Eat and Drink

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

I grew up in the Catholic church, so at the age of eight, I began receiving communion at least once a week depending on how many times we went to Mass.  There’s no doubt that over the years, I have taken communion for granted.

Even as an adult, worshipping in the Lutheran church, I don’t always stop to think about what I’m doing.  Once a month, I get up when instructed, eat the bread, drink the wine and sit back down.  Am I humbling myself before taking on the body and blood of Christ?  No.

Imagine what it must have been like for the disciples to receive their friend’s offering.  How special that meal must have been!  But because we weren’t there when Jesus broke the bread and took the cup, we may feel like we aren’t experiencing the same supper that Peter, John and the others did.  But we are!

Every time we accept the bread and wine, Jesus is with us.  Catholics and Lutherans believe that during communion, the bread IS Jesus’s body and the wine his blood.  They are not symbols, but the real deal.  That’s why it’s so important that we take time to pause and acknowledge what’s happening.  We are taking on Jesus.  He is becoming part of us and we are experiencing Him in a way that’s uniquely different than reading the Bible or praying.  This sacramental encounter has the power to transform us like no other.  We must not take it for granted.

Father, thank you for giving us your Son who died and offered us his body and blood.  May we remember how precious a gift the Eucharist is and acknowledge your presence.  “For when we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again” (Liturgy of the Eucharist).  Amen

Life is the Trip

John 3:5-8; John 6:53-59

What’s the most hungry that you’ve ever been? For me, it was the Boy Scouts Polar Bear overnight that I attended as a teen. I had to do all of my own cooking, and basically I starved. When I got home Saturday night, my Mom fixed seven slices of her mouthwatering French toast which I devoured in front of the TV until I fell asleep.

 When teaching, Jesus would often use earthly objects and events that people could easily visualize in order to drive home a spiritual lesson. Because of this, he spoke to Nicodemus about being “born again”.

 In Capernaum, he taught in the synagogue about the “Bread of Life”. Bread from God was a familiar image to the Jews. After all, God had provided manna for the nation of Israel as they roamed the wilderness for forty years.

 The crowd that Jesus was teaching had been a part of the five thousand he had miraculously fed. They followed him, not because they knew who he was, but because they were hungry. Jesus on the other hand, was trying to steer their attention from the temporal to the eternal.

 

²⁷ Jesus told them, “Don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you…                       John 6 NLT

^33 “The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…  ³⁵ I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  John 6 NLT

When I got home from the Polar Bear overnight, all I could think about was food and sleep. HALT is an acronym that stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. These are emotions that can affect you any day of the week. You don’t have to go on a winter camping trip to experience them. Life is the trip.

 How do you deal with HALT distractions in your life? How does the Bread of Life regain your nourishment; refocus your sense of purpose; revitalize your spiritual strength? Answer these questions and you will experience the abundant life that Christ promises.

A Bear Claw

 (True food & true drink.)

John 6:47-58

 

 

I have two breakfast meetings a week at Panera Bread and always order the same thing… a bear claw with three butters. Heat it up in the microwave and spread the butter so that it melts – it’s heavenly. But no matter how good it tastes, about four hours or so later, I’m hungry again.

 

The passage today follows the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. At this point, people are following him just to eat a meal. But he is trying to open their eyes for them to see that there is something more important than just food and drink.

 

“The one who brings a hearty appetite to this eating and drinking has eternal life and will be fit and ready for the Final Day. My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. By eating my flesh and drinking my blood you enter into me and I into you. In the same way that the fully alive Father sent me here and I live because of him, so the one who makes a meal of me lives because of me.”            MSG

 

Jesus was making the point that the people had lost perspective; that their priorities were messed up; that they needed to refocus their lives on eternal values not temporal. Of course we all have basic needs; food, water, clothing and shelter, but in our affluent society our wants can easily begin to feel like needs.

 

The fact is though, instead of prioritizing “the real food and the real drink” we can easily run after a bear claw at Panera. Jesus is calling out to us across the centuries to remind us what is important; he is calling for us to live our lives in him.

 

It would be good for us to remember these words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 6: ^31 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”            NIV

 

Or, in the words of Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

 

It goes without saying but, seeking Jesus is way better than a bear claw; even with melted butter.

 

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206%3A47-58&version=NIV;MSG

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/John.6.47-John.6.58

 

 

 

 

 

Are You A Servant-Leader?

Recently Cheryl Bachelder, CEO of the Popeyes, wrote a book on servant-leadership. Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results While Serving Others is a case study of the turn-around of the restaurant chain. Cheryl gives credit to her team, which instilled a culture of focusing on franchise owners, and serving them.

 

Cheryl gives her definition of a servant-leader and even defines their characteristics and values. Their overarching mission is to demonstrates great humility, while having the will to do the “right things”.

 

Today’s reading is John 13:1-17. It is Maundy Thursday and Jesus is about to celebrate the Passover Feast with his disciples. This is an important event, and his disciples had just bathed. Arriving at the feast wearing sandals, their feet and ankles were dusty.  Customarily, a servant would wash the guests’ feet before the meal.

 

Jesus, no ordinary servant, washed his disciples’ feet!

 

This great story is meaningful at many different levels. Jesus came to wash our sin-soiled souls, not our bodies. Jesus washed our sins away on our baptism. The disciples’ pre-feast bath is analogous to baptism.

 

As baptized saints, we still walk in a sinful world. We need spiritual refreshment – the Lord’s Supper, introduced during the Passover Feast. The foot washing is analogous to Holy Communion.

 

Jesus was the leader of the disciples, and continues in that role today for the entire church. Demonstrating humility, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. He served them.

 

Jesus served his church by dying on the cross, the greatest humiliation known in the Roman Empire. Jesus could have used his authority to save himself and to remove our sin in some other manner, but this was not his Father’s Will. Rather, Jesus humbled himself and served us by suffering death.  Jesus, the world’s greatest servant-leader, did the "right thing”.

 

What should our response be? To be a servant-leader, of course.

 

There will be times when we need to put our own wills aside and focus on the needs of others. We need to carry out Jesus’ Will, not our own. We need to serve others so that we can do the “right thing” and spread the Good News of Eternal Life.

 

Are you a servant-leader?

 

Don't Get Burned

I admit it. I am a closet pyromaniac. I really enjoy fires in my fireplace at home. Perhaps more than I should!

 

We have all been told, “Don’t play with matches” when we were young. You guessed it. I did. And I got burned.

 

(I am not sure which was worse, burning my fingers, or suffering in silence. I had to keep quiet.  Had I told my parents, I am certain a different part of my body would have gotten hot, if you get my gist.)

 

Today’s reading is Hebrews 3:7-19. The author is speaking to Jewish converts who were reverting back to Judaism instead of moving ahead with their new Christian faith. He reminds these converts that God was not happy with their forefathers when they went astray in the dessert, en route to the Promised Land.

 

Their forefathers turned away from God and did not trust Him or believe His promises.

 

The author continues to remind the new converts that God punished those who ignored His promises. The generation who left Egypt died before entering the Promised Land.

 

In effect, the author says, “If you play with fire, you are going to get burned.”

 

Yet, instructions are given that help one keep one’s faith. “… encourage one another daily … so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness …. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”

 

Keeping one’s faith in today’s world can be a challenge at times. We are tugged away from Christ from many sources. Like the Hebrews, we can be guilty of falling back to the ways of the world. We need to combat this and do exercises that help us keep our faith.

 

The author of Hebrews provides good counsel, but his advice is not the only advice that works for Christians today.

 

What exercises do you do that help you appreciate God and keep your faith?

 

My favorites are reading the Bible and taking Communion.

 

But I also like a tall glass of ice water nearby!

 

 

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Merriam-Webster defines communion as an act or instance of sharing; a synonym is fellowship.  I must admit that I do not remember ever reading today's passages before.  Does that ever happen to you?  I am sure I have, for I have been in 1 Corinthians often over the years, but for some reason it wasn't until this week I studied these particular verses.

Paul is telling the Believers at Corinth that observing the Communion feast is a big deal.  He is reprimanding them for approaching the meal while their hearts were not right with God or with one another.  Communion is all about unity, sharing, fellowship and love.  The practice of the people in Corinth would be to come together for a meal first - the rich would bring lavish dishes to be shared among other wealthy believers, often leaving the poor to go hungry.

"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

Paul admonished their behavior instructing that Communion is about coming together, about remembering Jesus and all He taught; the most important lesson being love.  The Sundays when the Communion Feast is celebrated is a special time.  I enjoy sharing this moment with fellow Believers.  It is always a special time when I am able to partake of this observance with people who mean so much to me.  I had to learn this though, just as the early church had to learn to real meaning of sharing in The Lord's Supper.

Read the 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 text here.  Listen to an audio reading of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 here.