Monthly Archives: August 2012

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Jesus as our Meal

Readings

2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Psalm 130

2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Mark 5:21-43

Devotion

Peace be with you!

My favorite meal of the year is Thanksgiving dinner. What I love best about this meal is the close-knit group of six to ten family and friends, gathering  around the table, sharing the things for which we are thankful. Even though we see each other almost weekly anyway, Thanksgiving dinner creates a stronger and closer bond among us as a community.

There is a second meal that brings Christians even closer together as a community: the Lord’s Supper. The act of going to the altar to receive God’s gifts of bread and wine connects us together as Christians; we are a people who are fed by the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Satan works to undermine the good news and God’s creation, but Jesus’ body and blood sustain us to overcome him. Jesus’ body and blood unites us as a community; together, we go from the table to to spread the good news and to expand God’s reach in the world.

Communion means a few things to me. First, the act of eating and drinking Jesus’ body and blood serves as a reminder that he was crucified, killed, and resurrected for the forgiveness of our sins. God loves us so much that he sacrificed his only begotten son, so that we can be in a relationship with him. These past few weeks in our readings, Jesus has been talking about the bread of life, and the disciples have been thinking he is referring to literal loaves that come out of the oven. Today, Jesus clarifies what he has been talking about: the bread is his body and the wine is his blood. We eat the bread and drink the wine and experience his presence, which he promises will always be with us. He also gives us eternal life, promising to raise us up on the last day.

Second, communion draws us in as a community of believers. No matter how you have sinned and what you have done, you need to eat Jesus’ body and drink his blood to receive forgiveness. We are all in the same boat: we have all sinned and we are all forgiven. There are no levels to Christianity; there is no shame in saying you are sinner; there is no one who is not worthy of forgiveness. We are all in the same boat.

This week I have been feeling broken as an important relationship in my life is ending. I keep asking myself if I am worthy to have another relationship of a similar nature. The world can be a cruel place as Satan tries to break us. However, John 6:54-55 kept coming to mind: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink” (NRSV). I am worthy of new relationships in the future. I am worthy of God’s love, because even in my brokenness he loves me for who I am and who I am becoming in Christ. People come and go throughout our lives, but God remains with us all of our days, even if we do not feel his presence.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for true food and drink through Jesus’ body and blood. Help us to gather as a community of Christians, breaking bread and drinking wine in order to remember Jesus was crucified, died, and resurrected for the forgiveness of our sins. Remind us of your love, grace, and forgiveness as we go out into the world to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the promise to raise us up on the last day. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. What meal is your favorite each year?

2. How do you gather as community?

3. What does it mean to you to eat Jesus’ body and drink his blood?

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost: Jesus as our Bread

Readings

2 Samuel 18:5-33

Psalm 130

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

John 6:35, 41-51

Devotion

Peace be with you!

I could go for one of the most chocolate-filled, gooey desserts out there about now, like a Chocolate Lava Cake or a Hot Fudge Sundae from Culver’s. My current favorite chocolate fix is Snickers ice cream from Baskin-Robbins. There is something soothing about chocolate that seems to erase all of the problems and drama of life for a time. For me, chocolate puts life’s troubles at bay and gives me a chance to catch my breath and to remember that life has something good to offer. For you, maybe your escape is a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or [whatever “it” is] that gives you comfort after a long day.

However, comfort foods only soothe the trials of life for a little while; eventually you have to go back to face the real world. Food on earth can only satisfy you in the present; it does not sustain you forever nor does it give you life once it is digested and exits your body. Jesus, on the other hand, comes to us as the eternal Bread of Life. He gives us life by leading us into a relationship with God the Father, the one who created us out of chaos and continues to give us order in a chaotic world. The earth was a formless void until God separated light from the darkness, land from the water, and plants from the animals. Today the world has chaos produced by Satan who puts desires on out hearts and causes distress in our lives.

As long as we believe in Jesus – the Bread of Life – we are forgiven of our sins and made new again. Jesus gives us life through his crucifixion, death, and resurrection where we are given forgiveness and grace in the world ruled by a death-dealing Satan. God the Father has life-giving plans for us, though; he wants us to have eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.

As an important relationship in my life ends, I am leaning hard on Jesus for his forgiveness, his love, his comfort, and his grace as well as for life. The relationship was with an individual for whom I care deeply, though it was not always a healthy relationship. As time goes on, I am slowly reconnecting with friends and family. I am regaining my sense of self-worth, independence, and self-awareness. Jesus is leading me to a new life as he feeds me the Bread of Life. He is giving me a new life where I can walk beside him and experience his forgiveness, love, and grace. Chocolate might make me feel better for a little bit, but only Jesus will get me through this difficult time and bring me into eternal life.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sustaining us far more than temporary food or drink can do. Help us to trust in you when we feel hungry and thirsty in this old world.  Thank you for your promise that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. In what ways do you turn to Jesus in hard times to fill the void that only he can fill?

2. What does Jesus offer that food or drink never can?