John 6:51–69

⁵¹"I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."

⁵²The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"

⁵³Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

⁵⁴"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

⁵⁵"For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.

⁵⁶"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

⁵⁷"As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.

⁵⁸"This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."

⁵⁹These things He said in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.

⁶⁰Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"

⁶¹But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?

⁶²"What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was before?

⁶³"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

⁶⁴"But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.

⁶⁵And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."

⁶⁶As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.

⁶⁷Jesus said therefore to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?"

⁶⁸Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.

⁶⁹"And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

As I look out over the congregation this morning; as I look beyond it to the homebound and sick, and out into our neighborhood and community, what I see is a world of hurt. I see just about every pain, suffering, and sorrow known to man. I see just about every sin, and evil, and vice man has ever committed. I see the sick laying in hospital beds, some are elderly and waiting to be delivered out of this life, others are young children just hoping that someday they will be able to have a healthy and normal life. I see people in pain: bones, joints, back, barely able to walk, and afraid they will soon be crippled for life. I see bodies of the aged getting weaker and weaker with each passing day. People who yesterday were healthy and vigorous today are suddenly stricken with a crippling disease or an incurable cancer.

And I see people without jobs, getting further and further behind on their bills. Others in bankruptcy and others losing their homes. I see people with marital problems, going through divorces, problems guiding their children on the right paths. I see those who are slaves to drugs and alcohol, unwed, teenage mothers anxious about their futures; other women considering abortions, children being abused, elderly being abused and people suffering violence in their homes and families.

Still others are trapped in sinful lifestyles, slaves to their lusts and temptations which lead to death, living together without being married, committing adultery, offering their bodies for sale, others living with partners of the same sex, people from all walks of life, all trapped in a world of sin and lust.

This is our world. This is our life. A world of hurt; a world of death. And God looks down at this world and sees the sin and the hurt and the death and he grieves and sorrows. It is his world which he created good and beautiful. We are his people whom he made in his own image of love and grace. But now he sees a fallen people, a sinful people, a people who have spurned his love and grace and have turned his good and beautiful world into a broken world, a wilderness of hurt and death; for the wages of sin is death.

"God looks down from heaven and he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth. The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine." Ps 33.

So, into this world he sent his Son to deliver us from death and restore his broken world. "He is the living bread that came down out of heaven that if anyone eats he will live forever. The bread that he gives for the life of the world is his own flesh." It is the flesh of Jesus Christ whom the Father sent to the world. Into this flesh he absorbed the brokenness of this world; he took unto himself our sin. Into his own flesh he absorbed all our guilt, all our sufferings, all our addictions, all our diseases and even our death. He absorbed them into his flesh so he could carry our sin, our guilt, our suffering in his own flesh to the cross. He absorbed our suffering and so he suffered as we suffer, he was hated and rejected, he was lonely, he became poor and homeless, he was wounded for our sins, he was humbled and oppressed, trampled upon by the proud, despised by the very people he came to help. And accepting the guilt of our crimes he was convicted as a criminal and sentenced to death on an old wooden cross.

All of our hurts, our sorrows, our suffering, our sin, our guilt and our death Jesus absorbed into his flesh and he gave his flesh, his very own body, as a sacrifice to God on the cross to take these things away from us and to restore us and our world. He removed from us the curse of sin and death. He removed from us our guilt and punishment. He did this to restore our lives and deliver us from the pain, and sorrow and death in which we live. He did this to deliver us from our sins and addictions, our abuse, our oppression. He delivers us from death and tells us that "anyone who eats his flesh that he broke for us, and drinks his blood that he poured out on the cross, will have eternal life. He promises to raise us up on the last day."

Though we die and return to the ground, we will be raised up on the last day. We will be given a new life, a life free from the sin, the guilt, the suffering, the pain, the sorrow we have now. A life free from death so we will live forever in the goodness and beauty of God's love and grace.

God has come down out of heaven to give us his own flesh as the sacrifice that restores and renews our lives. So his flesh became the bread that gives life. "His flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. Anyone who eats his flesh and drinks his blood abides in him and he in them." Come, then, the table is set, the food prepared, eat and drink and Christ will abide in you and give you newness of life. In our first reading, wisdom was calling to us; she has set her table, she has sent out her young women to call us from the highest places in town, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed." God has come down to our broken world to abide with us and deliver us.

Come! Christ is inviting us today. Come to his table that is set. The Communion is prepared. The Lord is present in his word and sacrament. God has come down into our world of grief to deliver us from our present sorrows. Come, eat the bread and drink the wine, for they are the flesh and blood of Christ. This is true bread and true drink. This is the bread the gives eternal life and anyone who eats this bread will be raised on the last day. Though we suffer here for a while, it is only temporary. Though for a time we live in the midst of sufferings and death, in the midst of pain and sorrow and temptation and sin, our eyes are set on what Jesus is doing for us. Our eyes are set not on now, but on the Last Day, on eternity. God is doing a wonderful and marvelous thing. He is at work in our lives and our world to restore us. He is restoring his creation. He is preparing a place for us in heaven. He is preparing to raise us on the last day and give us renewed life forever. To all who eat his flesh and drinks his blood he gives a new life; eternal life.

Yet many do not believe. Some say, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat and his blood to drink?" Some do not seek eternal life and restoration, but want only to satisfy their flesh today, with no regard for eternity. They aren't interested in being raised from the dead. And so they shake their heads in unbelief and turn away from Jesus. Of the 5000 people who ate the two fish and five loaves, all but 12 were left. They went away in unbelief.

That is just as true today as it was then. Many flock to churches with outreach programs that satisfy their flesh, fill their stomachs, and offer aid. They receive the aid of men, but it never really changes anything. They soon get hungry again. Their problems come back, and eventually they die. For earthly bread does not give eternal life. When their needs are met or the food pantry is empty they turn away. Only 12 were left. Only those whom the Father had given Jesus. And so with us. We often wonder why as we proclaim the gospel to multitudes so few ever believe. Because no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him.

And so Jesus asked them, "Do you too want to leave me?" These 12 who were left replied: No! You have the words of eternal life. These 12 knew that in the midst of their suffering today, there was something exciting and good happening. They had hope because the words of Jesus give eternal life. His word is spirit and life. His promise bestows the Holy Spirit, creates faith, forgives our sins, and raises us on the last day. "He has the words of eternal life."

And so Jesus comes to us today to dwell with us and abide in us. He invites us to his table to feed on his flesh and drink his blood. The true bread of life comes down from heaven to earth right here in this place as we hear his word preached and as we feed on his flesh and blood. As we come to the table we who suffer in this world and this life are filled with the joy of knowing that Jesus is at work doing great and marvelous things, preparing a place for us in heaven. That he is working in every twist and turn of our lives to renew us and restore the world, and that on the Last Day he will raise us from the dead.

Let us evermore revel in the joy of this promise for there is a crown stored up for us in heaven. Our second reading tells us, do not be drunk with wine. We do not sing and dance in the revelry and drunkenness of wine and spirit, but filled with the Spirit of God, we sing psalms and hymns in the revelry of praise and thanksgiving to God who comes down in the Sacrament and fills us with his Spirit; who is restoring our lives and who will raise us on the last day. Amen.