we took a deeper look at “the bread of life,” and heard about how this sacrament of Communion is given to us, to bring us exactly what we need from it … more than just forgiveness … it is a meal of life and salvation, and not just for the future, but for TODAY.
Last Sunday, we heard instruction for this life of ‘walking wet’ in God’s promises, advice for imitating God in Jesus Christ, and the means … the Bread of Life … on which we are called to feed, to lead us in growing in discipleship and faith.
Now, today … well, let’s just see where the texts take us … and build us up to … next.
First, these words from Ephesians. Again, like last week, it may seem on the surface like just more unsolicited advice …
Be careful then how you live … making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
So do not be foolish … do not get drunk with wine … be filled with the Spirit… giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ah, but when we go deeper …
When we go deeper, into the author’s words, not our own tepid translation …
Start stacking those picnic tables.
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time...
Uh-uh.
There’s a reason that seminaries teach us the Greek of the New Testament as preparation for pastoral ministry. There’s one word here in Greek that takes the place of “making the most of the time” … and it is the same word Paul uses when he wants to say ‘redeem’ – what Jesus does for us.
But redeeming time doesn’t seem to make much sense, either, in this context. So we have to look at the literal meaning of the word ... which is ... to take something out of the market place. To take something out of the marketplace.
So, for us, today, then, the best way for us to understand Paul’s words would be to read them like this ...
“Load up your carts like most people do at Costco ... load them up full to overflowing with time ...”
And the time that Paul wants us to stockpile? Round time. Jesus time. Time which can’t be marked on a calendar or with a clock, with notes and minutes, rules and regulations ... time which passes, never to come around again ... time which we think we can control, use to our own benefit ... in other words, chronological time ... no, this is kairos time, time which was, and is, and will be ... time for repentance, and reflection, and renewal ... time for faith, time for relationship with God and time for faith friends, too... time which is not “one and done” but rather, “time for amendment of life,” time which came around and comes around and, Jesus promises, will keep coming around until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he, the Potentate of Time, comes again and becomes Time, in himself, for us, for ever.
“Load up your carts like most people do at Costco ... load them up full to overflowing with time ... because the days are evil."
The days are measured in straight line time. Time the way we keep track of it, calendared, datebooked, noted and minuted, time which we try so desperately to control. And what we do with this time as we try to master it ... it’s the same thing we do with property and health and wealth and all those other good things which God wishes to give to us ... the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the powerful and mighty get more powerful and mighty and the weak get weaker, because of our human selfishness and greed and sin.
It is the way of things.
The days, indeed, are evil.
So make the most of the round-time, Jesus-time, kairos-time ... as God has given it to us.
Don’t be foolish ... don’t be without good common sense which helps you in the marketplace of life to make good, wise decisions ... but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Which is ...
Don’t let human made spirits take over your life ... but be filled with the Spirit of God.
Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts ...
And here ... here ... is where we get our weekly bread. Our Daily Bread.
... giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, we go back to that Greek language, to a familiar word ...
Giving thanks ... eucharist.
The way we become thankful, truly thankful to God, for the gift of round time, Jesus time, is right here at this table, in this meal, this sacrament of the table, this Holy Communion, this Lord’s Supper, this Eucharist.
You will recall in the other sacrament-gift from God, Holy Baptism ... as we’ve been steeped in and splashing around in this water all the past year ... Holy Baptism, as we’ve confessed each week ... Holy Baptism is God’s good gift to us, washing us clean, making us whole, setting us on the discipleship way of walking wet in and through those flowing streams of living water. We will have a baptism here this morning ... we will witness God’s gift first hand ... let’s once again confess, using the words of Luther’s Small Catechism, what this gift is ... from page 8 in your worship folder ...
What then is the significance of a baptism with water?
Baptism means that we hear the call daily to repent to God and our neighbor – to confess the bad things we think and say and do. And daily through that repentance, God promises to forgive us, so that we may live new lives, for the sake of the world and each other.
And so Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist ... the meal that Christ himself gives to us, his body and blood given and shed for you ... this meal he gives us as pure gift, for us to eat and drink as often as we gather in his name to worship and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God ... this meal, this Eucharist, this Thanksgiving ... is simply a gift of God, in and through Jesus Christ so that we may give thanks in eating and drinking for our lives and the life of the world.
The life of the world? Yes. Just as we heard last week, that the future of the world is intrinsically connected with the relationships we make and keep, every day of our lives ... so this meal, this Holy Communion, this Eucharist, this Bread of Heaven ... this crumb of bread and sip of wine, quantitatively small though they are ... qualitatively, they are huge ... as we feed on Jesus’ body and blood, we are given life, life to go forth and live God’s saving grace into the world ... simply, care-fully, lovingly, through the relationships we already have with others ... and as God’s Spirit comes to us in this meal of Thanks, we pass it on, through those relationships, spreading Christ’s life and love all ways, in all ways.
Not surrendering to the way of things, not giving up and giving in to how everyone else is ... but standing up and standing firm for the Kingdom of God ... a Word, a Way, not just off in the sweet by and by but in the evil here and now, standing for justice and righteousness, peace and generosity for all, because This Is God’s Way Of Things. Walking wet, we go, we live, from this table, as Kingdom People, for the sake of the world God loves.
So come and dine. Come and eat and drink the living bread which came down from heaven, for your sake and for the life of the world ... stock up, load up on Jesus-time, time for amendment of your life and the life of the world ... eat, drink, go forth and share this Word of Life, this Bread of Life, Jesus, God’s son, who comes into to the world not to condemn the world, but to love it, to love us, to make us into new people, to break us free from the selfish sin-trap of straight-line time, to see, to live, to love in that Jesus-time which IS REAL, AND TRUE, AND JUST ... FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD ... FOR YOUR LIFE, AND MINE, AND THEIRS.
Come and eat ... and drink .... and live.
Amen.
Monday, August 13, 2012
12 August 2012
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time series B
Ephesians 4.25-5.2 / John 6.35, 41-51
12 August 2012
If you were at Matt Agee’s ordination in June, you will remember that Matt asked me to give the sermon that afternoon. It was a humbling request, so, in that role, I referenced Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” in particular, a type I wished to avoid: the character of Polonius ... the old, pompous blowhard who spends his life cramming way too much advice into too short of a period of time.
Many of us who’ve seen or read “Hamlet” know Polonius’ speech to his son Laertes quite well, as they’ve become part of our popular speech ...
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice … Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment … Neither a borrower nor a lender be … to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
There can be a thing as too much advice ... and you know the moment when that happens ... it’s like hearing the teacher’s voice in Charlie Brown’s ear … wah wah wah. And we all know people like that too … well-meaning, well-intentioned, but just saying too much. And we, like Polonius’ son Laertes ... the subject of this mudlow of monologue in the play ... we mentally check out and don’t hear the advice ... as good as it may be ... we don’t hear it at all.
Well, I hope that didn’t happen to you when the Ephesians text was read this morning. There are some real gems there for us - if we have ears to truly hear them, minds to get behind them and explore what’s really being said.
Especially this year of our baptism focus; this season of “flowing streams of living water,” as we ponder on what it means to “walk wet” in the promises God gives us in our baptism.
Let’s revisit and refresh ourselves with the words of Luther’s Small Catechism on baptism, for us, printed on page 9 in the worship folder this morning:
What then is the significance of a baptism with water?
Baptism means that we hear the call daily to repent to God and our neighbor – to confess the bad things we think and say and do. And daily through that repentance, God promises to forgive us, so that we may live new lives, for the sake of the world and each other.
The words of Luther’s Catechism lead us well into our Ephesians reading. First of all, there’s that opening line:
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
That’s the theme sentence for everything else that follows … this is Paul’s aim in putting forth these words. They’re about honesty and openness … sharing what’s really on our minds and hearts … because we really are part of one another.
I think that we lose sight of this point today. Oh sure, we want community, togetherness, true and good friends and companionship, but more and more books and articles keep coming out, on bookstore shelves and across my computer screen about how people are feeling more isolated and alone than ever. Why do you think that is?
Could it have something to do with this first sentence – this theme-builder for all of what follows? Probably! Being open and honest with each other builds community – even though sometimes honesty may hurt, it ultimately builds trust and respect and yes, community between people.
But how come we don’t have that community? How do we choose to live instead? Well, that’s the rest of Paul’s story – and where he goes next.
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.
The words Paul uses here – though not clear in the English – are very specific in his original written Greek. For the anger he’s referring to here has two meanings. It’s the same word used in the Bible for God’s wrath … the anger which, most of the time, comes from things that people have done to God… whether that’s going after other gods, or killing the prophets, or disobeying commandments and abusing creation.
That anger – that divine anger – is more like wounded love. God gets hurt by what people – we - created in the Creator’s image – what we have done and continue to do to God and creation. That’s totally understandable to Paul; and should be for us. We can relate when our love is hurt by others’ carelessness or thoughtlessness.
But it’s the result of how humans express that anger that Paul is against. Be angry – if your anger is about the same things God gets angry about: injustice, unfaithfulness to God, hurt and pain to God’s people and God’s creation. Just don’t get angry in the typical, snippy human way that comes from selfish motives, jealousy, envy, bitterness, wrath, wrangling, slandering, together with all malice. That kind of anger can lead to long-term breaks in relationships between people … “angry outbursts that turn to lasting bitterness.”
Now, remember that opening sentence, of our reading ... “let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors.” If we did that, they’d know when they had wronged us, and we, them … without those explosive outbursts that lead to fractures in relationship on which the sun never sets.
Paul knows what, more often than not, follows from those explosive outbursts … evil talk … literally, words that cause rot, decay, sickness unto death. You and I know words like that … behind the back talk … parking lot talk … sniping, back biting, whispers told around corners, tales mentioned only behind closed doors, “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you this but … “
But. But. You can just smell the rot, the decay, in words like that. Words can and do kill, and that “evil talk” kills relationships between people, and destroys community.
How much better to speak words that build up, that give grace to those who hear. Honesty. Constructive criticism. Words that are not motivated by “how can I make that person feel small, or stupid, or useless by what I say?” But rather, helpful suggestions that have the motive of love behind them.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
This godly grief is the result of wounding or insulting, a deep hurt that the Divine feels when we act this callously toward God and toward others. It’s like a death has occurred … the death of relationship between people, the death of community between God’s creation … and because God’s Spirit creates community, no wonder the Spirit grieves when that community is broken.
So be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love.
Imitating God, then, is what this is all about. Speak the truth to each other. Be angry about those things that God gets angry about, not the petty stuff that takes up so much of our time. Don’t let every little thing get to you, don’t hold on to angry grudges, and don’t express anger in passive-aggressive ways or irrational fits of rage. Don’t speak evil of others; use your words not to tear down but to build up.
In other words, it’s all about relationships. And we should get this as Christians … figuring out that limiting our faith to just “me and Jesus” … concentrating on having “a personal relationship with Jesus” to the exclusion of the rest of God’s creation ... this cuts us off from our brothers and sisters, from a world in need … indeed, from God and the one God sends to us as one of us, so that we may walk wet in promise and hope ... Jesus Christ himself, the one in whom we are given the best example to imitate.
We see the error of our ways that so segments God from the rest of our lives – keeping our time with God down to one hour a week – or less, using faith as a weapon to divide rather than create healing, wholeness and community.
I heard that word, to help me “get it,” from an unexpected source. A friend of mine, who happens to be Buddhist, said to me, “the future of the world is intrinsically connected with the relationships you make and keep, every day of your life.”
I had to think about that for a minute … and in thinking, I discovered the larger truth behind it. I thought of all the people that I’m interconnected with every day … all the relationships I have. Tens. Even hundreds. And then, all the relationships those people have with others. Hundreds. Even thousands. How I treat them has a direct impact on how they treat others.
Think of all the relationship connections that there are right here, right now. And then, all the relationship connections that those relationships are connected with. What we do here does have a direct impact on the future of the world.
We are, indeed, the sum of all the connections and relationships we make, and have, every day of our lives. And in those connections, those relationships, we meet Christ. For my friend’s words reminded me of the words of Jesus – the last words he shared with his disciples before his Passion, suffering and death … As you do to the least of these who are members of my family, you do it to me.
That’s a sobering thought. Maybe a troubling thought. Because I’m bound to say something stupid … react in anger, insult someone, speak poorly of somebody … I am human, after all. I can’t avoid it. You can’t avoid it. It would be nice to be the calm, non-anxious presence such as Paul neatly lays things out here, but we know we can’t perfectly imitate God. We’ll try … sometimes we’ll get it right … and sometimes, we’ll blow it big time.
So what then? Then – we need something … someone … to be in relationship with us even when we break those relationships with others.
One who says to us I am the bread of life. The same One who will give us our “daily bread.”
One who gives us this “daily bread” that helps glue our relationships with others back together, the love he has for us overflowing and unable to be contained, flowing out into us and all the relationships we have and keep, every day of our lives.
One who will even become that bread – feeding us, forgiving us, giving us his very life so that we can have the forgiveness we need, the forgiveness we need from him because when we hurt others we hurt him … the forgiveness that sends us out to forgive each other when we wrong them, in our anger, our carelessness and thoughtlessness, our just plain selfishness.
The future of the world, indeed, is intrinsically connected with our relationships with others.
Thanks to God for the Bread – our brother, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - that comes into our lives and fills us, fills us and sends us out, sends us out to fill others ... for our sake, for their sake, for the sake of the world God loves.
Amen.
Ephesians 4.25-5.2 / John 6.35, 41-51
12 August 2012
If you were at Matt Agee’s ordination in June, you will remember that Matt asked me to give the sermon that afternoon. It was a humbling request, so, in that role, I referenced Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” in particular, a type I wished to avoid: the character of Polonius ... the old, pompous blowhard who spends his life cramming way too much advice into too short of a period of time.
Many of us who’ve seen or read “Hamlet” know Polonius’ speech to his son Laertes quite well, as they’ve become part of our popular speech ...
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice … Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment … Neither a borrower nor a lender be … to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
There can be a thing as too much advice ... and you know the moment when that happens ... it’s like hearing the teacher’s voice in Charlie Brown’s ear … wah wah wah. And we all know people like that too … well-meaning, well-intentioned, but just saying too much. And we, like Polonius’ son Laertes ... the subject of this mudlow of monologue in the play ... we mentally check out and don’t hear the advice ... as good as it may be ... we don’t hear it at all.
Well, I hope that didn’t happen to you when the Ephesians text was read this morning. There are some real gems there for us - if we have ears to truly hear them, minds to get behind them and explore what’s really being said.
Especially this year of our baptism focus; this season of “flowing streams of living water,” as we ponder on what it means to “walk wet” in the promises God gives us in our baptism.
Let’s revisit and refresh ourselves with the words of Luther’s Small Catechism on baptism, for us, printed on page 9 in the worship folder this morning:
What then is the significance of a baptism with water?
Baptism means that we hear the call daily to repent to God and our neighbor – to confess the bad things we think and say and do. And daily through that repentance, God promises to forgive us, so that we may live new lives, for the sake of the world and each other.
The words of Luther’s Catechism lead us well into our Ephesians reading. First of all, there’s that opening line:
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
That’s the theme sentence for everything else that follows … this is Paul’s aim in putting forth these words. They’re about honesty and openness … sharing what’s really on our minds and hearts … because we really are part of one another.
I think that we lose sight of this point today. Oh sure, we want community, togetherness, true and good friends and companionship, but more and more books and articles keep coming out, on bookstore shelves and across my computer screen about how people are feeling more isolated and alone than ever. Why do you think that is?
Could it have something to do with this first sentence – this theme-builder for all of what follows? Probably! Being open and honest with each other builds community – even though sometimes honesty may hurt, it ultimately builds trust and respect and yes, community between people.
But how come we don’t have that community? How do we choose to live instead? Well, that’s the rest of Paul’s story – and where he goes next.
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.
The words Paul uses here – though not clear in the English – are very specific in his original written Greek. For the anger he’s referring to here has two meanings. It’s the same word used in the Bible for God’s wrath … the anger which, most of the time, comes from things that people have done to God… whether that’s going after other gods, or killing the prophets, or disobeying commandments and abusing creation.
That anger – that divine anger – is more like wounded love. God gets hurt by what people – we - created in the Creator’s image – what we have done and continue to do to God and creation. That’s totally understandable to Paul; and should be for us. We can relate when our love is hurt by others’ carelessness or thoughtlessness.
But it’s the result of how humans express that anger that Paul is against. Be angry – if your anger is about the same things God gets angry about: injustice, unfaithfulness to God, hurt and pain to God’s people and God’s creation. Just don’t get angry in the typical, snippy human way that comes from selfish motives, jealousy, envy, bitterness, wrath, wrangling, slandering, together with all malice. That kind of anger can lead to long-term breaks in relationships between people … “angry outbursts that turn to lasting bitterness.”
Now, remember that opening sentence, of our reading ... “let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors.” If we did that, they’d know when they had wronged us, and we, them … without those explosive outbursts that lead to fractures in relationship on which the sun never sets.
Paul knows what, more often than not, follows from those explosive outbursts … evil talk … literally, words that cause rot, decay, sickness unto death. You and I know words like that … behind the back talk … parking lot talk … sniping, back biting, whispers told around corners, tales mentioned only behind closed doors, “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you this but … “
But. But. You can just smell the rot, the decay, in words like that. Words can and do kill, and that “evil talk” kills relationships between people, and destroys community.
How much better to speak words that build up, that give grace to those who hear. Honesty. Constructive criticism. Words that are not motivated by “how can I make that person feel small, or stupid, or useless by what I say?” But rather, helpful suggestions that have the motive of love behind them.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
This godly grief is the result of wounding or insulting, a deep hurt that the Divine feels when we act this callously toward God and toward others. It’s like a death has occurred … the death of relationship between people, the death of community between God’s creation … and because God’s Spirit creates community, no wonder the Spirit grieves when that community is broken.
So be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love.
Imitating God, then, is what this is all about. Speak the truth to each other. Be angry about those things that God gets angry about, not the petty stuff that takes up so much of our time. Don’t let every little thing get to you, don’t hold on to angry grudges, and don’t express anger in passive-aggressive ways or irrational fits of rage. Don’t speak evil of others; use your words not to tear down but to build up.
In other words, it’s all about relationships. And we should get this as Christians … figuring out that limiting our faith to just “me and Jesus” … concentrating on having “a personal relationship with Jesus” to the exclusion of the rest of God’s creation ... this cuts us off from our brothers and sisters, from a world in need … indeed, from God and the one God sends to us as one of us, so that we may walk wet in promise and hope ... Jesus Christ himself, the one in whom we are given the best example to imitate.
We see the error of our ways that so segments God from the rest of our lives – keeping our time with God down to one hour a week – or less, using faith as a weapon to divide rather than create healing, wholeness and community.
I heard that word, to help me “get it,” from an unexpected source. A friend of mine, who happens to be Buddhist, said to me, “the future of the world is intrinsically connected with the relationships you make and keep, every day of your life.”
I had to think about that for a minute … and in thinking, I discovered the larger truth behind it. I thought of all the people that I’m interconnected with every day … all the relationships I have. Tens. Even hundreds. And then, all the relationships those people have with others. Hundreds. Even thousands. How I treat them has a direct impact on how they treat others.
Think of all the relationship connections that there are right here, right now. And then, all the relationship connections that those relationships are connected with. What we do here does have a direct impact on the future of the world.
We are, indeed, the sum of all the connections and relationships we make, and have, every day of our lives. And in those connections, those relationships, we meet Christ. For my friend’s words reminded me of the words of Jesus – the last words he shared with his disciples before his Passion, suffering and death … As you do to the least of these who are members of my family, you do it to me.
That’s a sobering thought. Maybe a troubling thought. Because I’m bound to say something stupid … react in anger, insult someone, speak poorly of somebody … I am human, after all. I can’t avoid it. You can’t avoid it. It would be nice to be the calm, non-anxious presence such as Paul neatly lays things out here, but we know we can’t perfectly imitate God. We’ll try … sometimes we’ll get it right … and sometimes, we’ll blow it big time.
So what then? Then – we need something … someone … to be in relationship with us even when we break those relationships with others.
One who says to us I am the bread of life. The same One who will give us our “daily bread.”
One who gives us this “daily bread” that helps glue our relationships with others back together, the love he has for us overflowing and unable to be contained, flowing out into us and all the relationships we have and keep, every day of our lives.
One who will even become that bread – feeding us, forgiving us, giving us his very life so that we can have the forgiveness we need, the forgiveness we need from him because when we hurt others we hurt him … the forgiveness that sends us out to forgive each other when we wrong them, in our anger, our carelessness and thoughtlessness, our just plain selfishness.
The future of the world, indeed, is intrinsically connected with our relationships with others.
Thanks to God for the Bread – our brother, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - that comes into our lives and fills us, fills us and sends us out, sends us out to fill others ... for our sake, for their sake, for the sake of the world God loves.
Amen.
Sunday, August 05, 2012
5 August 2012
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time B
John 6:24-35 / Ephesians 4:5
5 August 2012
In a couple of weeks, we’ll once again be having our church picnic. You’ll note in the bulletin announcement that it’s a potluck, bring something to share (salad or dessert) and, if you want, something for the grill, and something you’d like to drink.
And then there’s that next paragraph … labeled “activities include” … and we get our choice of badminton, croquet, horseshoes, trampoline, swings, or just ‘bonding in the shade.’
It’s a great example for us of a meal that means much more than just … a meal. I mean, the food is usually very good at our church picnic (as it is at the other events we have here at Nativity) but the afternoon is about more than just the food. It’s all that other stuff … “activities included” … that makes the picnic a good, memorable time for those who go.
And that is the way it is, when we share meals with others. We can have the same food every time we get together … picnic fare, spaghetti, pizza, ice cream sundaes … Sunday pot roast … whatever … but each time we get together, there can be a different meaning, a different purpose, different memories for us.
Sometimes it’s a celebration. And sometimes, it’s a comfort and a consolation.
This Sunday, we’re on week two of our “bread” texts from John chapter 6 … last week, the Bishop led us through the story of the feeding of the thousands, the miracle / sign which is so important to the story of Jesus for his followers that all four gospels include it.
In John’s gospel, that feeding story is definitely most about “sign” … the sign of Jesus feeding so many with so little, and the baskets of crumbs left over … that right there serves to point out that Jesus is SomeOne Different … and this miracle / sign takes its place in John’s gospel with the others … water turned to wine … blind man given sight … the raising of dead Lazarus … these signs are proofs, to readers and hearers then, and now, of Jesus’ being sent by his Father- God to earth to be about something new here … God as a man … yes … and a man who can and does show the world Who it is he points toward, embodies, en-fleshes.
But we can’t help hear that feeding story … Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, gives it out again … we can’t help hear this story and think, Holy Communion … the meal for us, gathered together by, for, around Jesus. The “work of God” that we would believe … all gift to us, just as in Baptism, the Flowing Streams of Living Water for Us … in Holy Communion the “work” is all God’s, and we simply receive it as part of our life together as Jesus’ followers, disciples, forgiven and freed children. The Meal …it is what we as God’s baptized do, plain and simple, each week as we walk wet to the table of our Lord, gathered in Jesus’ name to eat and to drink.
This week’s Gospel moves us into the aftermath of that miraculous feeding … the crowd follows Jesus and the disciples to the other side of the sea of Galilee, then finds them … and Jesus, trying to move the crowd beyond the physical feeding they’ve just experienced, beyond just the temporal and temporary bread to something else … says “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”
And so we are called, too … called to move beyond just the physical feeding as well … in our recollection and reception of the story, staying focused on the food-stuff of Holy Communion … the bread, the wine, the juice, wafers or bread … that’s not the point of all this. There’s not enough here for us to eat and drink to physically sate us, that’s for sure. So we must look at, AND beyond it.
And when we look beyond the physical nature of this meal, we will see that … just like any other meal we share with others … it has a multi-faceted beauty, to and for us … just as our other earthly meals can and do have greater meanings beyond the physical eating and drinking, so too Holy Communion has this for us.
In other words, Holy Communion can, should, does have different meanings to different people who receive it at different times and different places in their lives.
We’ve been reading a bit of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism each week, in this year of Baptism reflection and renewal for us at Nativity … but today, I’d also like for us to hear Luther’s catechism words on Holy Communion … namely, his answers to the question, What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
The words ‘given for you’ and ‘shed for you for the forgiveness of sin’ show us that forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation are given to us in the sacrament …
We Lutherans have focused for a long, long time on the ‘forgiveness of sin’ part of Holy Communion. And certainly that’s important … Jesus says so in his words which are said every time we celebrate this meal together.
But Luther rightly points out that there are two other aspects of this meal that we shouldn’t forget … namely, that life and salvation also come to us through Holy Communion.
This is so important for us to hear, to receive today, as we have this text before us. Jesus says ‘I am the bread of life’ and so he comes to us, for us, in this meal, to eat and drink … but like any other meal, it does not always carry the same meaning for us.
Meaning that, maybe this week you really, truly need to hear, to receive, to eat and drink on the Word that you are forgiven by Jesus, forgiven and freed from all your sins and shortcomings. And so you are … the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, given and shed for you.
But perhaps that is not your need this week. Perhaps you are so full of thanks, rejoicing over something that has happened, to or for you, to or for someone you love, that you come to the table asking Christ to be part of that thankfulness and rejoicing. And so he is, for you … the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, given and shed for you, for life.
Or maybe you have had the opposite kind of week … one full of much sadness, need, neglect, caring for others, emptied out, spent, needing re-filling, re-creation … you come to the table asking Christ to come and share that burden, relieve that burden, and grant you comfort, rest, energy, peace, calm, steadiness … salvation, not just for hereafter, but for here and now. And so he is, for you … the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, given and shed for you, for salvation.
And this is not just for us singly, individually. This is not a “me and Jesus” moment ... it’s a WE AND JESUS meal. Christ comes to each and to all, all who are gathered here at this hungry feast, and he brings to each and to all, forgiveness, life, salvation.
This is the meal that means more than just forgiveness. Or even, one kind of forgiveness.
He comes … he comes, the bread of life, comes in the bread and wine, and brings forgiveness, life and salvation … in as many ways as there are of us, of all who have gathered and will gather today around the many tables which are the One Table of the One Lord who meets each of us here, each of us, ALL OF US, just as we are, and gives us himself … come down from heaven and giving life to the world.
Sir, give us this bread always.
And so he does. And so he does. For you and you and you and me, for us, and them and them and them and US.
Come and eat, come and drink, come to this hungry feast and dine on the Bread of Life.
Amen.
John 6:24-35 / Ephesians 4:5
5 August 2012
In a couple of weeks, we’ll once again be having our church picnic. You’ll note in the bulletin announcement that it’s a potluck, bring something to share (salad or dessert) and, if you want, something for the grill, and something you’d like to drink.
And then there’s that next paragraph … labeled “activities include” … and we get our choice of badminton, croquet, horseshoes, trampoline, swings, or just ‘bonding in the shade.’
It’s a great example for us of a meal that means much more than just … a meal. I mean, the food is usually very good at our church picnic (as it is at the other events we have here at Nativity) but the afternoon is about more than just the food. It’s all that other stuff … “activities included” … that makes the picnic a good, memorable time for those who go.
And that is the way it is, when we share meals with others. We can have the same food every time we get together … picnic fare, spaghetti, pizza, ice cream sundaes … Sunday pot roast … whatever … but each time we get together, there can be a different meaning, a different purpose, different memories for us.
Sometimes it’s a celebration. And sometimes, it’s a comfort and a consolation.
This Sunday, we’re on week two of our “bread” texts from John chapter 6 … last week, the Bishop led us through the story of the feeding of the thousands, the miracle / sign which is so important to the story of Jesus for his followers that all four gospels include it.
In John’s gospel, that feeding story is definitely most about “sign” … the sign of Jesus feeding so many with so little, and the baskets of crumbs left over … that right there serves to point out that Jesus is SomeOne Different … and this miracle / sign takes its place in John’s gospel with the others … water turned to wine … blind man given sight … the raising of dead Lazarus … these signs are proofs, to readers and hearers then, and now, of Jesus’ being sent by his Father- God to earth to be about something new here … God as a man … yes … and a man who can and does show the world Who it is he points toward, embodies, en-fleshes.
But we can’t help hear that feeding story … Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, gives it out again … we can’t help hear this story and think, Holy Communion … the meal for us, gathered together by, for, around Jesus. The “work of God” that we would believe … all gift to us, just as in Baptism, the Flowing Streams of Living Water for Us … in Holy Communion the “work” is all God’s, and we simply receive it as part of our life together as Jesus’ followers, disciples, forgiven and freed children. The Meal …it is what we as God’s baptized do, plain and simple, each week as we walk wet to the table of our Lord, gathered in Jesus’ name to eat and to drink.
This week’s Gospel moves us into the aftermath of that miraculous feeding … the crowd follows Jesus and the disciples to the other side of the sea of Galilee, then finds them … and Jesus, trying to move the crowd beyond the physical feeding they’ve just experienced, beyond just the temporal and temporary bread to something else … says “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”
And so we are called, too … called to move beyond just the physical feeding as well … in our recollection and reception of the story, staying focused on the food-stuff of Holy Communion … the bread, the wine, the juice, wafers or bread … that’s not the point of all this. There’s not enough here for us to eat and drink to physically sate us, that’s for sure. So we must look at, AND beyond it.
And when we look beyond the physical nature of this meal, we will see that … just like any other meal we share with others … it has a multi-faceted beauty, to and for us … just as our other earthly meals can and do have greater meanings beyond the physical eating and drinking, so too Holy Communion has this for us.
In other words, Holy Communion can, should, does have different meanings to different people who receive it at different times and different places in their lives.
We’ve been reading a bit of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism each week, in this year of Baptism reflection and renewal for us at Nativity … but today, I’d also like for us to hear Luther’s catechism words on Holy Communion … namely, his answers to the question, What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
The words ‘given for you’ and ‘shed for you for the forgiveness of sin’ show us that forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation are given to us in the sacrament …
We Lutherans have focused for a long, long time on the ‘forgiveness of sin’ part of Holy Communion. And certainly that’s important … Jesus says so in his words which are said every time we celebrate this meal together.
But Luther rightly points out that there are two other aspects of this meal that we shouldn’t forget … namely, that life and salvation also come to us through Holy Communion.
This is so important for us to hear, to receive today, as we have this text before us. Jesus says ‘I am the bread of life’ and so he comes to us, for us, in this meal, to eat and drink … but like any other meal, it does not always carry the same meaning for us.
Meaning that, maybe this week you really, truly need to hear, to receive, to eat and drink on the Word that you are forgiven by Jesus, forgiven and freed from all your sins and shortcomings. And so you are … the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, given and shed for you.
But perhaps that is not your need this week. Perhaps you are so full of thanks, rejoicing over something that has happened, to or for you, to or for someone you love, that you come to the table asking Christ to be part of that thankfulness and rejoicing. And so he is, for you … the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, given and shed for you, for life.
Or maybe you have had the opposite kind of week … one full of much sadness, need, neglect, caring for others, emptied out, spent, needing re-filling, re-creation … you come to the table asking Christ to come and share that burden, relieve that burden, and grant you comfort, rest, energy, peace, calm, steadiness … salvation, not just for hereafter, but for here and now. And so he is, for you … the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, given and shed for you, for salvation.
And this is not just for us singly, individually. This is not a “me and Jesus” moment ... it’s a WE AND JESUS meal. Christ comes to each and to all, all who are gathered here at this hungry feast, and he brings to each and to all, forgiveness, life, salvation.
This is the meal that means more than just forgiveness. Or even, one kind of forgiveness.
He comes … he comes, the bread of life, comes in the bread and wine, and brings forgiveness, life and salvation … in as many ways as there are of us, of all who have gathered and will gather today around the many tables which are the One Table of the One Lord who meets each of us here, each of us, ALL OF US, just as we are, and gives us himself … come down from heaven and giving life to the world.
Sir, give us this bread always.
And so he does. And so he does. For you and you and you and me, for us, and them and them and them and US.
Come and eat, come and drink, come to this hungry feast and dine on the Bread of Life.
Amen.
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