The Twelfth Sunday after
Pentecost
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn
#850 When in Our Music, God Is Glorified |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And also with
you. Psalm 34:
9-14 9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. 10 The young lions suffer want and
hunger, but those who seek
the Lord lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek
peace, and pursue it. |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. Ever-loving God, your Son gives
himself as living bread for the life of the world. Fill us with such
knowledge of his presence that we may be strengthened and sustained by his
risen life to serve you continually, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and
Lord. Amen. |
Reading:
Proverbs 9: 1-6
A reading from Proverbs
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
4“You that are simple, turn in here!”
To those without sense she says,
5“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
Ephesians 5:15-20
A reading from the letter to the Ephesians
15Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, 16making
the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17So do not be
foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18Do not
get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the
Spirit, 19as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20giving
thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
Alleluia! Those who eat my
flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I abide in them. Alleluia!
Gospel Reading: John 6: 51-58
A reading from the Gospel of John
51[Jesus said] “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever
eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the
life of the world is my flesh.” 52The Jews then disputed among
themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So
Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the
Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Those
who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up
on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is
true drink. 56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide
in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and
I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This
is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors
ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn #689 Praise and Thanksgiving
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers
of the Church:
Trusting Jesus’
promise that we will be heard, we offer our prayers for the world God loves,
the church God calls, and for all people according to their needs.
[Short pause]
God of bread, we
give thanks for the Bread of Life, Jesus the Christ. As you come to us in
our worship, may we be more aware of your coming everywhere else. God who
is with us,
Hear our prayer.
God of bread, we
give thanks for your presence in our Eucharist. Fill us to overflowing
with your love and presence. God who is with us, Hear
our prayer.
God of bread, you
feed your people with your very self. May we, in turn, offer ourselves to
this hurting world, that all may be fed. God who is with us, Hear
our prayer.
God of bread, save
your church from confining you to our celebration of the sacrament. Free
us to receive you in all our bread. Free us
to share you with all our
bread. God who is with us, Hear our prayer.
God of bread, you
come in the physical. Use to share your love with those who are
physically hungry, lonely, isolated, mourning and sick, especially those we
name before you.
[Long pause]
God who is with us, Hear our prayer.
God of bread, feed
us, sustain us, move us, that we may live as your feeding, sustaining, moving
people. God who is with us,
Hear
our prayer.
God of bread, bless our retired pastors (not serving congregations): Jack
Dressler, Jim Garey, Tom Ristine, Jo von Schmeling, Glen Sellick, Bob
Zimmerman, Paul Sodtke. God who is with us Hear our prayer.
We ask all this in
the name of Jesus, our Bread and our Life.
Amen.
Hymn #691 Accept, O Lord, the Gifts We Bring
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let us pray for all things as
our Lord would have us ask:
Our
Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against
us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For
thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the
glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn
#763 My Life Flows On in Endless Song
Benediction and Sending
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and
be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and +
give you peace.
Amen.
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks
be to God!
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
·
We continue
to look at the sixth chapter of John, the “Bread of life” passages. The passage
has been looked at in detail and over a few weeks. I’d say the reason for this is
its importance, so that much attention has been put on it.
·
It IS
important because Jesus is telling the people there and we people here that he
is the bread of life, the vital point of existence without which all of us
could starve and die. His words are chosen as if to shock us with both the
earthiness and the intimacy of them. The word Jesus uses which we translate as
“eat” is a very polite and almost dainty translation, and yet it gives offense.
The actual word is closer to the English words “chew up” or “gnaw.” It could
hardly be more down-to-earth… or possibly more offensive.
·
When Jesus
preached and taught, he used parables and examples from people’s regular lives.
In telling what his disciples were to do in actions, he did the same: Wash
people; drink wine and eat bread. We wash to be clean and the washing of
Baptism goes beyond the dust and dirt on the body. We eat and drink to nourish
our bodies and stay alive and here that sustenance goes beyond the simple
mechanics of digestion and nourishment of the body, far beyond it.
·
Jesus is
using what people know and understand to explain what he knows and what he’s
bringing them. Washing and eating are part of everyone’s lives. Jesus uses
these figures to bring home the lesson that he wants to be real part of
everyone’s lives. The physical form of washing and eating become more than
physical. They become spiritual and the spiritual then in turn can return to
the physical, renewed.
·
There are
only a few things in a human life that are more intimate than the act of eating
a meal. A common meal brings people together in a form of fellowship, welcome,
and hospitality. A family gathering is more than a quick supper. A church
pot-luck is more than lunch. Preparing and sharing a meal can be one of the
most delightful and just plain “human” acts we can do. At its best, it is a
sharing of self. That may be one of the things we’ve missed most during this
pandemic.
·
For Jesus to
say “eat my flesh… drink my blood”, we must be willing to be shocked and at the
same time up-lifted by those words. He so much want to be part of our lives
that he was (and is) willing to give his own body and blood for our lives. This
is an on-going thing, just like the promise of eternal life. That life begins
NOW, not after our passing to what’s beyond.
·
So eternity
and the present are locked together. The physical and the spiritual are joined.
Jesus uses understandable words to convey the truth of that which cannot be
fully comprehended. Maybe it’s less important that we realize that we hold God
in our hands when we realize that God holds us in God’s hands.
·
Once again,
when the time comes, let’s eat hearty and drink fully of the one who would go
so far to be part of the life of each and every one of us.
Jesus
said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be
hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
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