Flesh and blood

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.”

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So 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. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” ~ John 6:51-58

I'll bet you thought Jesus couldn't possibly have any more to say about bread.

You'd be wrong!

We again get some of the language and symbolism here of our Holy Communion. And that begs the question: what is Holy Communion for you?

Do you see it as life giving?

Just as we haven't been doing much singing for the last year and a half in church, many of us also had a time of not receiving communion.

And that was hard.

Hard because we missed the life giving nature of it. The community of it. The grace of it.

Something happens when we eat of Jesus' flesh and drink his blood. While we know that physically it isn't actual flesh and blood, as Lutherans we proclaim that nevertheless, Christ is present in, under, and through the bread and the wine.

And that gives us life.

Come Lord Jesus! Feed me and give me life in you. Amen