August 12 & 16 - Pentecost + 11

Jesus Gives True Life
John 6:51-58
Pentecost + 11 – August 12 & 19, 2009

Society is fascinated with the supernatural

Vampires – Twilight, Interview w/ the Vampire

Zombies – Night of the Living Dead, zombie walks,
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

Fascination with the idea of a life that never ends
With the idea that we could experience
a million different things,
explore the world & live forever

Except that zombies & vampires are the undead –
they're not really alive
Their “lives” lack purpose, lack meaning
Zombies exist
only to feed on the next unfortunate person
who gets in their path
Vampires spend their lives
looking for their next victim, to drink their blood
The only objective they both have
is to feed, to stay alive


Zombies & vampires seems a weird place
to start a sermon,
but did you listen to the reading?

“the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh”

“unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
& drink his blood,
you have no life in you”

“my flesh is true food,
my blood is true drink.
Those who eat my flesh
& drink my blood
abide in me, & I in them...”

We read this at council on Tuesday –
& I was listening,
& all I could think was,
“Jesus is saying we need to be zombies or vampires!”

Eat my flesh, drink my blood
– no wonder the early Christians were accused of being cannibals!
No wonder the crowd listening got tripped up here
- “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”!!

But there are some connections
between the supernatural creatures
that fascinate so many people
and the way we live our lives
So much of the time,
we are living without a clear sense of purpose,
just going from one day, one task
to the next;
day after day of work
without really sensing the meaning of it all

Everybody Loves Raymond –
episode where Ali asks about babies,
but what she really wants to know
is not the mechanics,
but why God puts us here in the 1st place;
& all the adults freak out!
How to answer this question when they don't even know!

Don't know where you all are with this,
but The Purpose Driven Life was a popular book for a reason.
Maybe that sense of being direction-less comes
at times of transition
– a move, a job change, retirement;
when we wonder why we're here
& what we're supposed to be doing

Living life w/o really being alive;
consuming each thing that comes in our path
– material possessions,
one experience after another,
just plowing through
without valuing what we have or appreciating it

We're satisfied with junk food when Jesus wants to give us true food!
We're like zombies & vampires –
feeding on things that keep us alive but don't really give us life!


And into this situation comes Jesus,
who reminds us that he is true food & true drink.

He speaks over and over in this passage
& in the whole chapter, really,
about giving life:

I am the living bread – whoever eats it will live forever

Those who eat my flesh & drink my blood have eternal life

Whoever eats me will live because of me

The one who eats this bread will live forever

It is his very own life
that Jesus offers us in the meal we eat each week
Not only do we get to look forward
to eternal life after we die – eternal life starts now!
Jesus invites us to participate in the life he lives!
He gives us his life,
brimming over with passion and purpose and meaning!

Because when we eat this bread
& drink this wine,
when we take in the body & blood of Jesus,
we're taking in Jesus,
all that he is;
he becomes a part of us
in some way that we can't quite explain

And you know how when a zombie or a vampire attacks someone
– if they don't kill you,
they change you.
You become what they are.

Well, it works that way with Jesus,
only kind of in reverse.
When we eat Jesus,
we don't change him;
he changes us!

As the song goes,
“we become what we receive:
Christ's own body,
blessed & broken.
Cup o'erflowing,
life outpoured,
Given as a living token
of our world,
redeemed restored."

We eat the body of Christ,
and we become the body of Christ,
sent to bring the life he has given us into the world

So come, receive that body & blood of Christ;
After all,
you are what you eat!