Listen to the gospel and the sermon here.
John 6:51-58
51 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."52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"53 So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever."
This is Christ’s table and Christ is the host. All are welcome to the altar rail, to stand or kneel as you are able. Communion will be served by intinction. You may take the bread, dip it into the wine or grape juice, and consume.
Communion is something we do every single week during worship. It is an essential part of our worship service and an even more important practice in our Christian living. For most Christians, Communion is considered a sacrament of faith, therefore it is a transformational experience within our worship. In that significant moment, when the body and blood are offered and consumed, we partake in a heavenly banquet. With all the saints, past and present. We receive a glimpse, a foretaste of the feast to come. And it is so much more than just a ritual of eating and drinking together. When the elements of bread and wine are given, we not only consume them, but the very presence of Jesus consumes us. Christ fill us with grace and forgiveness, promise and hope. In the sacrament of communion we are reminded of God’s enduring promise of fruitful, eternal, and everlasting life. That whoever eats of this bread and drinks of this blood will have eternal life. There is a reason we commune every single week.
Certainly the risk is then that such a regular practice can become routine. Mundane. Expected and uneventful. We risk going through the motions, doing what we’ve always done and will always do without fully appreciating or accepting the promises expressed in communion. We risk becoming indifferent or apathetic to the significance of the meal, rarely pausing to consider the gift we’ve been given. There is a reason we commune as often as possible.
For us, as Lutherans, communion is one of two sacraments: Eucharist and Holy Baptism. I suspect we’re familiar with both sacraments, we’ve seen them done and participated in them, but how often do we deeply reflect? Intentionally dwell on their significance? How often do you faithfully process what takes place in the sacrament of Holy Communion?
Alright, put on your catechism hat for a moment of Lutheran 101 review. For us, as Lutherans, What makes a sacrament a sacrament? Is it the ritual? The words? The motions? Is it because Luther said so? I won’t ask you to answer out loud, but think for a moment, what makes a sacrament a sacrament. Specifically, for today’s purposes, what makes communion a sacrament? After all, if we are to participate in the rite of Holy Communion every single week, one might argue we should understand it’s significance as best we can. Luther actually says, “it is contempt for the sacraments that condemns, not lack of the sacraments”
I see some minds turning. What do we believe makes a sacrament a sacrament? Luther teaches, and the church confesses that there are three criteria, components that make a rite a sacrament.
First, there should be a physical element. An earthly, visible element. Something we can see, touch, or even taste. This is the component we’re most familiar with, right? Bread, wine, and water. Done.
Second, a sacrament is something Jesus commands us to do. We might easily recall Jesus’ commissioning the disciples where he commands them to go out into the world, baptizing all nations in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit. We might also easily recall Jesus commanding the disciples on a Thursday night in an upper room to “do this in remembrance of me.” A command by Jesus.
So far, a sacrament is commanded by Jesus...go and baptize...do this in remembrance of me... and it has some type of physical, earthly, element...bread, wine, and water.
Arguably those two are the easiest for us to reflect upon and understand. But it’s the third component that is so often overlooked.
Third, a sacrament is connected with God’s promise, the word of God, which gives faith. A sacrament, and in today’s case, communion is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given to us. This means that by Christ’s command and through the earthy element, God’s promises are given to us. Graced upon us. Washed over us. Consumed within us.
Element, commanded by Jesus, Connected to God’s promise.
For the last 5 weeks we have been trudging along in the 6th chapter of John. It all started a few weeks ago as Jesus climbed the hillside for a bit of rest and the crowds followed him. Jesus tested Philip and asked how they would feed everyone. So from 5 loaves and 2 fish Jesus blessed, broke, and fed all 5000 until they were satisfied. They collected 12 baskets of leftover food. From the point on the crowd, especially the Jewish authorities have been entrenched in a conversation about Jesus and bread. About Jesus and being fed. About Jesus and being filled with life.
We’ve heard Jesus say, “I will give you bread from heaven.” and “I am the bread of life” ..Jesus makes the connection and says “I am the bread from heaven. He says “I am the living bread” and today he tells them “The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
Our tendency whenever Jesus talks about bread is to interpret it in light of communion. We understand him to be making allusions to the last supper and the institution of communion. And that’s an easy connection for us to make. But if we consider the crowds gathered on that day, they have no memory, experience, or even concept of Jesus and the last supper becasue it hasn’t happened yet. In fact, as John goes on in his gospel writing, there is no account of the final supper. No command to “do this in remeberance of me.” So chapter 6 is it. This is John’s moment of teaching with regards to Jesus and the bread of life. This idea that Jesus, God’s son, is a sustaining source of life, a new manna from heaven. Jesus is the bread of Life, from God, for all people, by which we are fed and nourished and gifted eternal life. That is Jesus has been teaching in the 6th chapter, and it is what we have been unpacking the last few weeks.
And today’s excerpt from the 6th chapter of John narrows in on that third criteria of a sacrament. The promises of God within the meal. Whereas the disciples and authorities are concerned with what the bread looks like and how they will receive it, Jesus offers a litany of benefits to eating.
“Whoever eats of this bread will live forever”
“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life”
“I will raise you up on the last day”
“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them”
“whoever eats me will live because of me”
“The one who eats this bread will live forever."
Jesus’ focus is on the promises received in the eating and drinking of the body and blood of Christ. Jesus is proclaiming a promise of life. God’s promise of eternal life. Jesus is focused on life and living, now and in the future. Present and not yet. For all who eat and drink will be filled with the grace of God and lifted up on the last day.
These are the gifts and promises of God given at the altar rail. Promises of eternal life in Christ. Promises of health and salvation. A promise that as much as we consume the bread and wine, Christ consumes us. Fills our very being to the fullest with grace upon grace. In this meal, it is God’s promise to abide with us forever and ever amen. When we but taste the bread and wine, the body and blood of our Lord, we join the whole company of saints in celebration of an eternal promise. Like the Israelites desperately wandering the in the wilderness, God provides manna from heaven, food for the hungry, strength for the weak, hope for the journey. Christ is our manna from heaven, the very sustenance by which we live, breath, and have our being.
And we journey to the altar rail, where one and all come to Christ’s table. Christ invites us to come, taste, and see not because that’s what we’ve always done. Not just because Christ commands it. Not just out of guilt, routine, practice, or obedience. We come to the altar rail, arms stretched out, because deep within we are desperate for the promises of God. Desperate for the body and blood of Jesus to fill us again and again with grace, mercy, forgiveness, hope, and life. We are wilderness wanderers, and we should be racing to the altar. Fighting our way to the front of the line, not because there won’t be enough to go around, but because we feel that we can’t get enough of what God promises in this holy sacrament.
Throughout the gospel Jesus regularly encounters people of God around the table. Jesus accepted an invitation to dine with Levi, a tax collector. He accompanied Zacchaeus and remained at this home. Twice in Luke’s gospel Jesus dined with Pharisees and risked ridicule. On the road to Emmaus Jesus accepted an invitation to dine with mourners and hear their story. Again and again Jesus shares in a meal with sinners, tax collectors, lawyers, rich elites, poor peasants, oppressed, and the outcast of society.
And in the end, it is Jesus who flips the script and becomes the host. In this meal, Jesus host. Jesus prepares a banquet, a feast, and invites all people to experience the gift of grace. And this table is open, welcoming, and unconditional. Christ welcomes all to the table that is abounding in steadfast love and overpowers all boundaries. It is christ’s table and Christ is the host. All are welcome to come, taste, see, and be consumed with God’s promise of life and life everlasting.
And friends, when we truly reflect, embrace, and embody the fullness of God’s promises in this meal we are changed. We are transformed. We are made alive in Christ, here now and forever. In the meal Jesus nourishes us in faith, forgives our sin, and empowers us to be faithful witnesses of the good news. The sacrament is life-giving not only because Jesus is the host, but also because Jesus is the one given. The bread from heaven. And whoever eats of this bread will live forever. This is the promise of God, and the reason we come again and again to the rail, every time we worship.
Amen.
