Two Rivers Pastoral Charge
August 12, 2018
Scripture Readings: Psalm 34:1-8 and John 6:35, 41-51
(A quick note: This sermon was experiential rather than word-based. It likely won't work as well as a script, compared with experiencing it in person. Sorry! K.)
So here we are – the
third week in a row where Jesus is talking about bread. This week’s reading from John’s gospel begins
with the same verse that we finished up on last week – “Jesus said to them, ‘I
am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever
believes in me will never be thirsty.”
But the reading ends in a slightly different place. Jesus says, “the bread that I will give for
the life of the world is my flesh.” And
that word “flesh” starts setting off all sorts of connections in my brain. One of my favourite passages of scripture,
one that we often read at Christmas time, says, “and the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us.” This is the mystery of
the Incarnation. The word incarnation
means “enfleshment” – God’s Word becomes human flesh. Jesus didn’t just appear to be human – Jesus
was fully human. In the person of Jesus,
God was able to move and touch and see and hear and taste and smell – just like
all of us.
And so God speaks to
us using all of our senses.
So we’re going to be
doing things a bit differently this morning.
Instead of talking about God, I want us to have the
opportunity to experience God, using all of our senses.
But lets begin by
reading a story.
[Read Mom Pie.[1]]
Think of the boys in
the story. Their Mom didn’t use words to
tell them that she loved them – instead the boys knew that she loved them by
touch and by taste and by smells. In the
same way, God is like a loving parent, and God tells us that we are loved using
all of our senses.
So let's begin with our
sight.
Have a close look at
the picture in front of you. Take a
minute just to look at it closely.
Where is you eye drawn
to in this picture?
What do you see?
Do you see hope in
this picture?
Do you see joy in this
picture?
Do you see peace in
this picture?
Do you see goodness in
this picture?
Where do you see love
in this picture?
Where do you see God
in this picture?
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We can also experience
God through our hearing. Think of
listening to waves crashing on the beach, or hearing a baby laughing, or listening
to a piece of glorious music.
We’re now going to
sing a song – it might be a new song to you, but it is easy to sing, and we’re
going to sing it over and over several times.
As we sing, I invite you to listen to the melody. I invite you to listen to the words. I invite you to let the words sink in to you,
so that you can hear God whispering to you – “peace.”
The song is found in
More Voices 95 (words on the screen) and it is called “How Deep the Peace.” We’ll stay sitting down as we sing.
Let us sing.
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And now, let us use
our touch to share God’s peace with one another. I invite you to offer these words to one
another – “May the peace of Christ be with you”; and as you do, share a
handshake, or a hug, or a holy high five.
I will just ask you to respect each other’s comfort level with touch –
if someone is not comfortable hugging, please don’t force a hug on them, and
share a handshake or a high five instead.
“May the peace of
Christ be with you.”
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And finally we turn to
our psalm reading which tells us, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” God speaks to us through our senses of taste
and smell too! We’re going to be passing
around plates/baskets of bread for you to taste (and there is a gluten-free
option on each plate/basket). When you
take the bread, I invite you to smell it, I invite you to taste it, I invite
you to savour it as you eat it. Taste
the goodness of God who sent the sun and the rain so that the wheat and other
grains could grow. Taste the goodness of
God who gave humans the creativity to turn the flour and water and salt and
yeast into bread. Taste the goodness of
God who gives us different senses that allow us to experience joy in the world.
As you pass the plate/basket
to your neighbour, I invite you to offer it with the words, “Taste and see that
God is good!”
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And so we have a God
who thinks that our humanity, our very flesh and our senses, are so important
that God became human in the person of Jesus – God’s word became flesh and
dwelt among us.
And so let us live in
the world, noticing all of the ways that God speaks to us, and lets us know
that we are loved. Thanks be to God!
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