✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠
The Word of the Lord Endures Forever
Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum
Exodus 16,2-3.11-18 4114
7. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 052
Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Lydia, Joanna, Mary and Salome
3. August 2014
1. O God of the Church, throughout history You have freed Your people and brought them through the trials, temptation and persecutions they have faced. You did not let them perish, and You do not let us perish. Grant us peace today and always (VELKD, Prayer for the 7. Sunday after Trinity ¶ 1). Amen.
2. »And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them: „Would that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.“ And Yahweh said to Moses: „I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them: ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.’“ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another: „What is it?“ For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them: „It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat. This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take two liters, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’“ And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with two liters, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.«
3. Our Gospel Lection states how the feeding of the crowd concluded in John 6: »And when the crowd had eaten their fill, Jesus told His disciples: „Gather up the leftover fragments, so that nothing may be lost.“ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.« Here John the Apostle and Evangelist proclaims how Jesus fulfilled Exodus 16 where Yahweh fed His people in the Sinai wilderness with manna from heaven, so that »whoever gathered much had nothing left over and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.«
4. On the day after feeding the crowd, Jesus explained to them what this miraculous sign meant. »For the Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day« (John 6,33.35.40). In Exodus, Israel looked to Yahweh and trusted in Him to supply their bread as they journeyed to the promised land. In the new testament, the Church looks to Jesus and trusts in Him to supply the Bread of Life that nourishes us in this life that finds its destination in the land of paradise.
5. The Apostle John notes that »the Jews grumbled about Jesus, because He said: „I am the Bread that came down from heaven.“« (John 6,41). Given Israel’s historic propensity for grumbling, we can be sure that a number of them grumbled about this manna as years turned into decades and they were still fed with this same manna. Likewise, we are tempted to grumble at Jesus when His blessings lavishly showered upon us become predictably boring.
6. One cannot read John 6, and Jesus’ teaching on the Bread of Life, without thinking of another bread that Jesus gives His Church: the bread in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus instituted this Sacrament 2000 years ago and it is still plain bread that is consecrated by churches around the world for the past two millennia. It is a flat, unleavened wafer with a bland taste; sometime it almost has the consistency and flavor of cardboard. We receive it, eat it and hear the same words spoken by Jesus 2000 years ago. It would be easy for us to become bored with this bread, and long for something different. This is how the unbelieving world looks at the bread in the Lord’s Supper. They see only bread and wine and ask: what is so special about this? we can buy bread and wine in the supermarket!
7. The bread in the Lord’s Supper is not just bread. We know that because we are Christians brought up in the Church and taught the doctrines that Jesus had taught. This bread is also the body of Jesus, as His words of institution proclaim. In the Lord’s Supper we are receiving Jesus and the forgiveness He has purchased for us on the cross. The manna from Exodus 16 was not merely bread, but it was bread from heaven. The manna was another manifestation of Jesus in their midst. The Apostle Paul spoke of this in his epistle to the Gentile Corinthian Christians: »For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual Food, and all drank the same spiritual Drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ« (1. Corinthians 10,1-4). In Paul’s explanation to the Corinthians, the cloud by day and the fire by night that guided Israel from Egypt into the promised land was Christ; the spiritual Food that fed them in the Sinai desert was Christ; the spiritual Water that quenched their thirst for 40 years of wandering was Christ; and the Rock that was present with them, protected them, preserved them and provided for them, preserved them was Christ.
8. The Apostle Paul told Timothy: »from childhood you have been acquainted with Holy Scripture, which is Christ Jesus, which is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ« (2. Timothy 3,15). Thus, all Scripture is about Christ. The Holy Scriptures speak of Christ, promise Christ and create faith in Christ (by the working of the Holy Spirit) so that in every moment of our Christian life, Christ is among us to provide for us both physically and spiritually. In Exodus, Yahweh said He was providing daily manna for Israel so that: »Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.« He did not want them to merely think of Him as their God who only gave them physical food to fill their hungry stomachs, but He wanted them to see Him as their God who provided for all their needs in this life, both physical needs and spiritual needs. Jesus wanted the Jews to regard Him in the same way. He was not merely feeding the crowd so that He would be their bread king, but He fed them so that they would learn to trust Him for both their physical and spiritual needs. This is the same lesson Jesus teaches us today in our Gospel Lection: trust in Me for all your needs.
9. The miraculous feeding ends with the apostles gathering up 12 times as more bread than they had started with. This miraculous signs shows us that Jesus does not merely provide for us, but that He abundantly provides for us. David speaks of this abundance in his psalm, writing: »The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever« (Psalms 23,1.5-6). The God of David who promises to abundantly bless with goodness and mercy is the same God that we worship each Sunday. His blessings are overflowing. He pours out forgiveness in the proclaimed Absolution, in preached Word, in the reality of your Holy Baptism and at the altar where His Supper is given to you. All these means of grace give you the gospel, that is, they give you the forgiveness of sin. Not just some sins, or most sins, but ALL your sins are covered and forgiven by Jesus. He gives forgiveness and the certainty of salvation to you through His Word and Sacraments. Today this forgiveness runneth over in your cup, for again the body and blood of Jesus will be given to you in, with and under the bread and the wine. Come to the altar and receive the goodness and mercy of Jesus that He lovingly and liberally gives to you.
10. Jesus said: »I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the Bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of It and not die. I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. This is the Bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this Bread will live forever« (John 6,35.40.49-51.54-56.58).
11. Dearly beloved in the Lord, who intend to come to the Holy Communion that is the Sacrament of the true Body and true Blood of our Lord Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself, consider the benefits of receiving this Holy Supper: namely, that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are given to us through this Sacrament.
12. The Apostle Paul exhorts all persons to diligently examine themselves, before they eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup: »The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread« (1. Corinthians 10,16-17). »For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself« (1. Corinthians 11,19.26-29).
13. You have thus prepared yourselves for the reception of the Lord’s Supper by partaking of the rite of confession and absolution whereby you have confessed your sinful state and have heard the gospel of Jesus that proclaims the absolution of all your sinfulness. Thus, you are truly worthy and well prepared if you have faith in these words: »Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.« (Small Catechism).
14. Those who know they are sinners should gladly approach the altar with gladness to receive the holy medicine Christ prescribes for our sinfulness. For He Himself says: Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but those who are sick; that is, those who are weary and heavy-laden with their sins, with the fear of death, temptations of the flesh and of the devil. If, therefore, you are heavy-laden and feel your weakness, then go joyfully to this Sacrament and obtain refreshment, consolation and strength (Large Catechism § 69,71-74). For Jesus is your Bread of Life and the Ox who bears your sinful burden so that you now have full forgiveness, righteousness and eternal joy. Amen.
15. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus, from the rising of the sun to its setting, Your Name is praised; grant that we praise You with our worship, our offerings and our alms so that our church prospers and our neighbors are helped. Amen.
To God alone be the Glory
Soli Deo Gloria
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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Book of Common Prayer, The. Copyright © 2011 Cambridge University Press.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2013 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2013 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.
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