Today's Scripture Readings
Proverbs 9:1-6 (NRSV)
- Wisdom has built her house,
- she has hewn her seven pillars.
- She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
- she has also set her table.
- She has sent out her servant girls, she calls
- from the highest places in the town,
- "You that are simple, turn in here!"
- To those without sense she says,
- "Come, eat of my bread
- and drink of the wine I have mixed.
- Lay aside immaturity, and live,
- and walk in the way of insight."
Psalm 34:9-14 (BCP., p.628)
Ephesians 5:15-20 (NRSV)
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 6:51-58 (NRSV)
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."
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So 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. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This 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."
Blog Reflection
As I read these Scripture readings in preparation for this blog post, I got three points to focus on. The first is the Wisdom of God. The second is Jesus as the Bread of Life. The third is the life we have through Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the world around us.
Wisdom is often referred to in the Hebrew Scriptures in the feminine gender. It is very much likened to a mother feeding her children with the very best she has to give. In this reading from Proverbs, she is most concerned with taking care of her immediate children. She sends for her servants to deliver the basics of life; bread to feed the body and wine to lift up the heart.
Bread is the most basic kind of food. It is made from wheat that grows in the ground from a seed with the help of the sun, water, soil and great care. The ingredients in bread give the body substance enough to support its health.
Wine comes from the grape known as the fruit of the vine. Jesus' reference to the vine and branches in John 15 can also mean a grape patch. The vine gives life to the branches which breeds and nourishes the grapes. Once again due to soil, water, air, sun and a farmers attention; the grapes are harvested. To make wine the grapes are picked, crushed and fermented into wine. The wine ages and then it is put in a bottle. Wine has the ability to heal a sick stomach. Its agents can cheer a soul who is down.
All of this leads us to those wonderful words in Psalm 34:10. "Those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good." I believe this is what Jesus is talking about in our Gospel Reading from John 6 today. If Christians are to be the presence of God in our world, we must know the fullness of Jesus Christ from within ourselves and our many relationships. When we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, we give thanks for all that God has done and recall the gracious gift God gave us in the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus did more that die for and with our sins. He also gave Himself in total and complete sacrifice so that we might know the fullness of God's love for us and for the world.
Jesus tells us that He is the bread that came to be with us, so that the Presence of God may be real in us and through us. If we want to know a fuller presence of God and grow in grace, the flesh and blood of Christ is where we will find such an experience. If as Christians we live into that fullness of the life of Jesus, then we must consume Him and share Him with others.
We live in a world full of violence, oppression, prejudice and injustice. The wealthy dominate the poor. The privileged benefit at the expense of the underprivileged. Those who seek justice for the oppressed are mocked and scorned by the oppressors. The oppressed are kicked in the gut by those who live in gluttony of the power and prestige they cannot enough of or let go.
Jesus Christ offers to us and to all of the marginalized the unconditional and all inclusive love of God. Love such as this begins with faith to become tangible and real in this present moment. Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation who feeds us with the grace to believe that even when we fail, God forgives us and empowers us with the Holy Spirit. God empowers us with gifts to worship, pray, work and serve others in the Name of Christ. Jesus feeds us with His presence so that we may be His presence in one another and through each other.
Amen.
Prayers
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a
sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us
grace to receive thankfully the fruits of this redeeming work,
and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 15. The Book of Common Prayer., p. 232).
God our Father, whose Son our Lord Jesus Christ in a
wonderful Sacrament has left us a memorial of his passion:
Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of his Body and
Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit
of his redemption; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Prayer Of The Eucharist. The Book of Common Prayer, p. 252).
Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Prayer for Social Justice. The Book of Common Prayer, p. 260).
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