Rev. AndreaGrace - Guest Preacher
I, Rev AndreaGrace, was invited to preach at a Presbyterian Church using the readings in the Common Lectionary. The readings on the day I was preaching were Ephesians 5:15-20 and John 6:51-58. We sang "Taste and See" which is based on Psalm 34 and "Goodness of God" by CeCe Winan was also sung.
Summary:
The psalmist invites us to “taste and see the goodness of God.” St. Paul’s instructions to the Ephesians help us live in God’s goodness - as well as bring that goodness to a world that so desperately needs God. One of the ways that we experience and are strengthened by God is through the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Come - be nourished - in mind, body and spirit!
Watch my sermon here! By the way, the Presbyterain Church has a 20 minute sermon - very different from the 7-minute one Pope Francis recommends! Happily - people stay engaged!
If you prefer to read my sermon, here it is!
Introduction
In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us the hope of living forever, which we call heaven. Throughout the readings, we receive clear directions on three things we can do to help make this happen.
1. Jesus tells us to feed on the bread that came down from heaven – which we call Holy Communion. In doing so, our soul experiences a little slice of heaven and we receive nourishment to build heaven on earth.
2. St. Paul tells us to be wise, live with intention, and in community
3. The psalmist encourages us to taste and see God’s goodness, to notice the gifts from God in our everyday lives – the heaven-on-earth moments and thank God. This is called living with “an attitude of gratitude”.
Jesus says “I am the living bread who came down from heaven.”
Today’s reading is from the gospel attributed to John. This is the most poetic of all the gospels. We need to keep John’s poetic slant in mind.
Authors Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan encourage us to explore “ancient texts in ancient contexts.” It’s important to understand the ancient Jewish context around this gospel passage.
Jesus said that He came from heaven. What is heaven?
When the Bible was recorded, people believed that heaven was a place above the earth… Now, many believe that heaven is a state in which the soul is one with God and all is right. Some say that “Heaven is all the way to heaven.” We affirm this in our language when we describe something as “heavenly.”
Jesus taught that heaven is like a lavish banquet. Let’s pause for a minute. I invite you to close your eyes, if you are comfortable, or cast your gaze down low at the floor. Think about a memorable meal that you’ve enjoyed…. Where were you? Whom were you with? How did you feel? What made it so special? Would you say that the meal was “heavenly?” Perhaps at the social after, you can share about this meal with someone.
Jesus was speaking to Jewish people. They might have known about the miracles surrounding bread in the Old Testament - Hebrew Scriptures… Like the manna God sent to the Israelites each morning as they moved through the desert to freedom. There’s the miracle with Elijah multiplying flour and oil so that a family wouldn’t starve to death. And Elisha multiplying barely loaves to feed a hundred people. They might have been spending time with Jesus and witnessed how bread, eating and abundance were central to His ministry.
The people to whom Jesus was speaking understood “bread” to mean lifegiving nourishment and “blood” to mean the essence of life itself. If we can’t eat at least bread, we will starve to death. If blood is not flowing, there is no life. We now understand that we need Jesus as much as we need bread and blood.
Jesus says: "I AM the bread of life."
In this gospel passage, Jesus boldly proclaims: I AM the bread of life. He starts with “I AM” – again echoing the words of YHWH who said “I AM who I AM.” Jesus is one with YHWH. Since people weren’t getting how YHWH wanted us to live, YHWH chose to come to earth to show us The Way.
Jesus replicated the miracles of the Old Testament – with the multiplication of loaves and fishes… With teaching about the heavenly banquet…. He showed us a new way of being – instead of offering animal sacrifices at the altar – we could bless and break bread together – remembering Jesus’ example. In doing so, we become more like Jesus. After all, we are what we eat.
When we share Holy Communion, we are receiving sacred – lifegiving - food that will make us one with the Trinity and with one another. The truth is – there is a Divine Spark within each of us. Through this holy meal, that spark is fanned to become a flame that burns brightly for others to see, that warms our heart and others, that transforms… that spreads to ignite the spark in others….
I like to say that Holy Communion is a spiritual vitamin. I’m not sure how vitamins help me but science says they do. We might not know for sure exactly how Holy Communion helps us but the wise spiritual leaders through the millennia affirm that it does.
Thankfully, we do receive glimpses of how we are transformed through this sacred meal. I invite you to pause again – and think about a memorable time that you received Holy Communion. Where were you? Whom were you with? How did you feel? What made it so special? Would you say that the sacred meal was heavenly?
As a church community, we may pray that through the Holy Communion services peole may know God’s love more intimately and be transformed to share it more abundantly.
St. Paul's Wisdom for Living
Let’s shift our focus to St. Paul’s wisdom that he shared with the Ephesians and us.
1. Be careful, make the most of our time… I just spent a month as a writer-in-residence at a Benedictine monastery where I learned more about the Rules of St. Benedict that have informed spiritual communities since the 500s. One of the rules is to: “keep death daily before your eyes.” There is a lot to this rule – which includes making the most of our time each day!
2. Understand what the will of the God is and do it. That’s called “discernment.” We pray it in the “Our Father” – thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I have a handout on ways to practice discernment… if you are interested contact me.
3. Be filled with the Spirit. There are so many ways to be filled up with the Spirit – which happens when we pray, when we come to services, when we receive Communion, when we have heartfelt conversations with other spiritual companions….
4. Sing psalms – that is what spiritual communities have done for millennia – in monasteries it’s called Horarium. There are more than 150 psalms which were intended to be sung…. The psalms echo all of the emotions that we experience. During my time at the monastery, I prayed with “Rejoice Beloved Woman: The Psalms Revisioned” by Barbara Monda. I’ve also enjoyed praying with "Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness" by Nan C. Merrill.
5. Sing and make melody to God in our hearts. St. Augustine taught that singing is praying twice!” There are so many scripture passages that have been set to music – like Psalm 34 we heard today. If you are musically inclined, learning the songs can help us memorize The Bible and make melody in our hearts. One of the ways I practice discernment is through singing. Let me explain: I have a playlist with Christian songs. I ask Jesus to be my DJ and put the playlist on shuffle to see what Jesus has in store for me! The song that pops up often has just the words that I need – the words God needs me to hear.
6. Give thanks to God at all times and for everything – that means the good, the bad, even the ugly! The first time I heard this verse and understood it. I was in college and a spiritual friend and companion had just broken up with his longtime girlfriend. He was crying… and he was thanking God… trusting in God’s goodness. Eventually, they were reunited and have been married for 35+ years!
The Psalmist encourages us to notice the goodness in our lives.
W. B. Yeats wrote: "The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for your senses to grow sharper." There are so many ways to sharpen our senses and recognize God’s goodness in our lives.
1) We can begin in the morning, when we awake and thank God for 5 things. There is so much research that points to the positive effects of living from a place of gratitude. Studies have shown that starting our morning with gratitude for 5 things can have a profound effect on our brain.
2) We can pause throughout our day and practice noticing God’s goodness - using all of our senses. Let’s pause now and notice: What do you see? What do you hear? Do you smell anything? What is a taste that you’ve had in the past day? What are you feeling? Pause and thank God.
3) Throughout our days, we can pause and thank God for 10 things – one for each finger on our hand. For a yummy meal we’ve shared. The beauty around us. The sunrises and sunsets. The synchronicity in our lives. The opportunity to safely gather and pray in public. For the members of our circle of love with whom we gather. For hearts that beat, brains that make connections, muscles that move - maybe not as well as they used to but still... All of this is from the goodness of God. Stopping and recognizing these aspects of our daily life helps us cultivate an “attitude of gratitude.”
4) As we fall asleep we may practice “A-Z gratitude” – going through the alphabet and thanking God for something that begins with each letter of the alphabet! I’ll get you started for tonight… AndreaGrace’s homily!
There is a connection between Holy Communion and giving thanks.
The word “Communion” comes from the Latin, to “be with others.” Through this Divine Meal, we are made one with God and with the people around us… as well as those throughout the world who are gathering for the sacred meal. That’s powerful to think about all of the people globally who are remembering Jesus and sharing a meal this day!
Some religious communities use the word Eucharist for this meal. Eucharist comes from the Greek means “thanksgiving”. When I am leading Holy Communion services, I often pause at the beginning and invite people to thank God for ten things – one for each finger on their hands. Let’s do that now…
Prayer-Poems
All of the threads of today’s Scriptures come together in a profound prayer and a prayer-poem.
Diarmuid O’Murchu’s (pronounced DYAR-mid O-MOOR-who) Eucharistic Acclamation:
O God-
Nurtured by your word
Nourished by your food
Called anew to be your people
We acclaim your praise.
Let me repeat this:
O God-
Nurtured by your word
Nourished by your food
Called anew to be your people
We acclaim your praise.
A prayer-poem by Jan Richardson, entitled, And The Table will be Wide
And the table will be wide.
And the welcome will be wide.
And the arms will open wide to gather us in.
And our hearts will open wide to receive.
And we will come as children who trust there is enough.
And we will come unhindered and free.
And our aching will be met with bread.
And our sorrow will be met with wine.
And we will open our hands to the feast without shame.
And we will turn toward each other without fear.
And we will give up our appetite for despair.
And we will taste and know of delight.
And we will become bread for a hungering world.
And we will become drink for those who thirst.
And the blessed will become the blessing.
And everywhere will be the feast
PS -
If you would like help sharpening your senses or discerning God's will, reach out to me - Rev. AndreaGrace today!
PPS - In preparation for this sermon, I wrote the prayer-poem: Summer's Bounty: Taste and See Love's Goodness.
Comments