Don’t Give Up on Christ. Eat Up.

The Thirteenth sunday after pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

John 6:51-58

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 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. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (NIV)

It’s become a familiar routine for many of us, especially the parents of over programmed children: sports practice is over, and with so little time before the child’s next event is scheduled, a quick trip through the drive-thru becomes the norm.  The orders are taken from the back of the car and spit out back into the microphone and in mere minutes the meal is ready and waiting at the next window.  The last step is to “pull ahead,” and dinner is served. 

           

In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food. By 1997, that figure had ballooned to $100 billion. Today — who knows?  It has been figured that we Americans now spend more money on fast food than we do on higher education, personal computers, software, new cars, movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music — combined.  Suffice it to say, the more we continue to give in to our fast food weakness, the amount of money we spend on it won’t be the only thing that balloons – so will our waistlines! What a way to live! High cholesterol, high fat, high calorie… It’s a trap many of us fall into from time to time, even though the nutritionists say it’s no good for us and the evidence of how unhealthy it is is undisputable.  We know we should do more to avoid it, but it’s so easy, so convenient, and yes, of course it tastes good. However, in the long run, such a diet certainly is not going to contribute to a longer, healthier life.  In fact, such a diet will more than likely contribute to future health complications and may even be a factor in shortening one’s life.

It’s one thing to discuss and debate the repercussions of a poor physical diet; it’s quite another to recognize the much more serious consequences of a poor spiritual diet.  Consider the difference: what is the worst that can result from a poor physical diet – that it may lead to a premature death?  But how does a premature physical death compare with a permanent spiritual death?  The one cuts short my time here on earth; the other cuts me off from the grace of God and the goodness of heaven for eternity.  Can we really afford to feed ourselves anything but the proper spiritual food?  Do we really fail to see the serious damage that will be caused by eating spiritual junk food?

We need to open our eyes.  We need to stop pretending that all that’s wrong with the world is due completely to how wicked and corrupt and evil unbelievers are and start recognizing that we Christians are as much a part of the problem as we are the solution.  “Shame on the world” we lament, as we lie down in bed, sleeping in on Sunday morning. We Christians say, “See, we told you this would happen if you took prayer out of schools and ignored the Ten Commandments,” while conveniently ignoring how pitiful our own prayer lives actually are, and how we would be utterly embarrassed if someone actually asked us to list all Ten Commandments in order!  We will dig in our heels and stand our ground when it comes to traditional one-man-and-one-woman marriage, while not giving a second thought to the fact that a God-designed marriage isn’t just about sexual orientation, but is also about sexual purity, which even Christians seem to have forgotten in the wake of premarital sex, affairs, pornography, and divorce.  We balk at those who accept the word of science over the Word of God when it comes to a discussion of creation and evolution, but miss the irony of how little time we actually spend reading the very Bible on which so many of our firm convictions are supposedly based. 

Can we be open and honest with each other this morning and admit that our spiritual diets leave a lot to be desired?  Can we confess that sin before God?  Can we confess that too often we feed ourselves spiritual fast food and neglect that which provides the true sustenance and nourishment that our souls need?  And then, on this Christian Education Sunday, can we commit to doing something about it?  Will we actually leave church this morning with a conviction, and then a plan, and then the follow through either to tweak or to completely overhaul our spiritual diet?  I pray that we will.

But in order to make that happen, you need to know something, you need to hear something.  You are forgiven.  Your sins are paid for.  Your guilt has been removed, as has your shame.  Let your baptism serve as a daily reminder that you have been washed and cleansed in Christ.  Jesus did all that he did – his pristine record of obedience and righteousness, including his dedication and devotion to his Father’s Word and his Father’s will, and his completely innocent and undeserved punishment and death – he did all that he did to remove every possible doubt about our forgiveness and to give complete assurance that no rift remains between God and us because of our sin.  We are at peace with God because we are forgiven in Christ.  You are at peace with God because you are forgiven in Christ.

Isn’t that wonderful news, no matter how often we hear it?  Can we ever tire of it?  Doesn’t it fill our souls with delight and our hearts with a thirst for more and an earnest desire to eat up, to feed ourselves with more of what matters?  And what matters most?  Jesus reminds us, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (v.51).  See how Jesus doesn’t simply recommend this bread because it promises to improve one’s life or somehow to make it better; he says to eat this bread because this bread is what gives life.  In other words, this is not optional, but essential.  This bread isn’t self-help or self-improvement bread; this is life.  Without it no one can live.  Do you hear Jesus?  Without him, no one can live.

So what does a healthy spiritual diet look like?  It bears several similarities to a healthy physical diet.  First of all, it’s not just about what you eat, but about what you don’t eat.  The patient who desires to lose some weight will hear from the doctor that he needs to cut way down on the fatty and fried foods and the sugar and sweets.  Trying to maintain a healthy diet while at the same time indulging on those kinds of food will only work against a person.  In order for the body to start getting on the healthy track a person has to avoid the stuff that’s not healthy.

It is no different with a spiritual diet.  Maintaining our spiritual health means limiting the junk that we consume.  While it doesn’t mean we have to go to extremes and cut out all secular music, movies, television, and internet, not a one of us can disagree with the honest assessment that we could certainly stand to be more discerning in each of those areas.  Too much of it simply goes against everything for which Christ has sanctified and set us apart.

We also must be more discerning about what passes itself off as the bread of life.  Because a polished speaker claims the title of “Reverend” or “Pastor” does not necessarily justify listening to what he says.  If any message doesn’t fall in line with God’s Word, then it isn’t a message worth listening to.  Another example walked into my study recently.  She was a former non-member student of Shepherd of the Hills who is entering her Senior year at the Lutheran High School of San Diego.  She was with her boyfriend, who had just graduated from there last year.  After talking a bit with her about her spiritual health, I finally asked both of them if they knew they’d be in heaven.  His response was that he was generous and kind to others.  Her silence dragged on, until eventually she asked more than she did respond with any sort of confidence, “Jesus?”  Sadly, nowadays one still has to be very discerning even with when the label “Christian” or even “Lutheran” applies, for if the Bread of Life is not clearly preached or taught, then it’s nothing more than moldy bread that is being offered.  And, even if thousands of others approve or rave about it, it doesn’t matter: moldy bread is still moldy bread, and the only thing we should do with moldy bread is spit it out.

In addition to avoiding the wrong food, which is harmful to our spiritual diet, a second similarity between a healthy physical diet and a healthy spiritual diet is that it’s important that we also eat the right food.  It’s no secret that fruits and vegetables are essential to a healthy diet.  They provide the vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need to function properly. 

Such spiritual nutrition is provided for us through Jesus, who said, “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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them” (v.53-56).  There is plenty that claims to be good nutrition for the soul, so how does one determine not only if it’s harmful, like moldy bread, but also if it’s actually of any benefit to me?  The criteria is quite simple, really.  If it is good food for you, then the most notable ingredient will be Jesus.  He will be clearly proclaimed as Substitute and Savior, who came into this world to bear our sin so that we could be labeled “forgiven.”  That is nutritious food that lasts.

It is spiritual food that has substance, unlike that which was eaten by civilians in the worst siege in history, the siege of Leningrad, during World War 2.  As their food source was incredibly scarce, the people were making bread out of anything they could find, including wallpaper paste and sawdust.  Thousands starved to death because their meager diet afforded them no nutrients to maintain life.  How different with the Bread of Life!  Eat Up!

A physical diet avoids junk food.  It also includes significant portions of nutritious food.  Finally, eating healthy means eating regularly.  A diet that is based on cutting back by cutting out meals altogether may work for a while, but that lost weight jumps back as soon as the dieter returns to eating three square meals a day.  It’s actually said that snacking on something healthy between meals will have a better effect.  Eating regularly makes a difference.

So it does when it comes to the Bread of Life.  Eat up, and eat up regularly!  The soul that hungers for spiritual health is not one that cuts corners, but seeks a steady diet of Jesus.  It stands to reason that worship is a great start to the weekly meal plan, but that’s once every seven days.  That’s not eating regularly enough.  So we seek to add to that diet.  What will it be?  A midweek Bible study?  Sunday morning Bible study?  Reading your Meditations on a daily basis?  Having devotions at the supper table?  Opening your Bible when you wake up in the morning or go to bed at night?  How can you become more regular in your spiritual diet?  In what ways can you eat up?  This week, this year, this time, establish a regular spiritual diet of Jesus, and friends, Eat up.  Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)