from Helen
I sometimes feel that I may be a bit too honest with you all. You know rather a lot about me including my love of chocolate and unhealthy food. Lest you think that I am not that healthy when I eat I do eat rather well in a healthy manner however I do stray very often. This was made real to me one time when I was talking to a group of year 5 children (9-10 year olds) and they asked me what my favourite food was. Now I know about children and healthy eating so I commented that I really liked chicken. I may have mentioned how yummy a roast dinner with vegetables can be. It was all going well until they asked me what my favourite meal of all was… I did it ! I admitted that it was McDonalds Chicken selects with fries. I heard giggles and some children shook their heads telling me that this was not a healthy meal !
I was thinking about this when I looked at our gospel reading (John 6:51-58) for this morning. In our reading we heard more about Jesus as being the bread of life as we heard of what we need to do to be fully part of this bread. We heard of the ways that Jesus is our healthy meal.
Last week we thought of how Jesus is the real deal. All we need for life and how by being more and more like Him we can show this to others. The reading today might have made us think of eating Jesus. Can you imagine the shock those first hearing this must have felt ? For us of course we are used to terms such as the body and blood of Christ.
The people who heard Jesus saying this would probably have remembered a story about King David in the Old Testament. In that story Philistines had captured Bethlehem which was Davids home town. David was thirsty and commented that he would really like some water from the well in Bethlehem. Three of his soldiers went through enemy lines and brought back water for David who wouldn’t drink it because he thought it was wrong to drink the water as it meant that he would be taking advantage of the soldiers who had put their lives on the line for Him.
When Jesus said that people were to eat His flesh and drink His blood He was making it clear that He was putting His life on the line for those hearing Him and not them putting their lives on the line for Him.
Jesus was going to die so that people could be free. This is amazing !
These words of eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus help us to remember Jesus died for us, we remember that God in Jesus gave us His everything so that we could know Him and all He asks of us is that we will give our everything for Him.
I read recently about one Christian who said to another, Jesus looks good on you. This sounds very strange but what it means is that they could see so much of the way that Jesus would live in the way that the other person lived it was clear that they knew and worshipped Jesus.
There is a saying that we are what we eat. Well, imagine if we thought of ourselves as being what we wear … now we all know about certain outfits and behaviour for certain circumstances. Imagine if we were so full of Jesus, so much like Him that it is as if we are Him. We are what we eat – well Jesus is the living bread who gave Himself for us completely.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit then we are people who will show others what Jesus looks like on us, in us and through us.
Back to my healthy eating. When we receive communion we remember all that Jesus has done for us and we commit ourselves to being more like Him day by day. We share in a family meal together and this reminds us of the fact that we are a family all following the same saviour.
Being part of the family of God those who partake in the living bread means that we have to live as if Jesus has changed our lives. Jesus pointed out that when we turn to Him as our living bread He isn’t just providing something for now but for the future, He is offering us life eternal.
In our epistle reading (Ephesians 5:15-20) this morning we heard Paul warning the Ephesians to be careful of how they live, to make sure that their lives were holy. This doesn’t mean that they weren’t to have fun but it meant that they were to rejoice in the right things and as far as I am concerned if we can’t rejoice in the fact that we have life everlasting and life now with Jesus then something is seriously wrong.
In the epistle the people were told that they were to spend time in prayer and praise, that they were to join together in giving thanks to God. To spend time enjoying God who gave His everything and in whom we can have life for ever.
At the end of last week we heard of the death of soul singer Aretha Franklin. I was listening to an interview with Sister Sledge who said that her incredible voice was due to the love of God in her life and that Aretha Franklin saw this and would say it. This is what being filled up with God is all about.
Back to the gospel reading. We are what we eat, we are what we wear but most importantly we are who we are because God loves us and offers us life now and for ever.
Jesus offers us life and we have a response to make. Will we partake in Him in the living bread that He offers or will we look elsewhere ?
We are what we eat ! We are what we wear so let’s be people who burst with Jesus and His love. This is how we are to be. By following, being more and more like Jesus so we will be full of Him and show Him to others.
May we be more and more like Jesus and may we show that God loves us all and will never leave us and that He is not just the best news ever but He is our Lord, our everything. May we give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN
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