Sermon for August 9, 2015

Readings were from: 2 Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33
Psalm 130
Ephesians 4:25—5:2
John 6:35, 41—51

Did you have breakfast before your left for church this morning? If you did, you’re probably one of those people who get up early enough to eat something before you have to leave the house, and you’re lucky enough not to have your stomach rumbling by now. Whenever we’re hungry, things seem harder. When we’re hungry, we’re not satisfied. We might say that we’re troubled by hunger. It’s been only a few hours since we all woke up. I can’t imagine how it would be to feel hungry for many days. And I’m not thinking about being hungry for something sweet, for candy, to have something to chew on. I’m mean being really hungry, longing to have something—anything—to eat, even if it’s only a dry, old, cold piece of bread.

What is bread? Bread is one of the basic foods, made only from flour and water and then prepared somehow—usually by baking. When we use the word “bread,” we’re usually talking about the basic food we need, subsistence, living comforts, basic needs, whatever is necessary for our daily living. There are lots of sayings and quotations about bread. We also know that if we want bread, we need to do something to get it; we need to pay for it.

In the crowd of people following Jesus, many were doing it because they had got something to eat. When they were hungry, Jesus fed them. He said: “Truly, truly I say to you: you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” At that time, they had been filled with a few loaves of bread and some fish. Now they were hungry again and so they again came to Jesus. And in that situation Jesus talked about food: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Jesus told them that he himself is bread.

“I am the bread of life.” What does this mean? What is he talking about? Did he know something about baking? Was he a carpenter and a baker too? No. He is not talking about normal bread, the kind you can buy at some place like Meijer’s or Wallmart. When people eat that normal kind of bread, after a while—maybe after a few hours—they’re hungry again. Whenever you drink, later you become thirsty again. Jesus is saying that whoever comes to him shall not hunger, and whoever believes in him shall never thirst. And this is not the kind of bread you can buy. Jesus spoke of himself as the bread of life, the living bread that came down from heaven.

Jews knew what he was talking about; they knew what he meant by “the bread that came down from heaven.” It was the bread they got in the wilderness when God appointed Moses to lead the people of Israel from Egypt, the land of slavery, into the Promised Land. The bread from heaven is part of the Jewish tradition and it’s known as manna. Manna was collected by the people of Israel every day except Saturday, the Sabbath. The day before Saturday, twice as much manna came down so that they would have enough for Saturday too. Manna was the food they received from God. But that manna didn’t give them eternal life. Those people of Israel died. But Jesus spoke of himself as the bread of life, and that whoever comes to him will not die, but will live forever.

Jesus is talking about something so great, so majestic, that it can mean only the power of God. Jesus is God, even though some of that crowd didn’t believe him. He used the phrase “I am.” In the Gospels, Jesus used that phrase more than just in today’s reading. For example, he said “I am light…I am the vine…I am the good shepherd.” This short phrase, “I am,” describes the Son of God, Jesus, who received the role from his Father. In the Old Testament we also find this same phrase, “I am.” In Exodus, God tells Moses: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” In the Old Testament, this “I am” means God’s revelation of himself and his command.

By saying “I am the bread of life…I am the bread which came down from heaven,” Jesus is showing his divinity and also his pre-existence, that he was with the Father from ancient times, from the beginning. This is what the Jews didn’t understand. They knew his origins; they knew his parents. How could this carpenter be God? That was why they grumbled, just as their ancestors had grumbled during their time in the wilderness, leaving Egypt behind and yet thinking about the food they used to have there.

Jesus stopped their grumbling and taught them. Jesus explained how they might come to him: they had to be drawn by the Father. Whoever listened to the Father and learned from him would be drawn to Jesus. People can’t come to Jesus and believe in him as Saviour by themselves, on their own volition. We are so corrupted by sin that it isn’t possible for us to do it through our own understanding. As Dr. Martin Luther says in explaining the Third Article of the Creed: “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith.” It is the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, who calls, enlightens, makes and keeps us holy. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God. The Son of God came down from heaven, from God. Only Jesus knows the Father because he came from the Father. He is from God and his is God—God from God. The Father sent his only Son as the Bread of Life, the bread that gives everlasting life, the perfect bread.

This perfect bread is contrasted with manna. Jesus Christ is that bread, and that bread he gave is his own flesh, which he gave for the life of the world. By giving his own flesh and blood on the cross, he paid for us—for you and for me. God became truly human. He humbled himself and paid for all our sins, so that we might be saved from our sins and have everlasting life. Jesus Christ saved us from eternal death. He gave us everlasting life. He became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus led us from slavery to sin and his sacrifice is perfect. It is enough. It is sufficient. We don’t have to be afraid about our future, about what will happen when we die. Physical death is only the end of life here on earth. However, our God is high and almighty. Jesus overcame death. Death didn’t have power over him. On the third day he was raised. God the Father raised him. And Jesus told us that he will raise us at the last day.

Our response to this great gift should be faith. Faith, belief, is the one and only act that is needed. It costs no money; it is a gift for everyone. Everything has already been paid by Jesus. Because he paid, we don’t need to pay because of our unrighteousness. He paid for every evil, every sin that we have done and everything we have neglected to do. He took our suffering and sorrows. He suffered for us, paying everything we would have had to pay, because we know that the reward or penalty for sin is death. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus took all this on himself. He paid dearly and at a high cost. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “You were bought with a price.”

This was not by our own doing, not something we achieved by our own doing. God humbled himself as an act of his amazing grace, because God is love. It is not by our works. We can’t gain God’s favour by anything we do. He gained us because he fell in love with us even before we were his friends, when we were his enemies. He died for us; he died for sinners. As St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion, in which we receive the true Body and true Blood of Christ under the forms of consecrated bread and wine. In the Sacrament, repentant sinners have the forgiveness of their sins. In, with, and under the form of bread, Christ is truly present, the whole Christ, both spiritually and physically. Holy Communion brings us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Today we are gathered to hear God’s Word. Jesus Christ is that Word. He is the Word that became flesh. God nourishes us with this Word. He still gives us the possibility of listening to and thinking about his Word—meditating on it.

Today we will also receive the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have the possibility to do what the psalmist tells us: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Christ is calling us to himself. Christ is the Word made flesh. He is the one who calls us to his table. He calls everybody, offering himself to each of us. He is the base or foundation of our lives. He is the bread of life, the bread of life that we need. He should be our daily bread for our daily lives.

Jesus calls us: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Often we are looking for some goal for our lives, searching for the right way, because we don’t know where we should go. God draws near to us and tells us that he is the only one, all that we need. Often we are not satisfied with everything that’s around us. Most of all, we aren’t satisfied with ourselves. We long for acceptance and fulfillment in life, for some sense of direction. God is the one who accepts us. Many times we feel overwhelmed as we try to carry the heavy burden of our sins. God still accepts us with open arms. He is still with us even when we feel as though we have no place, that we are too different, too weird, not important enough. He accepts us and cares for us even when we are weak and when we are having various difficulties at work, at school, in our families, in our personal lives. Jesus gives you a helping hand; he gives you himself.

Whenever we’re hungry, we immediately realize it and find something to eat. If we are children, we tell our parents that we’re hungry and they give us some food to fill our stomachs. When our lives and our souls are empty, we need to go to our God, the one who will feed our souls; because he is the Bread of Life. Where do you go with your hungry heart?