I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Edmond J. Dunn tells this story: \u201cIt was an early October evening in a university town in the late 1950\u2019s. I was a graduate student and was participating in the late-afternoon eucharistic liturgy in the Quonset hut that served as the campus chapel. The chapel overlooked a Quonset village left over from World War II days that the university now used as housing for married graduate students. Often these young families would make their way to the chapel to participate in the daily Supper of the Lord, bringing their toddlers with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs the words of institution were pronounced and the presider raised the holy bread for people to see\u2013a time when things get very quiet and parents especially want their children to be attentive\u2013the voice of a two-year-old pierced the silence with a questioning \u2018Dat Jesus?\u2019 Then, as the parent tried to assure the child that indeed it was Jesus but one should be quiet, the little one burst out again, affirming the parent\u2019s suggestion, \u2018Dat\u2019s Jesus!\u2019 Finally, caught up with the attention of the moment, the two-year-old exclaimed with an unrestrained exuberance, \u2018Da-a-a-a-t\u2019s Je-e-e-sus!!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of a sudden it dawned on me that the child understood the mystery as well as I did; or perhaps said better the other way. I understood this mystery I was participating in little more than the child whose parent was whispering, \u2018Be still, Jesus is coming.’\u201d (Homily Service, Vol. 33, No. 5, p. 28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am the living bread that came down from heaven,\u201d says Jesus, then and now. \u201cWhoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This bread is central to our life together. The bread that we take, bless, break, and give to one another in this amazing meal we share each Sunday is food indeed, strong food, life-giving food, bread that not only sustains, but saves and gifts those who receive it with \u201clife everlasting.\u201d This bread may be unleavened, pressed and stamped into wafers, or it may be fresh bread, hot and fragrant from the oven, with the aroma filling the sanctuary itself, welcoming, inviting the hungry into our midst. Regardless of how it looks, tastes, or smells, this bread is the vehicle that brings Christ into the very midst of our lives. It is a true feast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Catechism in The Book of Common Prayer has an interesting section on \u201cThe Holy Eucharist.\u201d It says, \u201cThe Holy Eucharist is called the Lord\u2019s Supper, and Holy Communion; it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering.\u201d It continues: \u201cThe benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So what do we mean by eternal life, life everlasting? The Catechism tells us, \u201cBy everlasting life, we mean a new existence, in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other.\u201d Do you hear anything about \u201cpie in the sky when you die\u201d in that definition? No, it says \u201ca new existence,\u201d which certainly could include the time after our death, but it isn\u2019t limited to a post-mortal time frame. It speaks more of a state of being than a particular time or place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of this: a new existence in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other. Can you imagine fully knowing and loving another person, let alone fully knowing and loving God? We know so little of who God is in this life, the old existence. We try to expand our thinking about God, but we can\u2019t know God in the divine totality\u2013just in bits and snatches, in stories and in prayer, in music and in nature, in church and in the family and in the workplace. Partial experience of God is all we have now, but through the grace of the living bread that came down from heaven, we are promised this new existence, and we can begin to live into that new existence today. The gift has been given. The choice is ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, we make the choice to come to the table. We make it over and over, week after week, but how often do we think about the implications of this meal? The Catechism continues with the question, \u201cWhat is required of us when we come to the Eucharist?\u201d and answers, \u201cIt is required that we should examine our lives, repent of our sins, and be in love and charity with all people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aha! The essence of both our Psalm for today, the 34th, and the lesson from St. Paul\u2019s letter to the Ephesians: God has done great things for you, and now you are to respond by allowing God to change your life. Words to the wise. The two lists are remarkably alike, filled with behaviors we would like to embody, but so often we fall short. Listen, from Psalm 34:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You must do these things to enjoy life and have many happy days.
You must not say evil things, and you must not tell lies.
Stop doing evil and do good.
Look for peace and work for it.(New Century Version)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the heartening promise: \u201cGod is close to the brokenhearted and God saves those whose spirits have been crushed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul follows in the same spirit, admonishing the Christians in Ephesus to stop telling lies and tell the truth, to stop stealing and start working; he tells them not to act out of anger and not to say harmful things. As a matter of fact, he characterizes the post-eucharistic Christian as one who is not bitter or angry or mad, who never shouts angrily or says things to hurt others, but who says what people need to hear\u2013words to help them become stronger. \u201cNever do evil,\u201d he says. \u201cBe kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.\u201d (NCV)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sounds like a good life, but how can we be so good? How can we turn away from all these things and respond with this true discipleship, this truly new direction to our lives? We can\u2019t do it alone. Nor can most of the people we look at admiringly, people whom we assume are able to exemplify this kind of life simply by the strength of their personalities. This quandary brings us full circle\u2013back to the table, back to the living bread that came down from heaven. It is only God who is able to embody these virtuous behaviors without help, but we are, as Paul reminds us, \u201cGod\u2019s beloved children,\u201d and help is at our fingertips, if we will just ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What keeps us from asking? Habit, perhaps. We know the old way of being so well; it\u2019s as comfortable as our old bedroom slippers. Pride, frequently. Self-sufficiency is seen as a virtue in our society\u2013but as a sin by the Lord. We are not meant to be self-sufficient; we are meant to turn to one another and to God for help. Fear? Certainly. Even a man who is shivering in the bleak winter streets with a thin, worn, inadequate blanket is reluctant to give it up for no more than a promise of warmth. But that\u2019s what God asks us to do\u2013to come to this table with our \u201cold existence\u201d loosened from our hearts, offering it up as we receive the Body of the Promised One who is also the Promise fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life will be different. That\u2019s a promise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sermon was written by Katherine Merrell Glenn<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. Edmond J. Dunn tells this story: \u201cIt was an early October evening in a university town in the late 1950\u2019s. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43,52,33,1953],"tags":[337],"class_list":["post-511547","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-14b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":1953,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":337,"label":"Proper 14B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3478403,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511547\/revisions\/3478403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}