You Are What You Eat

Readings for Sunday: Psalm 34:1-10, John 6:35-59

You are what you eat.

Manna in the wilderness

came down from heaven

enough for everyone,

a double portion for Sabbath

for the Children of Israel.

They grumbled about the lack of food -

God fed them.

They grumbled about the lack of water -

God caused springs to come out of rocks.

They even grumbled about manna day in and out -

God sent them quail to roast, gnaw the meat from the
bones.

They grumbled and yet God cared for them.

They ate manna in the wilderness.

Yet they died in the wilderness.

Because they did not trust the God,

who fed them with bread from heaven,

who quenched their thirst and gave them meat,

who delivered them from bondage in Egypt,

who called them and claimed them as God’s people.

This God who showed steadfast love to them,

they did not trust to protect them

from men like giants

blocking entry to the land God promised them.

So they did not enter the Promised land,

but wandered in the wilderness for 40 years,

forty years of daily manna,

until they died

and their children received the land promised.

Now their children’s, children’s, children-

32 generations later in the Promised land-

at their fill on a hill side.

5000 of them ate their fill

from 5 loaves and 2 fish,

with 12 baskets of leftovers.

They pursued the one who fed them,

seeking more of this miraculous bread.

Then they grumbled when he said,

“I am the Bread of Life,

the Bread that comes down from heaven.”

How can manna come from a child of Galilee,

son of Joseph and Mary of Nazareth?

“I am the Bread of Life.

God the Father,

who sent manna in the wilderness

to feed your parents’ hungry bodies,

now sends manna for your wilderness,

food and drink for your starving souls.”

“I am the Bread of Life.

Eat of my flesh -

trust in me -

and you will have life,

eternal and abundant,

the life God has promised from the beginning.”

You are what you eat.

Your parents ate manna and died.

You can eat the Bread of life.

You can fill yourselves with my life.

You can live.

They grumbled when he said, “Eat my flesh.”

How can you give us your flesh?

“I am the Bread of life.

Those who consume me,

body and blood -

gnawing to get every last bit -

who take The Word made flesh,

into their very beings,

have life -

restored, whole, complete,

all that you were meant to be,

abundant life,

eternal life.”

They grumbled,

shocked and scandalized!

How can we eat your flesh?

How could we even think to drink your blood?

Blood is life!

Blood is holy!

Blood is sacred!

It belongs to God -

and to God alone.

“The blood of a creature is its life;

blood is returned to the earth,

or offered to God” (Lev 17:10-14)

This Word is too hard.

It’s a giant blocking entry to the Promised Land.

And some left to die.

Yet some remained,

some abided with the Word made flesh.

Where else could they go?

They were hungry for life!

And the Word made flesh

remained with them,

feeding them with daily bread -

bread from heaven

words of eternal life.

You are what you eat.

We wondered when Jesus

turned the water into wine,

abundant quantity of the very best wine,

If Jesus can turn
ordinary-water-people

into holy-wine-people.

The very best wine,

Made from the fruit of God’s grace,

Now Jesus invites us

to take his life in us,

flesh and blood,

bread and wine,

to feed on the living Word,

abide with him,

remain in him, 

rely on him,

trust him.

The Word made flesh

who came down to dwell among us,

offered his flesh for us,

offered his blood to us,

gave us his life.

We are what we eat.

We eat the Bread of life -

and we have life.

We become bread.

Jesus pumping through our hearts.

Jesus flowing in our souls.

Jesus living in our skins.

Jesus powering our hands and our feet.

We become bread

for a world starving in the wilderness.

We are bread,

sent by God from this place

to feed those around us.

We are what we eat.

We come to the table.

Body of Christ – Bread of Life

given for you.

Blood of Christ – Wine of God’s steadfast love –

shed for you.

Mercy, and grace,

love and forgiveness,

hope and peace,

flowing from heaven,

For you.

For me.

For us.

The Body of Christ -

This is who we are.

We are what we eat.

Known and Loved

John chapter 4

There's a big assumption we make about this woman who met Jesus at the well. We assume that her excitement and belief comes because she's been forgiven.

There's just one problem....

Jesus didn't forgive her.

Did you notice that?

Jesus asked her to go and get her husband, to which she replied “I have no husband”

Jesus says, "Yes that’s the truth, you have had 5 husbands and the one you have now is not your husband."

And we assume that she is some sort of horrible sinner, a loose woman, sorely in need of repentance.

It’s just that opinion that has her at the well in the middle of the day.

Whispers, glances, pointed fingers.

But there’s a lot of reasons a woman could have had 5 husbands that have nothing to do with her sin.

·         Widowed

·         Divorced – because she was barren, or because her husband preferred someone else, or because she burned supper one too many times

·         What ever the reason, I bet no one was in a hurry to be husband #6

·         Was the man she was living with her dead husband’s brother?

·         Perhaps she had no one, and her only way to survive was with a man, any man who would take her in.

In John's gospel, the only sin is broken relationship with God, which also results in broken relationship with others – the kind of broken relationships that would leave a women ostracized, vulnerable.

What ever the situation, sinner or victim of someone else’s sin or just a victim of circumstances out of her control, she was in need of compassion and kindness.

Which is what she found at the well that noon.

Not condemnation, but ‘I know your deepest darkest pain”  “God loves you.”

Living water to refresh her parched and thirsty soul

That changes the conversation.

Often her next question about where to worship is seen as ‘changing the topic’ - trying to steer Jesus away from the subject of her sin and disgrace. Instead, Jesus’ knowledge of her situation – his compassion in talking to her in the first place, even though he knew all about her – reveals to her that here is a prophet.

Here is someone who she can ask the burning questions.

You worship in Jerusalem, we worship in Samaria – which is right?

Jesus – Word made flesh –(cleansed the temple) temple that will be destroyed and rebuilt – God’s presence in the world:  soon you will worship in spirit and truth.

Her – I know the messiah is coming.

Samaritan messiah is the one foretold by Moses, the greater prophet coming after him; Jewish messiah is the king in the line of David -  Jesus is both.

Jesus – I AM

All those divisions between Jew and Samaritan just came tumbling down. – all are loved by God.

John tells us Jesus HAD to go through Samaria.  From a human standpoint he didn’t have to – he could have gone around, like all the other good Jews did.  But from God’s standpoint, Jesus had to go there.

Compare and contrast Nicodemus and Woman

·         Male vs female

·         Pharisee vs nobody

·         Named vs unnamed

·         Jew vs Samaritan

·         Night vs day

Both have question – Nic never gets to ask his.  Jesus instead tells him:

• he needs to be born again – a fresh start,
• hat God loves the world – Jew and Samaritan.

God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn,

But to save – liberate, rescue, heal, make whole, preserve, make whole, restore.

Nic doesn’t seem to get it, we don’t get to know if he does, but it appears that he doesn’t – yet.

This woman at the well experiences it.

And it’s such good news - she runs back to town – Come and see

Just like Andrew to Simon Peter, Just like Phillip to Nathanael – Come and see

She says come and see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done – who recognized my pain – who shined light and love into my soul, especially in those corners that haven’t felt either for a very long time.

The people came, and saw.

Jesus stayed teaching for 2 days.

John 4:42  "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."

Jesus never forgave her- but that doesn't mean she wasn't saved.

She got new birth - a fresh start, new life.

This is the world God loves

Not, condemned but saved

      Jesus knew her pain, healed it

      Jesus restored her to community

She was known and loved

We continue to ask questions…just like Jesus and the woman did

We have those places that have secret - and not so secret - pain, parched places thirsting for living water...just like the woman at the well.

Whatever we bring to the well in the harsh light of noon, when we meet Jesus there, we are known and loved.

What Does Grace Feel Like?

Another tidbit I found as I continue to wait at the well with the Samaritan woman and Jesus....

How did knowing Jesus knew her and loved her feel....

Maybe like this....


Beautiful Rowdy Prisoners
Click on the link to watch this video - Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to embed it!

Women at the Well

Sometimes when I work on a sermon, I come across stuff that's just sooo good.  In one of the on-line lectionary discussions I frequent, someone posted this video of a dramatic monologue of the woman at the well.

If you watch thie video, try this link.

I just had to share!

If the Human Body Is Mostly Water, Can Jesus Change Us into Wine?

Scripture Reading:  John 2:1-11

I’ve heard this story many times.  And I’ve always had this image in my head of Jesus and his mother standing in the kitchen with those jars nearby, talking to the servants, with the disciples maybe hanging around in the doorway.

I’ve always pictured Jesus standing there watching the servants fill the jars.  But as I heard this story again and again, I have a slightly different picture.

There’s a wedding feast in Cana.  Jesus’ mother is there.  So is Jesus.  And Andrew, Simon Peter, Phillip, Nathanael, the unnamed/beloved disciple. 

It’s a party.  They are moving around, visiting, chatting, enjoying the festivities.

Jesus’ mother overhears two servants talking.  One says, “This is the last of the wine.  I don’t know what we’ll do.”

She grabs the servant, “Come with me.  I know what to do.”

She finds Jesus, over with a group, telling stories, enjoying the wedding feast.  It’s a party after all.

She tells Jesus the problem.  Jesus hedges a bit, but she’s undeterred.  “Do whatever he tells you.”

Jesus tells the servant, “Fill the big stone jars to the brim.”

The servant leaves Jesus and gathers a few other servants to help.  The servant knows this is a big job –they just filled those jars a few days before for the purification rituals to prepare for the wedding.

Now the jars were empty - or nearly so.

It’s a lot of water – 20 to 30 gallons, six jars.  120-180 gallons of water. 

And it’s not like the servants just took a pitcher to the sink.  No, they would have to take water jugs to the town well.  There would have been walking to and from the well.  Several trips.  Carrying heavy water jugs.  Drawing the bucket up and down in the well to fill each jug.  Pouring the water into the stone jars. 

Repeat.

Until all six jars were full

I imagine at least one of the servants grumbled at the task.  “What do we need all this water for?  The purification was done days ago!  I have other things I’m supposed to be doing.  What a crazy guest asking for this.”

Finally, the jars are filled. 

The servant goes back out into the party to find Jesus.  “Sir, the jars are full.”

“Well then, take some to the steward.”  Jesus says, and turns back to the group he was talking with.

By the time the chief steward takes that first sip, the water has become wine.

You know, we don’t know when that happened.  Was it when the servants poured the water into the jars?  When the jars were full?  When the servant went back to Jesus to tell him the jars were ready?  When the steward took that first sip?

We don’t know.

All, the gospel writer tells us is that the steward was amazed at the quality of the wine.  That he questions the bridegroom about serving such excellent wine so late in the party, never realizing that the bridegroom has no idea what he’s talking about.

That the disciples know what happened, and they believe.

I’m struck by the process in this miracle – the first of Jesus’ signs. 

There’s no one way Jesus does his miracles.  Sometimes he just speaks and it’s so:

·         Demon, leave her

·         Rise, take up your mat and walk

·         Lazarus come out

·         Go, your faith has made you well

Sometimes he touches and it’s so:

·         Laying his hand on the sick

·         Taking dirt, spitting on it to make mud, and placing it on the blind man’s eyes

·         Taking bread and fish and blessing them

·         Or even being touched, like when the women touched the hem of his robe

Jesus didn’t lay his hands on the stone jars, or say “Water become wine!” Jesus invited the servants to be part of this sign.   And while they were doing what Jesus told them to do, - simply doing what servants do - a miracle happened.

In confirmation this week, we talked about this story.  One thing about confirmation students – they see things you and I would never think of.

Jesus turned water to wine?  Hmmm.   “If the human body is 60% water, and Jesus turns water into wine, does that mean that Jesus turns us into wine?”

I’ll admit the question caught me off guard and I had to think for a minute. 

Then I asked, “What would it look like if Jesus did turn us into wine?”

The kids looked puzzled.  One of them said, “That would be disgusting!”

I tried again:  “Think about it.  Jesus turned plain ordinary water into the best wine that chief steward ever tasted.  So how would Jesus turn us plain-ordinary-water-people into wine?”

They answered me:  “He’d make us holy people.”

Holy people.

Water into wine.

How does Jesus turn us into wine?

We could point to our baptism.  That’s certainly where it starts.

Water poured.

Words spoken.

Ordinary water combined with the promise of God that cleanses us, names us child of God, transforms us.

Ordinary-water-people become holy-wine-people

How does Jesus turn us into wine?

We could point to those moments we share each Sunday

·         In the hearing of the word

·         The confession, prayer, hymns

·         Communion - when the wine of Christ blood become our water quenching our thirst, and the bread of Christ’s body becomes the food that nourished our souls.

Those are moments when the living water is poured into our hearts, filling us to the brim.

But I think a big part of Jesus turning us into wine are those moments we can’t specifically point to.  Those ordinary moments, where we’re just doing trying to do what Jesus says.   When we’re simply doing those things we do.  Even when we might be grumbling, or thinking, this is crazy.

·         The ordinary moments of living

·         The doing whatever Jesus says

·         Every day

·         Everywhere

You know, I’ve always found something strange about this first miracle.  Water to wine.  At a party. 

Somehow it always seemed a little frivolous to me. 

Healing lepers, making the blind see, calming the storm, feeding 5000, raising the dead – now THOSE are miracles.

I’ve overlooked the point.  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, blessing the everyday in’s and out’s of life, making the ordinary holy, blessing our relationship and giving us life abundant.

A life full of love and grace and joy – just like a cup that overflows with the best, sweetest wine.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  The Word became flesh and has shown us a God of abundant love who invites us to dip into jars filled with living water, and tell us to give this sweet wine of grace to the world.

Jesus, fill our ordinary-water-hearts and make us holy-wine-people.

Rabbi? Messiah? Son of God? King?

Sermon Text:  John 1:35-51 


I can’t believe it’s only been two days.  So much has happened.  So much has changed.

Yesterday, Andrew and I were standing by the Jordan with John.  It was so early that the usual crowds had only begun to trickle in.  We were talking when suddenly John turns and points and says, "See!  Look there! 

That one!  Here is the Lamb of God.”

The day before, John had pointed him out – The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,

• -        who comes to reconcile all people with God, 

• -        who comes to restore God’s reign of justice and peace, 

• -        who comes to show us God’s will. 

The one upon the Spirit of God descended and remains, who will baptize with that same Holy Spirit.

Now…here he was, walking by us.  John looked as us as if to say, “What are you waiting for?”

So we followed.

Jesus turned and saw us, looked at us as if he was looking deep into our souls.  “What are you looking for?”  he asked.

What were we looking for?  I don’t know if we knew.  I still don’t know if I know for sure what I’m looking for.  All I knew then was that I had to find out more about this man John called the Lamb of God.

We asked the only thing we could think of, “Rabbi, where are you staying?”

Jesus understood, maybe even more than we did, what we were asking.  Jesus knew we were really asking, “Be our Teacher.  Let us follow you.  Let us go where you go, stay where you stay.”

Jesus said, “Come and see.”

We went with him.  And as he taught us, as we talked with him, we began to see just what John meant.  Andrew was so excited that he had to run and get his brother Simon.

“Simon, Simon -Come and see – We have found the Messiah!”

Simon came.  Jesus saw him, looked at him as if he was looking deep into Simon’s soul, and said, “Simon, son of John,  I shall call you Cephas.

Now the Gospel writer translated Cephas for his readers – in Greek, it’s Peter.  I shall translate it for you – in English the closest would be Rocky.

John laughed – Jesus had hit the nail right on the head.  Simon Peter was a rock - strong, immovable, stubbornly loyal. 

That was yesterday.  This morning, Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  Andrew, and Peter and I, new disciples that we were, followed him.  We weren’t sure why we were going to Galilee.  We were sure we wanted to go where ever Jesus went.

Turns out, Jesus was seeking those who were seeking him.  Yesterday we thought we had found the Messiah.  Today, we realized that the Messiah had found us.  Just as he found Phillip today, inviting him:

                “Come and see.

                “Follow me.”

Phillip came and saw.  Like Andrew, Phillip became so excited he just had to find Nathanael.  “Nathanael, Nathanael! Come and see!  We have found the One written about in the Law and the Prophets.  “Come and see Jesus from Nazareth.”

Right then, the only thing Nathanael could only see was that Phillip was excited about someone from Nazareth of all places!  He scoffed, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Nathanael’s skepticism didn’t faze Phillip.  “Come and see.”

Nathanael came.  Jesus saw him, really looked at him as if he was looking deep into his soul, and said, “Nathanael, you are a straight shooter.  You say what you think.  An honest man.”

Nathanael just looked at Jesus.  “How do you know me? “

Jesus said, “I saw you under the fig tree waiting for Phillip.”

And right then and there, Nathanael saw what we were beginning to see:  “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel!”

Jesus smiled at him.  “All it took was to change your mind about something good coming from Nazareth was for me to tell you I saw you under the fig tree?   Just wait!  You will see – you all will see - even greater signs.”

“Come and see.  Follow me.  Abide with me.

“And you will see heaven met earth, and angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” 

I’m not really sure what Jesus meant by that.  Angels ascending and descending sounds a lot like the story about Father Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother Esau and spent the night in the wilderness.  In his dream, he saw a ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending.  He realized that this place where he slept was the house of God – a place where God dwelt on earth.

Angels descending and ascending on the Son of Man?  That would mean the Son of Man is a place where God lives!

Does that mean – mean that God dwells in Jesus?  That God lives among us in human form?  

That’s too incredible to believe!

That's dangerous to believe...

I still have a lot of questions.  I don’t understand everything Jesus is saying. 

But that’s alright – Jesus has asked me to come and see.  Jesus has found me and invited me to follow him.  To remain with him.

I’m sure I’ll have my questions answered.  And if Jesus continues to say things like things, I’m sure I’ll have even more questions.  

Rabbi, Messiah.

Son of God, Son of Man,

King of Israel, written about in the Law and Prophets

Lamb of God.

I still want to find out more.

Up a Tree: A sermon for All Saints

Readings for this Sunday: Genesis 28:10-17, Psalm 149, Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 19:1-10

Have you ever been found yourself up a tree? 

If you look up the expression “up a tree,” you’ll discover it means ‘confused, without an answer to a problem, or in difficulty.”  Well… it also could mean intoxicated, but we’ll concentrate on the first definition.

Zaccheus definitely found himself up a tree.  My guess is that he was up a tree long before he climbed up that sycamore tree.

We know that Zaccheus lived in Jericho and he was a tax collector – a leader of tax collectors.  Jericho was a busy trade town and the tax collecting business was good.  Zaccheus was wealthy and influential – at least among the other tax collectors. 

He didn’t have much influence around the other folks in Jericho.  Tax collectors were hated.  We get that – tax collectors are not much liked these days either.  But it was a bit different back then.  The taxes were paid, not to the local government, or the king, but to Rome.  It was a convoluted system with lots of fingers in the pie taking their cut, but basically the way it worked was this:  Rome would say how much a local area needed to pay in taxes, and then tax collectors would bid on the contracts.  Rome would award a contract to the collector who said he could get the most above Rome’s stated tax.  He would take a cut, and Rome would get their tax plus the extra.

Needless to say, this did not make the tax collectors very popular.  They were considered little more than thieves, and collaborators with Rome, and sinners.  Their very profession put them on the outside of Jewish community, and presumably outside of God’s love.

He was on the outside looking in.  He was up a tree.

Was that what made him go see Jesus that day?  The news that Jesus had just healed a blind beggar outside of Jericho must have travelled through the city like wildfire.  People poured out into the streets to see this preacher/teacher/healer/prophet.  Was it just idle curiosity that enticed Zaccheus to brave the crowds?  Did a sense that there was something missing in his life which leads him to follow the crowds?  Did his longing to be part of the community once again impel him to seek a place in the crowd?    

Whatever it was, he soon found himself literally up a tree – trying to catch a glimpse of Jesus over the crowds.  And while we will never know his motivation, we know what happened.

Jesus met him, right where he was.  Zaccheus thought he needed to climb up to see Jesus, but Jesus was ready to meet him on his own turf – his very own house. 

Suddenly we discover a whole bunch of other people who are up a tree – confused, without an answer to the problem of why Jesus would want to associate with such a sinner.  The crowd begins to grumble – “I can’t believe Jesus said that!”  “Doesn’t he know who Zaccheus is?”  “Jesus, really, you’re going to eat with one of the worst sinners in town.” 

Jesus calls them down out of their trees too: “This man is a child Abraham, salvation has come to his house.  Stop dividing the world in between those worthy of God’s love and those not – everyone is worthy of God’s love.  Stop tallying up points “Your sin is so much worse than my little sin.”  Sin is sin.  Everyone sins and falls short of God’s glory.  But it’s ok because God has sent me to seek and save those lost to sin, even you, even Zaccheus.”

There’s something interesting in Zaccheus’ response to the crowds accusation.  He says, “I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone, I repay them four times the amount.”  I know the translation we read says, “will give” and “will repay”, but the Greek doesn’t say ‘will.’     If we drop the ‘will’, Zaccheus is responding to the crowd’s accusation that he is a sinner – he gives to the poor, he fulfills the law and then some. 

So often we hear this story and think, this encounter with Jesus changed the bad tax collector’s heart and he repented of his evil ways and Jesus forgave him, and he was saved. 

And that’s certainly a valid way to look at the story.  But stories often have a deeper level and more than one meaning. 

What if this is not a forgiveness story, but a healing story.  There was a son of Abraham, a child of God, whom the community judged unworthy of God’s grace and mercy.  And God came down to them – all of them – and loved them, the unworthy one and the judging ones.  And God’s love called them down out of the trees that isolated them.  God’s love healed the broken hearts of the unworthy ones and the judging ones and in doing so, healed the heart of the community.

We all spend some time up a tree.  

Sometimes, we know our danger, scrambling up the tree for safety.  

Sometimes, like Zaccheus, we sense there’s something we need or something we’re missing, somethings just not right and maybe the tree will give us a fresh perspective and a better look. 

  Sometimes, like the crowd, we don’t even see the problem, or notice our sin and brokenness, don’t even realize that we’re us a tree, even as the branches become uncomfortable and twigs poke us.

What kind of tree are you up?

Jesus meets you there, waiting to heal, to forgive, to restore.

Hear Jesus call – Child of God, come down.  I have come to meet you at the table, in the bread and the wine.  Salvation comes to this house today, to this gathered community of saints who are also sinners comes healing and grace.