11^th Sunday After Trinity 2012 

It would appear that we are enslaved to food. Some of us worry about every little detail of what food contains. How many E numbers, preservatives; am I allergic to this or that? Some of us love food so much that we cannot get enough. In the developed world we are bombarded with food health advice and constantly harangued about our over indulgence. Our children, we are told, are the most spoilt in world.

In much of Africa, Asia and South America, however, children are not so spoilt. Instead of searching endless supermarket shelves selfishly looking for the next fix of treats, children in these countries spend their time searching endless piles of refuse looking for anything that might settle their empty stomachs for just one hour.

Of course Jewish society was, at the time of Jesus, just as obsessed with food as we are now. They recognised that God was very interested in what we ate and the way in which we went about it. For first century Jewish society, the teaching of a religious leader about food would form a huge part of how that leader was regarded – perhaps the same could be true today. So Jesus’ words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood will have caused major ripples indeed.

We are so used to hearing these words and associating them with our church belief that today their meaning can easily fall on deaf ears. But Jesus’ words are intended to shock - both then and now. The self-inflicting violence of these words is calculated.

People were, and are, intrigued by what Jesus has to say. They believe that basically they can choose. Is he an important religious leader moving them closer to God or not? Some pieces they like and some pieces they don’t. So they pick and choose. They listen when it suits them and return to their comfortable, fashionable immorality the rest of the time. But Jesus is not an optional extra.

These words of Jesus, ‘eat my flesh and drink my blood’, up the ante: they force people to make a choice. They lost Jesus many followers at the time and they arguably lose him many now. It is these words, and others like them, that open Christianity up to accusations of superstition, but they also reveal the essence of true faith. Jesus is not a luxury, he is not a fad to satisfy our latest craving, he is life and the only possible source of it. This world of misery and pain, of longing and craving – this world where we rely on other kinds of food and become obsessed with it one way or another – this is not the real world. The real world is fed only by Jesus – created by him, redeemed by him and sustained by him, and him alone.

The bread that we bless in the Eucharist, through our belief and God’s grace, becomes Christ’s body. The wine that we bless in the Eucharist, through our faith and God’s grace, becomes Christ’s blood. When we eat his flesh and drink his blood he enters and transforms us. Slowly, so long as we take the Eucharist seriously, we become a little more like him and a little more able to do his will in this world. The more we receive him in the Eucharist, the more we are transformed.

But the story doesn't end there. Having received Christ and his spirit we are sent out to do his bidding, with no shoes on our feet and only one tunic on our backs. Christ provides us with all we need.

But again we have a choice. We can sit in our comfortable homes and pretend that we are doing all we can, but then we become a part of the deceptions of this world and instead of becoming more like Christ, Christ simply dwindles within us.  

Or we can do what we know in our heart of hearts Christ is calling us to. A life of compassion and humility, a life of love and care. In so doing, the little piece of Jesus that enters us in the Eucharist has a chance to take hold, to grow and to flourish.

Living such a life is not easy, however, and it is not easy precisely because it goes against so much that this world teaches us. It means not avoiding difficult issues, but facing them head on. It means not pretending that things aren't happening in order to try and keep our comfortable lives safe - but making ourselves vulnerable so that others may benefit. It means going out to the fringes of our society and transforming our scepticism into compassion.

If we take our faith seriously, when we see fear or suffering we are obliged to respond. We cannot sit back to wait and see which way the dust settles, because by then the damage is done.

When terrible things are happening in our world, we are called to be in the middle of it offering people a glimpse of Christ’s real world of compassion and love. There can never be any limit to our attempts to show compassion, love, nurture and care of those in our communities. In this way, the body and blood of Christ that we receive in the Eucharist takes hold, fuelling us and giving us the courage to go further than before.  In this way, the Church community may strive forward as the true body of Christ in this place, today!

Amen

R.T. Parker-McGee 2012