Flesh and Blood

2 Samuel 23:1-7; Ephesians 5:21-33; John 6:55-69

It's the end of August. Maybe some of you remember what President Bush said the other day. He said, "What is it about August?" Of course, he was referring to the fact that it was in August that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. And, it was also August that there was this coup in the Soviet Union. Indeed, what is it about August?

It is also in August, tomorrow, to be exact, that we will be saying good-bye to Alice, who has been a great asset to this church for the past nine weeks. She got on board in this church very quickly, doing a lot of calling. Indeed, how many of you did she call on this summer? Many of you helped her in this task by inviting her for lunch or dinner, some of you not only once, but twice. How many of you invited her for lunch or dinner? And she also was very much in the middle of getting our U.M.Y.F. started, not to mention the Boblo trip that we took a week and a half ago. And Alice was also so much involved with our successful Vacation Bible School with Central Church over in Owosso. And, then, Alice has been doing the liturgy in our worship services, not to mention preaching twice, and doing quite a few children's sermons.

And, you know what? The church secretary, Brenda, and I are really going to miss her around this place. We hate to see her leave. We'd even like to have her come back next summer. And, if you feel like I do, I really think we all ought take just a little time in order to give Alice a stand-up round of applause at this time. (clap! clap! clap!)

So, as President Bush said, what is it about August? Its the month when, last year, nasty old Saddam invaded Kuwait. Its the month that poor old Gorby almost got knocked off. And, its the month that we're going to have to say "good-by" and "good luck" to Alice.

I wonder if it was in August that Jesus told his disciples what he did in our Gospel lesson for today? For in today's lesson Jesus told his disciples something that was so difficult for them to accept and to understand that many of them left him. And what was it that Jesus said that was so hard to understand, so hard to accept? It was this: I am the bread sent down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." And why did what Jesus say offend so many of those who heard it?

First, and possibly foremost, it was his claim to be the bread sent down from heaven that was hard to understand. In all of the history of Israel, no one had ever claimed to be something to eat. People had claimed to be everything from suffering servants to a voice of one calling in the wilderness. These things people could understand. But no one had ever suggested that they were an egg, or an apple, or even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, let alone bread from heaven. So, indeed, what Jesus said to his disciples was radical and new.

I mean, what would any of us think if someone came up to us and said, "I am a filet mignon?" We would think that the person was off his rocker. And, no doubt, that's what many of Jesus' disciples thought about Jesus when he said, "I am the bread sent from heaven."

One of the problems with those disciples is that they heard what Jesus said, but they didn't hear what Jesus was saying. They heard what he said, but they didn't hear what he meant. Do we ever do that?

As folks read the Bible, today, that is possibly one of the biggest problems that they have. I've heard some people proudly say, for instance, that when they read the Bible they take every word literally. But, you see, that's where the disciples who rejected Jesus got into trouble. When they heard him say, "I am the bread sent down from heaven," they couldn't believe it. They were taking him literally. All they heard him say was that he was a piece of bread from heaven. Taken literally, it sounded preposterous, ridiculous, crazy! But, taken figuratively, or allegorically, as Jesus meant it, the words were beautiful, indeed. If only those disciples had listened with their heart, instead of only with their heads! Then they would have believed.

And that's the way we need to approach the Bible, too. There's an endless wealth of wonderful news between the covers of the Bible. But, if we only approach the Bible with our heads we may, like those disciples who rejected Jesus, think the Bible to be preposterous, or ridiculous and, therefore, miss out on the fabulous lessons that go beyond the printed words. But, if we read the Bible with our hearts, if we search those pages asking what it says for the nourishment of our souls, then the Spirit of God will speak to us, and, then, how happy and how blessed we will be!

We have a Wednesday night Bible study going on right now where we are asking God's Spirit to speak to us as we read the scriptures. Our study group is enthusiastic, but small, at this point. But, as time goes on, I trust that more of you will attend and experience the blessing of such a study of the scriptures.

But, there was something else that Jesus was saying to his disciples that caused many of them to reject him. He said, "Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

What was Jesus saying here? He was saying that the religion of the Jewish people wasn't enough, in and of itself, to give a person the assurance of a place with God in heaven. Certainly, God's manna from heaven saved God's people in the wilderness. Certainly, the religion of the Jews was enough to help a person get through the wilderness journeys of this life. But what about eternity? Jesus was claiming that only he could offer the bread that nourishes a person for eternal life.

There are many people today who claim to have a philosophy that is helpful for them as they meet the challenges of living. Some people swear by such things as psycho-cybernetics, or new age doctrines in order to help them overcome the obstacles of living or control other people to their advantage. Some people go out and read self help books by the hundreds in order to have power to manipulate their destinies. Others see success in life as a goal to their religion. But, Jesus' preaching went far beyond such worldly selfishness. His preaching touched upon the soul, itself. Jesus' teaching was centered around the radical idea that he, himself, was the ticket to fulfillment, if not for this world, then for the world beyond.

And, certainly, this is a hard teaching for Jesus' disciples to accept. We live in a age of instant success, instant healings, instant cures, instant coffee, instant breakfast, and instant cash. But, it is the wise disciple who understands that the kingdom of God does not always come quickly; and that success is not easily measured.

I am impressed, for instance, by the Christians throughout Eastern Europe who have suffered for Jesus for decades and yet remained faithful to Christ. Suffering the agonies of uncertainty and fear during the Soviet coup attempt, for instance, were Estonian United Methodist pastor, the Rev. Ullas Tankler, and his family who were traveling throughout the South Central United States raising money to build a church and community center in Parnu, Estonia.

The day after the coup began Tankler asked United Methodists here to pray "that violence would not break out." Staff of the Board of Global Ministries were in telephone contact the same day with Bishop Hans Växby's office in Helsinki, Finland. Although Växby was in Sweden, members of his staff were meeting that day with the architect and director of the Parnu project. "Plans are ready to go when the money is raised," Sue Robinson, a Board of Global Ministries official, said. The project includes a sanctuary, children's center, Christian book store, conference/meeting rooms, parsonage and an "open cafe.

Such are the dreams of many Christians of Eastern Europe. They don't see their life in Jesus as being a call to be successful, like so many of us American do. Rather, they see their life in Jesus as a call to be faithful to him. And when it comes down to being faithful or being successful, I'll choose being faithful any day.

But, there is one more aspect of Jesus' teaching which caused some of his disciples to reject him. In essence, Jesus was telling his disciples that they were going to have to be willing to question some of their old cherished ideas and beliefs in order to allow a new order, a new way, to take charge of their lives.

Sometimes Jesus comes to us and asks us to do that, as well. Sometimes we get into habits that keep us from putting Jesus at the center of our lives. Sometimes we have used our religion to isolate ourselves rather than to reach out to others, as Christ would have us do. Sometimes we have allowed our prejudices and fears to become enmeshed or intertwined with our religious convictions. And, yet, thankfully, marvelously, miraculously, magnificently, Jesus continues to come to us, simply offering us the purity and honesty of himself.

May God give us the insight and the boldness to accept such a gift. Amen.