Eating Flesh, Drinking Blood and Receiving Eternal Life

I was cleaning my desk this week and I ran across a picture of my son Rick (our oldest) on his first day of kindergarten.  It was a bit of a nostalgic moment because now he’s starting high school, and Lucy (our youngest) is starting kindergarten.  It is a bittersweet thing to watch our children grow up.  Part of us wants to keep them and cuddle them as little ones forever, but the reality is they need to grow up, and oh how we rejoice as we see them develop into adults using the gifts and abilities God blessed them with. 

Something that moves my heart like few experiences can is when I see young people living their faith in inspirational ways.  I am very passionate about passing on the faith to the next generation, and when I see children and youth displaying that faith … that’s a “Hallelujah moment” for me. 

Talking with the youth who went on the Anchor of Hope mission trip and listening to them in the Bible study presentation last Sunday was a great joy for me.  We have wonderful kids who are part of our congregation, and their work in Baltimore was a blessing to Our Savior Lutheran Church where they worked, Lutheran World Relief, the Brethren Relief Distribution Center, Habitat for Humanity, the kids in the neighborhood where they stayed, and to us back here at Gloria Dei.  In short; they did great work for the Kingdom of God! 

They also served as an excellent example of using earthly ministry opportunities for the sake of God’s eternal priorities.  Their work, prayers, and devotions all served to connect the physical work that they did to the goal of sharing the love of Jesus with others. 

As people, fallen and sinful, we often have a hard time keeping caring for people’s physical needs and their spiritual needs in a proper tension.  The truth is we need both, as I’ve said at other points, because we are both physical and spiritual, body and soul. 

Caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, advocating for justice, stewarding the environment and the like are good and godly activities in-and-of themselves, yet in-and-of themselves they do not bring salvation to people.  These things must be coupled with the proclamation of the Gospel.  Peter highlights how important this is when he asks, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  There is no hope for eternal life, forgiveness, or salvation anywhere other than the Word of God. 

There is a popular quote which is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that says, “Preach the Gospel.  Use words if necessary.”  It reflects the attitude that it is what we do that matters, and not what we say.  There are two problems with this.  First, Francis never said it.  Second, words are always necessary to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, when you get right down to it!  Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”  Apart from the proclamation of Jesus, spiritually eating and drinking His presence in the Word, there is no life. 

Our actions matter, though!  Kids working in the city make a statement.  Being kind to people sends a message.  Defending others communicates.  Spending time talking to your neighbor delivers a testimony.  These things give us opportunity to speak the words of eternal life and to be heard.  From there it is Jesus’ job to give new life to that person. 

 

Questions to Ponder:

The Gospel Lesson from last Sunday was John 6:51-69. 

-          Refresh your memory on the context in which Jesus’ conversation with the Jews is happening.  Look back at Mark 6 and compare to John 6.  What kinds of things had been going on that led up to this time of teaching? 

-          Cannibalism was strictly prohibited by the Jewish faith, and it was, rightly, considered a disgusting atrocity.  These listeners would have been revolted by Jesus comments about eating His flesh and drinking His blood.  They would have been further offended by his statement that their forefathers ate manna and died while those who feed on this new bread from heaven will live forever.  Why do you think Jesus used such graphic language?  What was Jesus pointing them away from, and trying to get them to see?  (reference v. 58 & 62)

-          How did many of Jesus’ followers react to this dialog?  (v. 66) How did the 12 Disciples respond?

-          Read v. 67.  What emotions do you think Jesus was feeling at that moment?  Have you ever been abandoned or left to stand alone as you stood up for the truth?  How did that feel?  What comfort can you draw from this passage? 

-          Over the last three weeks we have looked at the tension between physical bread and spiritual bread.  How would you describe that tension in regard to (1) our sinful nature, (2) Jesus’ priorities, and (3) how we do ministry? 

-          What are the implications of Jesus’ statement in v. 65?  Do His words challenge you?  How do we understand the process by which a person becomes a Christian?  (For “bonus points” look up Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed and see what He says.)