Sermon: August 18, 2024

Reading: John 6: 51-58

While the words Jesus spoke of eating his flesh and drinking his blood may not be as shocking to us as it was to those who first heard it, we cannot take them lightly and should be shocked and stand in awe at the Eucharist. Because it is a call for us to realize that Jesus was flesh and blood, a living, breathing human being who was sent from heaven and demonstrated the love God has for humanity through his sacrifice. Unlike David in the story, we are to eat and drink so that we are united with Jesus in his sacrifice, benefiting from his mission of redeeming humanity.  

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” Jesus wants to consume us as we consume him. He wants us to be in every part of him as he is within us. He wants to flow through our veins and fill every nook and cranny of our body to the point we radiate the image of God’s love.

As we come to the altar and receive the Holy Sacrament of Jesus’ body and blood, the holy food and drink, we are united with Christ; he lives in us, and we in him. And by doing so, may we be evermore transformed into His likeness, becoming members of Christ’s one body and bound together with all humanity, joined in Jesus’ mission of faithfully serving God’s kingdom by sharing peace, love, and grace with all of God’s children.