Just eat it
by Pastor Reid Matthias
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But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever (John 6:50,51a).
Read John 6:41–59
When I was young, my parents raised poultry. Though this is not a rarity for many people of my vintage (think 50 plus), my parents took poultry raising to the extreme. Every year, 350 chickens, 50 ducks and 15 white turkeys would arrive by postal van and be delivered to our front door.
Our poultry was not raised for personal enjoyment. In fact, when I was little and staggering out to the sheds to feed them, water them and pick eggs, I could think of nothing less enjoyable.
That being said, it was still a sad day when those same 415 birds went to their demise. It wasn’t simply the quieter barnyard, but I knew what would be served for dinner: liver and onions.
Which evil minion decided to mix two of the vilest foods into one noxious meal? Though my parents did not write the recipe, they would fry up the offal and onions and set it in front of us. And what were their words to encourage us?
‘Just eat it. It’s good for you.’
Frankly, I didn’t understand it. I still don’t. But maybe that’s the way the Jews were feeling when Jesus said, ‘I am the bread that comes down from heaven’. And, ‘Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you aren’t going to have life’.
In other words, ‘Just eat it. It’s the best for you’.
These words are hard to understand. And even after two millennia of Christian teaching and guidance, I think we tend to pass over exactly what Jesus proposed. Eat my body. Drink my blood. That brings about eternal life.
When I was younger, in First Communion training, I tried to understand what it would be like if they truly brought out a slice of Jesus’s flesh and a thimbleful of his blood. Would I eat it? Could I drink it?
But Jesus commands it. Thankfully, at the Last Supper, Jesus instituted bread and wine that retains its taste, but the benefits are the same: forgiveness of sins and eternal life. I eat it because Jesus is best for me.
Thank you, Jesus, for offering yourself as an atoning sacrifice for me. As I join in Holy Communion with you, my neighbours, and the company of saints across time, help me revel in your saving grace. Amen.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. Reid is married to Christine, who is part of the Grow Ministries team. Together, they have raised three incredible daughters, Elsa, Josephine and Greta. Dedicated to the written word, Reid has recently published his fourth novel, Blank Spaces, maintains the blog ireid.blogspot.com and regularly contributes to The Lutheran magazine.
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