Sermon for August 8th, 2021
The Bread of Life
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
I knew three of my aunts well. Aunt Ruth lived nearby, and we saw her often. Aunt June lived in Vermont. We did not see Aunt June very often as children, but I got closer to her later in life. Both Aunts Ruth and June died within the last year, the last of their generation in our family.
But my Aunt Edna, well, she was my favorite.
When my brother, Byron, and I were young, ages 5 – 10 or so, we would take a “vacation” every summer and spend two weeks with Aunt Edna and Uncle Paul. And those times, they were the best.
I later realized that these summer weeks were really my parents’ vacation, needed time away from us, time for them to do their favorite activities which often included traveling to New York City and seeing Broadway shows. It did not matter. The summer weeks I spent with Aunt Edna and Uncle Paul when I was young were the highlights of those years for me.
As we, and Aunt Edna, grew older, she continued to be a strong presence in our lives. Especially after Uncle Paul’s death, Aunt Edna was often with us for major holidays, at least Thanksgiving and often Christmas. Kris and I would visit her in her senior apartment and later in the nursing home where she spent her final years.
And what do I remember the most? Well, perhaps no surprise, what I associate most with Aunt Edna are certain foods, especially her wonderful coconut cake and ambrosia fruit salad.
We could always count on Aunt Edna to bring these dishes with her when she traveled from Selinsgrove or Sunbury Pennsylvania to my parents’ home in Wyomissing or Kris’ and my home in Catasauqua.
I still miss Aunt Edna. She was much more than the foods I associate with her, but those foods do bring back such fond memories of good times with her.
I suspect it is the same for many of you. That a particular food or foods remind you of a loved one who is no longer with us? A parent or grandparent, aunt or uncle or another close relative or friend?
Food and drink are often tied to key times in our lives, key memories, milestones such as births, graduations, weddings, deaths, and more.
Jesus liked to eat and drink. A lot.
Jesus’ first miracle was not a healing miracle. It was a miracle to help out at a several days long wedding reception. Jesus turned water into wine, providing additional wine when it as needed, wine that the host noted was better than the wine that had run out.
Jesus’ last time with his disciples before his crucifixion also revolved around food and drink, a Passover meal, the introduction of what we call the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the Eucharist – Jesus’ body, given for us; Jesus’ blood, shed for us.
And between these two bookend events of Jesus’ ministry, there were many other meals. It seemed almost every time Jesus entered a new village to preach and teach and heal, he would first spend time eating and drinking with his friends. Not only did Jesus have a wine miracle, Jesus had a food miracle – the Feeding of the 5,000.
Thus, when Jesus says again this Sunday in today’s Gospel lesson, a verse also part of last Sunday’s Gospel lesson, “I am the bread of life,” Jesus was talking both literally and theologically.
One of the hardest parts for me, and I know for many of you, one of the hardest parts for me during this long COVID-19 break from in-person worship has been not being able to gather for in-person worship to share the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the Eucharist, the wonderful meal that Christ introduced at His Last Supper. This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you.
Yes, Jose and I have hosted monthly Mt. Olive gatherings via Zoom which have included Holy Communion in our homes, but, well, you know, they have not been the same, or even close to the same, as gathering in-person, together.
We will soon, hopefully, be able to gather again in-person and share in this meal of God’s forgiveness and love.
As COVID-19 stretches on, as this new delta variant causes frightening increases in sickness and death, we must hold onto Jesus’ promise in today’ Gospel – those who believe in Jesus will never be hungry, those who believe in Jesus will never be thirsty.
Belief in Jesus, even when we cannot share the bread and wine of his love in person, belief in Jesus brings us all eternal life with him.
I believe that with all my heart. Jesus is always with me. Jesus is always with us all.
But I also know that there are times for far too many when Jesus does not feel present, times of disease, death, loneliness, job loss. Times when we have failed our children, or they have failed us. Times when we have been lied to. Times when our hearts are broken. For many, perhaps even most of us, there are and will be times when we find it difficult to see God in Christ in our midst, times when it is difficult to feel God’s love for us.
God’s love coming to us through food is a common theme in all of the Bible, not just the Gospels. In our first lesson today, Elijah is done, even asking God to die. So, God sends an angel to Elijah, not to take his life or to tell Elijah that he did not need to continue as a prophet. No, the angel came to Elijah to say that it is time to “get up and eat.” And the text tells us Elijah did just that, he ate and drank the cake and water provided by the angel and that was enough for Elijah to feel stronger and to head on to Mt. Horeb, the mount of God.
We, you and I, we probably will not have angels delivering food to us, but often in our lowest times, the love of God comes to us and others through food: A neighbor, friend or family member dies and what do we do – we bring them food. In those times when we do not know what to say or even fear saying the wrong thing, we can still bring comfort to those we love in the form of food. And others do the same for us. Real angels in the form of those who bring us food in our lowest times. I have seen it time and time again as I know you have also.
Psalm 23 reminds us that God “prepares a table before us” and that “our cup runs over.”
Our cup of God’s love for us runs over. Our cup runs over even in those times when we are not able to feel God’s presence with us. And, even in those times, our cup runs over because we still have God’s continued promise of love for us.
It is interesting that the Lord’s Prayer says, “Give us today our daily bread.” It does not say, “Give us all the bread” or “Give us a lot of bread” or even “Give us our fill of bread.” No, the Lord’s Prayer says, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Enough bread, food, for this day, enough faith and hope and love to get through this day.
And that is my prayer for you and me in our tough days and every day. That in all times, but especially in the most difficult times, in all times it is my prayer that we will continue to know the love of God in Christ Jesus, a love that can and will get us through the dark days of our lives and help us celebrate the glorious days of our lives.
In Jesus Christ, God has given us enough. Enough for this day. Enough for all of the good and all of the bad days. Enough.
Jesus is our bread of life. We live and work and care for ourselves and others in the love of God in Jesus, the living bread from heaven.
Amen.
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sermon for:
August 8th, 2021
