Pentecost 12
August 16, 2015
There is no doubt that Lutheran Christians love food. A long time ago, at a planning session, one
of my campus ministry students (who didn’t grow up Lutheran) asked, “Can we plan an event this semester that doesn’t involve food?” After looking at him weird, the
life-long-Lutheran students around the planning table responded, “Why?” Scandinavian Lutherans have their lutefisk
and lefsa dinners. The German-descent
congregation I served had an annual Oktoberfest with plenty of brats and beer
(and, being of German descent, I enjoyed every minute of it!) Every Lutheran church I know prides itself in
its potlucks. Yes! We love our food!
But the Lutefisk and Lefsa and Brats and Beer do not make us
who we are as Lutheran Christians. Not
even close. (No matter what certain
radio personalities may imply). Potlucks
do not define us. Sorry.
Instead, we are defined by a different meal. We are
defined by a bit of bread and a sip of wine.
We are defined by Jesus who, on the night in which he was betrayed, took
bread and said, “This is my body” and a cup of wine and said, “This is my
blood.” (Mark 14:22-24; 1 Corinthians
11:23-26) We are defined by the One who declared “…unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) This is the Church’s meal. This is the life blood of the community of
faith.
When we come to the table, we receive the gift of eternal
life that Jesus promises. The forgiveness
of sins, abundant life, and saving wholeness that Christ won for us on the
cross and proved to us through an empty tomb fill us and flow through us and
become a part of us. His flesh becomes
our flesh. It is there, at the table as
we share a bit of bread and a sip of wine that we become blood brothers and
sisters to one another. It is there, at
the table where we are strengthened for life’s journey. It is there, from the table that we are sent
out into the world that God so loved to love as Christ loved us and to invite
the world to join us at the table. The
whole world. No exceptions.
For Lutheran Christians, every Sunday is a rehearsal of the
life of faith, and a time to give thanks for the grace we have received “while
we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8) through Jesus Christ. Each Sunday service has two “high points”: the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus
Christ and the sharing of Christ’s Supper.
Yes, we Lutherans love our food.
But, we are more than lutefisk and lefsa, brats, beer and potlucks -- we
are the body and blood of Christ for a starving world.
Peace,
Bishop
Mike
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