A Life Worth Living
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash.com
"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." John 6:51.These Sundays, John's gospel focuses on bread. "The Bread Sundays," is how clergy refer to them--and truth be told, we find these Sundays to be challenging. How much can you say about bread before you are left with no words that are new, fresh, inspiring?On some level, I have been amused by some of the chatter on Facebook pages, or Instagram, or Twitter, about how some churches still use wafers for Holy Communion instead of "real" bread. I have spent no time entering into these conversations. I prefer the real bread like we use at St. Philip's (522 Main Street, Laurel, MD), and I like being able to offer gluten-free options, or wafers, for those who need or prefer them.
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To me, real bread has more substance, and I imagine that real bread was what Jesus used. Of course the kinds of bread probably varied. What Jesus handed out among the five thousand out in the Galilean countryside was probably just whatever bread was in the boy's basket. The kind of bread a mother would put on the table for dinner. For the final supper Jesus had with his disciples, that would have been unleavened bread, because it was Passover. More symbolic.Bread is bread. On whatever level, bread nourishes, gives life. If well baked, you can dip bread in good olive oil, or spread butter or cheese on it. Maybe you tear it, and hand part to a friend at the table. Maybe you pour a glass of wine, or have a cold iced tea, and then you enjoy something that nourishes your body as good companionship nourishes your soul.
Jesus talks to people about living bread. About living forever. Eternal life. We hear a lot about eternal life, and various denominations have varying perspectives on what "eternal life" means.Several years ago, while on sabbatical, I enjoyed a week of writing at Kenyon College (Beyond Walls at Kenyon, now called Kenyon Review.) While there, a man named Tom Ehrich led a plenary one evening. I was impressed with him, and subsequently, I subscribed to his daily reflections. (Note: you should check his website out and see if you would like to get his daily e-mails. Here is the link: http://www.morningwalkmedia.com/about/
Photo above by Vitchakorn Koonyosying on Unsplash
One thing I like about Tom (he lives in the northeast--maybe Vermont or New Hampshire, I have forgotten which) is that he makes scriptural connections to real life. For example, he is learning how to be a volunteer firefighter. I know nothing about these things, so am appreciating more deeply the skills that sort of vocation requires. But he takes a piece of scripture--usually bits from the gospel for the following Sunday--and reflects on them. Helpful. Insightful. Good bread for my soul.This week, Tom reflected on what "eternal life" means. Here is what he said: "‘Eternal life,’ it seems to me, doesn't mean a physical existence that somehow never ends, a life's journey that manages to escape the finality of the grave. 'Eternal life' means life with God and thus, life with purpose. The enemy isn't the grave and whatever dying-time precedes it. The enemy is feeling useless, having no purpose of no value to anyone, not even to God. . .To me, that is what Jesus is promising: a life with God that happens now and extends to wherever God takes it."
Photo by McJilton on Isle of Iona in Scotland
So I invite you to reflect today on what "a life with God" looks like for you. What nourishes such a life? For me, community nourishes my life with God. Times of morning silence with a cup of hot coffee nourishes my life with God. A walk on a long path with my camera in hand nourishes my life with God. Breaking bread and drinking wine during the Eucharist with a community of faith nourishes my life with God.For years, I have thought about "a life with God" on that eternal scale. I have moved far away from "pie in the sky by and by" concepts about life after death. I believe that you and I are already living eternal life. I believe that if God's will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven, then it is up to you and me to make that happen. We are not to wait for some divine presence to override evil and corruption and the misuse of power in this realm. We are to do whatever we can on our human level, with our God-given skills and talents, to bring justice and peace to this earth. It is our responsibility to care for God's creation that we have abused. It is our responsibility to love each other, to listen to each other, to make sacred space for "the other," whomever that may be.Today, when you break off a piece of bread, or enjoy a sandwich at lunch, I invite you to stop a moment. Give God thanks for physical nourishment. Ask how you might feed someone else in God's name (hint: that might mean that you bring a can or package of food this next Sunday to church and put in the LARS basket for the local food pantry.) And then make a commitment to come to church this next Sunday to take holy bread and holy wine into yourself, to nourish your soul in the midst of community.The Eucharistic Prayer we are using this summer at the Sunday 10:15 worship service is Prayer C in the Book of Common Prayer. Part of that prayer includes this petition"Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, and not for strength; for pardon only, and not for renewal. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name. Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread." (BCP, 372)Come to worship this Sunday and as you hear these words, pray them silently to yourself. Reach out and take God into yourself. Be strengthened. Be renewed. Know that you are part of a greater Body. Know that with God in you, you are already living forever. This, my friends, is eternal life: a life lived in the presence and love of God.
Photo taken by McJilton on Isle of Iona in Scotland
© The Rev. Dr. Sheila N. McJiltonMost photos in this article accessed at www.unsplash.comLast two photos taken by McJilton on the Isle of Iona in Scotland