13th Sunday after Pentecost at
Epiphany on
John
Christians need a healthy diet
Anorexia and bulimia are eating disorders where a
person is terrified of gaining weight. So the anorexic only eats a tiny bit of
food. The bulimic binges in frantic periods of uncontrolled eating. Then the
bulimic purges that food with vomiting, laxatives or excessive exercising.
Even though anorexia and bulimia have
differences, the end result is the same. Since neither anorexics nor bulimics
digest enough nutritious food, their bodies suffer from diseases like
dehydration, bone loss, poor dental health and heart problems. In many cases,
anorexia and bulimia cause death.
In John chapter six, Jesus calls himself the
“Bread of Life.” This four-week romp through John 6 seems a bit like the TV show
“24” which plays out a day in the life of a federal agent, one hour at a time.
We seem to be going through Jesus’ sermon at the synagogue in
Unfortunately, many people view the Bread of Life
the way anorexics and bulimics view regular food. Like an anorexic avoids
eating, some people avoid Jesus. They never go to church or read the Bible. If
someone even mentions the Good News of Jesus, they say, “Hey, quit shoving your
religion down my throat.”
We become spiritual anorexics when we become
adverse to the sight, the sound, the smell of the message of Scripture. Since
you are here this morning, you may think that you aren’t spiritually anorexic.
But when you know God tells you, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still
angry,” (Eph
Likewise, some people are spiritual bulimics.
From time to time they get all spiritual. They go to church. They read the
Bible. They get involved in church. Then they suddenly stop. They stop going to
church. They quit reading the Bible. They push Jesus out of their life.
How often aren’t we spiritual bulimics in the
beginning of the school year? You invest big money for your children to receive
a Christian education at WLS or Shoreland, but then we don’t see those children
in worship or Sunday School or the Teen Class. Spiritual bulimia. You have big
intentions to be in Bible studies and increase yours and your family’s faith,
but then the first conflict comes up on a Sunday morning – overtime, vacation,
athletic tournament – and then you don’t come back. Spiritual bulimia. You may
even come faithfully to church and even sit in the same pew every Sunday, but
never want to deepen your faith by staying an extra hour for a Bible study. You
may appear healthy to everyone, but you may actually be on the verge of
spiritual bulimia.
The end result of spiritual anorexia and
spiritual bulimia is the same. Just like the physical eating disorders lead to
an unhealthy lifestyle and eventually to death, so also rejecting the Bread of
Life will always, ultimately lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and eventually to
spiritual damnation.
But Jesus came to give us life. Jesus came to
feed our faith. Jesus came to fill us with His blessings. Jesus says,
“I am the living
bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live
forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. …
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”
Jesus is a feast of life. Jesus wants you to
consume all of Him. You consume that banquet when you come to church and listen
to His Word. You feast on that
life-giving food when you read the Scriptures and devote time to Christ-centered
devotional literature. You satisfy your spiritual hunger when you participate in
Bible Class. You nourish your eternal salvation when you eat His flesh and drink
His blood in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
Jesus wants to be united with us in the deepest possible way. He wants us to
inwardly digest Him. Jesus says, “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 him up at the last day. Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.”
Of course, this is not cannibalism. Jesus is speaking somewhat figuratively. He
is speaking about faith. He is basically telling us, “To believe in me is a lot
more than just head knowledge. Yes, to believe in me certainly means studying my
teachings. It means knowing the facts of my life and death. But believing in me
also means letting that knowledge sink deeply into your whole life. It means
that every fiber of your body and soul will be saturated with me, my Word, my
promises.”
Just like the body eats and then digests the food, so also when we listen to
Jesus and study His Word, our faith inwardly digests all of this. Our faith
derives its life, its strength and its entire being from Jesus. In other words,
there is no such thing as a half-hearted, part-time relationship with Jesus.
But, so often, we want less than a full-blown, all-consuming relationship with
Jesus. It’s so easy to say, “Sure, I love Jesus. And yes, I trust Him as my
Savior from sin, death and the devil. But, I am so busy. I’ve got work. I’ve got
the kids and the grandkids. I have to juggle my social life, my school work and
my two jobs. So, yes, I want Jesus in my life. But is there a microwave version
of Jesus for busy people like me? Is there a drive- thru version of Jesus where
I can order a few quick blessings and be on my way?”
If you try to reduce your relationship with Jesus to a microwave, drive-thru
version of faith, then you are in danger of spiritual anorexia or spiritual
bulimia. Receiving a superficial dose of Jesus does not give your faith the
necessary nutrition it needs to live and grow strong.
You can’t just nibble on Jesus. You may nibble on Jesus by attending a worship
service once in a while or reading a three-minute online devotion or listening
to a Christian song on the radio. A snack or tidbit of Jesus might make you feel
better for a while. It might make you say, “Well, I feel all spiritual now. I
feel closer to God. But a bite of Jesus was all I needed. I don’t need any
more.” Simply nibbling on Jesus does not penetrate deep into your life and soul
to wipe out the real problem — sin and the death it causes. Don’t cheat yourself
of the rich banquet of life.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently
updated the familiar “food pyramid” to give us a picture of a healthy diet. The
grain group of cereal, rice, pasta and bread remains the most prominent. Grain
is the staple of a healthy diet. Jesus is the Bread of Life. He is the key
ingredient to a Christian’s healthy diet.
“I am the living bread that came down
from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. … Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 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.”
All of our recommended daily requirements for
being a healthy, growing Christian are found in Jesus. Jesus took on flesh and
became like us, lived like us, was tempted like us, became our example for
obedience, and ultimately gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins.
When we hunger for relief from guilt, Jesus feeds our faith
with the forgiveness of sins. When we are starving for attention because we feel
lost and alone in this world, Jesus nourishes our soul with the assurance that
nothing can ever separate us from our God.
You can eat
of the Bread of Life in worship as Life is announced to you from the altar in
the Absolution, read to you from the lecturn in the Word and explained to you
from the pulpit in the Sermon. This Life is poured over your head at the
Baptismal Font. It is placed on your tongue at the Lord’s Table. We mature spiritually from baby’s milk and kiddie
menus to solid food and a full, adult menu arrayed with all kinds of options and
opportunities for healthy, spiritual growth.
Enjoy the
whole banquet of Christ’s Life-giving Bread in Bible classes offered at
Epiphany. You can enjoy the “milk” of God’s Word in the Bible Inquirer’s Class.
You can sink your teeth into the “meat” of God’s Word in our Wednesday morning
and evening Bible Studies of the Smalcald Articles (part of our Lutheran
Confessions). And you can apply God’s Word to your life in our Sunday morning
Bible Class (next we will be working to improve your relationships and marriage
as we watch “Fireproof”). Plus, bring your children to Sunday School, Teen Bible
Class and Youth Group meetings. They are hungry, too.
Parents try to strike a balance in feeding their
children. Childish taste buds don’t always appreciate broccoli or fish but will
happily consume macaroni n’ cheese and Oreos. So the discerning parent might
give a youngster a plate of macaroni n’ cheese and add a small helping of
broccoli … and no Oreos until both are gone. That’s helping a child grow, and
that’s what Jesus does for us. I heard someone recently say, “Jesus loves you
enough to accept you as you are – but He loves you too much to let you stay that
way.” That’s grace for growing Christians – knowing and believing who you are in
Jesus, but more than that, knowing and believing whom you can become in Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t want you to remain a spiritual anorexic or bulimic. He wants you
to be a healthy, growing, strong Christian. Don’t be satisfied with the
status quo. Jesus isn’t. Grow spiritually. How?
Develop healthy habits for growing spiritually.
Get into God’s Word more often – at church, at school, at home, privately, with
the family, on the computer. Discover newfound joys in worship whether it’s the
text of a new hymn in church or loading your iPod with Christ-centered,
Christian music – both classic and contemporary. Read more books or blogs about
Christian life or church history or Lutheran doctrine. Listen to a religious
podcast series. Meditate. On the new food pyramid you’ll see a stack of steps on
the left side, with a stick person climbing them. The message of the USDA is no
longer just about what you put into your body, but what your body puts out in
activity and exercise. Be active in your Christian growth.
In the introduction to its Dietary Guidelines,
the USDA says, “Eating right and being physically active aren’t just a ‘diet’ or
a ‘program’ – they are keys to a healthy lifestyle. With healthful habits, you
may reduce your risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes,
osteoporosis, and certain cancers, and increase your chances for a longer life.”
In the Bible Jesus says, “The one who
comes to me will never go hungry” (John