Twinkie Theology (John 6:24-35)

 In November 2012, Time magazine declared Twinkies to be among the top ten most iconic junk foods. In making this declaration, Time mentioned that Twinkies have “been a staple in our popular culture and, above all, in our hearts.”

Time also said that, despite its “lack of any nutritional value whatsoever, the Twinkie has managed to persevere as a cultural and gastronomical icon."

The same week that Time made that announcement, the Hostess company announced that it was ceasing the production of Twinkies. Hostess had declared bankruptcy earlier in the year, and it was planning to shut down all the Twinkie-producing factories.

Do you remember that?

Time magazine mentioned the widely-held belief that Twinkies never went bad, due to all the preservatives in them, and hinted that people might want to stock up.

Well, people were distraught. They just couldn’t imagine a world without Twinkies. 

Fortunately for Twinkie fans, another company bought the Hostess company out of bankruptcy, and in less than a year, Twinkie production resumed.

According to the Hostess website, two Twinkies equal one serving. Apparently no one can eat just one. And in that two-Twinkie serving, there are 280 calories and 32 grams of sugar. Sugar is the number one ingredient. 

In addition to sugar, a Twinkie also contains bleached flour, high fructose corn syrup, and a bunch of other ingredients that are very hard to pronounce. As Time magazine mentioned, there is no nutritional value whatsoever.

I can’t remember the last time I ate a Twinkie. It’s been a long time. I try to avoid cheap junk food as much as I can, although I admit, that’s not always easy, and I’m not always successful.

But I have, for some time, been able to avoid Twinkies…

Perhaps the complete opposite of a Twinkie, would be a loaf of homemade bread made with whole wheat, and perhaps other natural grains, like the loaf of bread I bought at the Bloomington Farmers’ Market last week. It was whole wheat sourdough, actually. (Sourdough is a big thing in California.) And it makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches…

The week I was at Camp Walter Scott, we had all the fifth grade kids who were in their last year of JYF Camp spend part of an afternoon one day baking bread in the camp kitchen, which we used that evening for communion. It was a simple recipe, but the kids did a good job, and boy, was that communion bread good when we had it that evening! I think it was the best communion bread I’ve ever had. 

It reminds me of something I heard in seminary, when we were discussing the various beliefs different denominations have concerning communion. Some believe that the communion bread literally does become, upon partaking, the body of Christ; others believe that it becomes the body of Christ spiritually, if not literally. And still others believe that the whole thing, while full of deep meaning, is mostly symbolic.

And the comment I heard was that, for today’s Christians, for whom communion is often a tiny, tasteless wafer, the difficulty isn’t believing that the bread is actually the body of Christ; the difficulty is believing that what they were being given was actually bread.

Well, the bread those fifth graders baked for us at camp was truly bread. It was fresh, wholesome, nutritious, tasty, and satisfying.

Homemade bread, or any type of bread made with whole grain, has a higher nutritional value than a Twinkie. Obviously. And it has no preservatives or other artificial ingredients. It’s all real.

And bread that is made with whole grains, the energy it contains is released slowly, gradually, into the body. That means your body can use that energy as it’s released, and that you stay full longer; it’s longer until you are hungry again.

A Twinkie, on the other hand—like any high-sugar, processed carb treat—those calories are released right away. You get this sudden rush of energy, all at once. It comes so much faster than your body can use, so the body stores the excess energy as fat.

And because it all happens relatively quickly, it’s not long before you’re hungry again.

That’s the difference between processed junk food, and real food. The junk food gives you a momentary high, but the real food gives you lasting satisfaction. The real food sustains you. The real food nurtures your body; it nurtures your life.

As a pastor, I often wonder what kind of bread we’re serving at church. No, I’m not talking about the donuts after worship, or even the bread we use for communion. What I mean is: are we offering bread that endures for eternal life, or bread that perishes? Are we offering the kind of bread that sustains people’s souls, the kind of bread that nurtures life? Or is it junk food that has no nutritional value whatsoever?

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.”

In comparing himself to bread, I can only assume that Jesus is talking about good, nutritious, homemade whole grain bread. He couldn’t possibly be talking about a Twinkie. Whoever eats of a Twinkie will be hungry again, very soon; the energy from a Twinkie comes quickly, but it won’t sustain you for long. But whoever eats of the bread of life will find a lasting satisfaction.

In running a church, we have a lot of decisions to make. Decisions about worship and styles of music, decisions about building maintenance, decisions about programming, decisions about outreach, decisions about fellowship and membership and stewardship…

And these are all important decisions.

But the most important decisions we make are about the bread we offer: are we offering the bread of life? Are we offering that which endures and sustains life? Are we offering Jesus?

It’s easy to spend too much of our time on recruiting new members and promoting our programs and stuff like that; and it’s easy to spend too much of our time on styles of worship or the color of the carpet, and stuff like that; and it’s too easy to neglect the one thing—the one thing!—that we’re really here for, which is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world.

And people who are drawn to a church because of its programming or because of its worship style or (God forbid!) because of the pastor’s personality, but who don’t experience a life-changing encounter with Jesus, they don’t usually stick around. Because anything other than Jesus is bread that may satiate your hunger for a while, but only Jesus will keep you from never going hungry again.

Now, it’s OK to have a Twinkie every now and then. A donut after worship isn’t such a bad thing. But you can’t live off of such things. You need better nourishment than that.

And the true nourishment that the church can provide is rooted in Jesus.

As Christians, our aim is to be Christ-like in every aspect of our lives; but to be Christ-like, we need to know Christ. We need to know what Christ stood for, what he taught, how he lived, who he hung out with. We need to know why Christ willingly submitted to Roman authority, allowing himself to be arrested, tried, and crucified. We need to know what it means that not even death could stop him, but that he lives and reigns now and for all time.

A lot of people who talk about Jesus and profess to be followers of Jesus— for some reason, they don’t always sound like Jesus. Jesus, as they describe him, doesn’t sound like the Jesus I find when I read the Bible. Sometimes, it sounds like they’re misrepresenting Jesus; other times, there just doesn’t seem to be much substance to what they say.

The late Marcus Borg once compared the church to a swimming pool: most of the noise, he said, comes from the shallow end.

That’s a different way of saying that most of the bread being offered by the church is nothing but a bunch of Twinkies. It won’t sustain you. It won’t nourish you. Too much of it might even cause you harm.

And William Barber once said that too many Christians “say so much about what God says so little, and… say so little about what God says so much.” They’re not focused on the heart and soul of Jesus’ teachings. Their concerns are these peripheral things that Jesus rarely or never mentioned. 

Maybe they’re that way because they haven’t really tasted of that nourishing, life-giving bread themselves. Maybe all they’ve ever been given is Twinkies, and that’s all they know to give to others.

I think there’s a lot of things we don’t understand about Jesus. I think there’s a lot of things people get wrong about Jesus.

And I don’t get everything right all the time. I’m still learning. I’ll always be learning.

But I know that the bread Jesus offers is LIFE. I know that the bread Jesus offers is GOOD NEWS. I know that the bread Jesus offers contains a list of ingredients that includes LOVE, HOPE, AND HEALING.

And if someone is presenting a version of Jesus that isn’t full of life, that isn’t loving, that isn’t good news, and that doesn’t list love, hope, and healing as the top ingredients, then that isn’t the bread of life.

A book I just finished reading, about the apostle Paul, talks about how, for Paul, the most important thing was christoformity, which is allowing ourselves to be conformed to the way of Christ; to live out in our lives the ideals of the Sermon on the Mount, and to work towards those ideals in our society; to allow the Spirit to work through us to create a world where the poor and other vulnerable persons are lifted up; where those who have been denied a seat at the table are, instead, given the place of honor. 

It’s a world where every person whose labor contributes to the economic wellbeing of the society is able to share in the blessings of that society. It’s a world where every person is cared for, where every person is fed, where every person receives health care, including mental health care, because it is made affordable and accessible to all. 

We are called to be healers, and in this day and age, that’s how we can do it.

It’s a world where we stop making such a big deal over so-called sins that Jesus never talked about, and instead focus on the real evils of society: those who seek to withhold God’s love from any person for any reason.

“Love your neighbor,” Jesus said. “Welcome the stranger,” Jesus said. “Feed the hungry,” he said; “heal the sick.” 

All these things are borne out of love. We act with love toward others, because Jesus loves us. 

And if we take the time to really get to know Jesus, and to understand just how great, how big, how unlimited, his love is, for us and for all the world, only then will we have moved away from the junk food of no nutritional value whatsoever, and toward the living bread that fills and satisfies.

The prophet Isaiah asked: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread? Why do you spend your labor for that which does not satisfy?”

God’s desire is for you and for every person to be filled. God’s desire is for you and for every person to be satisfied. 

And the two things are connected. Your satisfaction is connected to your neighbor’s satisfaction. You can’t really taste that bread of life unless your neighbor is able to taste it, too.

That’s just how God created the world; I don’t make the rules! Can you really enjoy that bread while the neighbor next to you is starving?

The good news is that there is enough to go around—more than enough! Two loaves, five fish—it’s more than enough, if we share! If we share, there will even be leftovers. Everyone will have their fill. Everyone will eat. Everyone will be satisfied.

This is what we’re about. We’re about following a man from Galilee who had access to this bread of life, who became the bread of life, and who offers it to us. There is nothing that satisfies us as well, nothing that nourishes us as well, as this bread of life.

"Christmas Shopping with Jesus" (John 6:25-35)

1. Christmas shopping with Jesus

Today is the last Sunday of the church year, often celebrated as “Christ the King” Sunday. It’s also the Sunday before Thanksgiving, which leads us to focus on all the many blessings God has given to us; a day to offer up to God our gratitude.

After Thanksgiving we have Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and the kickoff to the season of Christmas decorations and non-stop sales.

And this morning, this all has me wondering: what if, when I go Christmas shopping this year, I brought a friend with me. Someone to walk with me and talk with me. 

What if, when I go Christmas shopping, I brought Jesus with me?

What if you, when you go Christmas shopping this year, brought Jesus with you? What if, when you wake up early on Black Friday, while the dew is still on the roses… you invited Jesus to go along with you?

This morning, I invite you to play along with me, and imagine what would happen if you invited Jesus to go Christmas shopping with you on the day after Thanksgiving.

2. Black Friday

Shopping the day after Thanksgiving starts early, so

you’ve set your alarm, so that, long before sunrise, you’re in the driver’s seat, and Jesus is there with you, in the passenger seat, and you’re on your way to get the best Black Friday deals you can find.

As you start to drive, Jesus asks: “So, how was your Thanksgiving?”

And maybe you spent the day with family, and you tell him about that; or maybe you spent the day alone, but you still spent some time in gratitude for the blessings in your life, and you tell him about that. 

And Jesus smiles. Spending time with family or friends, sharing love, and counting one’s blessings makes Jesus happy. 

And then Jesus asks, “So. Where are we going shopping?”

This is when you realize that maybe you shouldn’t have invited Jesus. Which is kinda silly, when you think about it. Because Jesus is always with you, am I right? But today he’s with you in a more visible way. 

Your plan had been to go to the big box store, the store that had the giant ad in the Thanksgiving Day papers, showing the electronics at unbelievably low prices, where you hoped to be close enough to the front of the line that you could get one, and do so without getting trampled or punch or yelled at… but you start to wonder if this is the kind of shopping Jesus would actually enjoy….

You recall how that store had giant help wanted signs in the window a few weeks ago, and when you saw those signs, you said to yourself, heck no! Work for minimum wage in the Christmas shopping season - just to get trampled and yelled at by shoppers in the “Christmas spirit?” No thanks.

Over the years, CEO pay has risen astronomically, exponentially, while the average worker’s pay has barely budged. You know that the government has raised tax rates on those average workers but has drastically lowered taxes on wealthy millionaires and billionaires and the mega-corporations they manage. 

Just last week it was announced that Amazon, FedEx, AT&T, and Netflix all paid NO taxes to the government in 2018, despite making record profits. What good, exactly, are these corporations doing for society? Are they bringing wholeness to a fragmented world? No! They are taking more of our money and giving the bulk of it to their CEOs, while cutting their workforce and refusing to raise wages, furthering the divide between rich and poor and making this world more and more fragmented. 

And you think: Jesus probably won’t want to shop at any store owned by a giant corporation. In fact, Jesus would probably be offended if you took him there.

So now what?

3. Driving in Circles

You have to think fast. After all, the two of you are in the car, driving, on your way.

Fortunately you know of some smaller, locally-owned stores. In fact, you know the owners of some of those stores personally. One lives on your block. Another has a child in the same class as your child. These are stores owned by average people, people living in the community, people invested in the community.

Yeah, Jesus would probably rather shop there.

However, it’s still early. The sun isn’t even up yet. And those stores won’t be open until much later. Because those owners spent the day with their families on Thanksgiving, and didn’t want to ruin that for themselves and their employees by spending Thanksgiving night getting ready to open their doors in the wee hours.

So you have some time to kill. What to do? Jesus is in the passenger seat, you’re driving…

You turn to Jesus and say, “Hey, you wanna grab something to eat before we shop?” 

Jesus says, “Yeah. Sure.”

And quickly in your mind you try to figure out where to go... McDonald’s is open early for breakfast! 

Oh, but you remember that McDonald’s just fired their CEO for dating an employee under him… and sent him packing with a 42 million dollar severance package! That bothered you when you read it in the news - 42 million dollars given to him when he was fired due to unethical behavior! While the hard-working McDonald’s employees slave away earning a minimum wage that hasn’t been raised in ten years?

No. Can’t go there. Jesus would never approve. Heck, you don’t even approve.

Jesus looks at you. You know that he knows what’s going through your head, yet you both play a game in which you both keep pretending he doesn’t know. 

You’ve made far too many turns, and it’s clear you have no idea where you’re going. But now you do know: the little corner restaurant that you went to a couple of times, with the really nice owner who is always supporting various community groups and causes, and who hires local kids, giving them a chance, even when the corporate stores and restaurants would refuse to hire them.

After a couple more turns, you pull into the parking lot, only to find that it’s closed.

Of course it is.

You glance over at Jesus. “It’s closed,” you say.

“I see that,” Jesus says.

This is not going well.

You drive back out of the parking lot, and continue on down the street. You’re starting to sweat now, even though the eastern sky has just barely started to glow, and the air is still chilly.

All of a sudden, you see a coffee shop up ahead. With its lights on. And people inside. It’s open!

Without thinking, you blurt out, “Oh, thank you, Jesus!”

And Jesus says, “You’re welcome.”

And you say, “What?”

And Jesus says, “Nothing….”

And you think to yourself that Christmas shopping with Jesus was a really bad idea.

The two of you go inside. You order your drinks. They ask your name, and you’re about to answer, but Jesus answers first, and then the two of you go to your seats and wait for them to call you to tell you your drinks are ready.

A moment later, the barista calls out, “Jesús!” You ignore it, but Jesus says, “that’s me,” and goes and gets your drinks.

He comes back, and hands you your drink, and even though it burns your tongue, you sip and slurp it because you don’t know what to say.

4. Good. Sacred. Holy.

After a moment of awkward silence, Jesus speaks up.

“I want to thank you,” he says. “I want to thank you for inviting me to join you today. Most people, when they start their Christmas shopping, don’t even think about me.

After another moment of silence, Jesus talks some more.

“You know, when God created the world, God made the land and the sea and the sky; the sun, the moon, and the stars; the plants, the animals, and people… 

“And God pronounced them all GOOD. Every single thing and every single person God created is GOOD. Everything and everyone is SACRED. Everything and everyone is HOLY.

“And I like it when people honor the goodness and the sacred-ness in each other by giving gifts… The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas, on my birthday, brings me joy. 

But I do want people, as they shop, to remember that every person is holy… that every thing is holy. Every gift that is given is made from raw materials that God placed on this earth, and was designed and fashioned by hands belonging to sacred children of God. And every sales clerk forced to get up before dawn on the day after Thanksgiving - or even on Thanksgiving day - is a holy child of God.

“And do you know what else is good and sacred and holy? Every dollar you spend. Every dollar is good and sacred and holy, because it represents the time and energy you gave in exchange for that dollar.

“This is what I want people to remember when they shop for Christmas.

“And I do want you to ask yourself: Is the way you shop honoring the goodness and the sacred-ness of your life? Is it honoring the goodness and the sacred-ness of the lives of others?

“If you buy something that is cheaply made and cheaply sold, put together by a child in a sweatshop, made with materials that were extracted from the earth in a way that damages the land, the sea, or the air, and is something that isn’t valued and cherished, but thrown away after just a few uses - or even one use - that is not valuing the goodness of every aspect of creation.

“It’s not valuing the goodness of your own time and energy.

“I don’t want to see you spend your time and energy for things that don’t last, things that perish in an instant. I want you to spend your time and energy on things that will endure, things that will nurture life in you and in those you buy from and in those to whom you present gifts.

“Just like the gift I give to you. I am the bread of life, and I give you myself. Whoever comes to me will never again be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never again be thirsty.

“Every purchase you make, every gift you buy, can either lead the world to life, or lead the world to death. 

“I know it’s a lot to think about. And I know you’ve already been thinking about it. You were thinking about it as we drove in circles this morning.

“It is not my purpose to rob you of joy. Especially not now. In saying these things to you, my hope is that your joy will increase. 

“And perhaps your Christmas shopping habits will now differ from the way most people shop for Christmas; and maybe the gifts you purchase will differ from the gifts most people purchase. Maybe now they will be like many of the gifts I gave and received during my time on earth. Gifts like the ointment applied to my feet which were then washed with a woman’s tears and dried with her hair. Gifts like the footwashing I performed for my disciples. Gifts that mean something. Gifts that nurture life, and bring joy.”

More Joy

I don’t know about you, but I often have little conversations like this with Jesus in my mind, all the time. And I know that my shopping habits are far from perfect. But every once in awhile, these conversations with Jesus do help me change how I spend my money. I’ll seek out a locally-owned restaurant instead of corporate fast-food, for example. 

Sometimes these decisions are easy, but most of the time they are not. And it’s impossible to be perfect in this area. 

On the TV show The Good Place, it is revealed that no one actually gets into the Good Place (i.e., heaven), because the whole structure of society is so stacked against us… With all the complexities of our modern world, it’s just too hard to make decisions in such a way that the good outweighs the bad. 

That’s kind of a depressing thought, and I know it’s just a TV show, but there is some deep truth here. 

The show isn’t over; I’m hoping for grace to intervene before it ends, and make things right. In the meantime, when it comes to my own shopping habits, I know that there are so many changes I can make and probably should be making to be a more conscious consumer… 

I’ll do what I can, one step at a time, so that God’s grace can flow through me and bring joy to others through me… 

and I’ll rely on God’s grace to bridge the gap when I fail...

and I’ll do my best to give thanks for that grace, and for all the blessings in my life.

Sermon: "Difficult Choices" (John 6: 56-69)

Joshua was old, and he knew that his time on earth was coming to an end.

So he gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He reminded them that, many generations before, God has spoken to their ancestor Abraham at that very spot. He also reminded them how God had called Moses to lead them out of slavery in Egypt, and how God parted the sea for them, and accompanied them through the wilderness, where they had wandered for forty years as refugees without a home.

In the years since, Joshua had led the people of Israel in establishing their new nation. Now, as he was about to die, Joshua had one more thing to say.

Joshua said to the people: “Serve the Lord…. But if it seems wrong in your opinion to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But my family and I will serve the Lord.”

The people responded: “the Lord is our God; we, too, will serve the Lord.”

But then Joshua said: “You can’t serve the Lord, because he is a holy God.”

The people responded: “No! The Lord is the one we will serve.”

Joshua said: “Alright, then. Put aside all other commitments, all false gods and idols, and serve the Lord above all else.”

And the people said again: “We will serve the Lord our God.”

It’s somewhat of a strange back-and-forth, but Joshua knew that serving God is not an easy thing to be taken lightly. Joshua wanted to make sure the people understood the level of commitment they were making.

Don’t just say yes to God. Mean it. Make sure your heart and your mind are aligned with the words that are coming out of your mouth. And know what it is that you are getting into.

Many of those who initially followed Jesus didn’t know what they were getting into…

Jesus explained to them about the bread of life… I preached about the bread of life two weeks ago, the bread that gives you abundance, purpose, wholeness… It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want that?

But when Jesus finished explaining to them about the bread of life, his followers responded: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”

And many of them turned back, and no longer followed him.

Following Jesus is difficult. Serving God is a commitment that will challenge you. Joshua knew that, and wanted to make sure the people knew that. Jesus knew it, and when he explained the bread of life, many of his followers found following him to be too difficult, and they turned away.

But what is it about the bread of life that is so difficult to accept? Why does the bread of life offend so many people?

Maybe it was because, as Jesus continued talking, the people realized it wasn’t just a self-help kind of thing. It wasn’t just about coming to Jesus and receiving bread. It wasn’t just showing up, being filled, and going home.

I know you all understand that. You all are committed to Jesus, and you are committed to Bixby Knolls Christian Church. You understand that a commitment means you’re in it for the long haul, and that it’s about more than just having your needs met.

But some people want church to be like that. They want to show up, get filled, and go home. They want to show up and be filled with the Spirit, filled with the bread of life as they understand it...

And that’s all they want. It’s all about their own fulfillment.

These are the people who will stop attending worship or who will find another church because the church they are attending doesn’t leave them fulfilled. They don’t like the music, or the carpet, or all the new people who sit in their spot… They say, “I’m not getting my needs met.”  

So they move on. Because their focus is on their own needs.

But Jesus isn’t here just to meet your needs. Jesus isn’t here just to grant your wishes. The bread of life isn’t something you can choose off a menu, and send back if it doesn’t meet your expectations.

Maybe that’s what many of Jesus’s followers were expecting. Jesus fed the 5,000 in the wilderness, and they saw him as the giver of bread, but they wanted it catered to them. “Oh, Jesus, giver of bread… I’d like mine to be sourdough with a bit of marmalade on top, if you please…”

And when they find out that that’s NOT what it’s going to be like,… they start walking away.

When they realize that the bread of life involves struggling for a deeper, richer, more meaningful life, not only for themselves but for their neighbors as well…  When they realize that it involves reorienting one’s life, confronting those things within that are at odds with the sort of life to which Jesus calls you… then they throw in the towel. They tap out. They say, “this isn’t for me. This isn’t what I signed up for.” And they walk away.

Only those who remained with Jesus understood that Jesus wasn’t going to cater his message to what they wanted. Only they understood that Jesus wasn’t going to give them the bread they wanted; he was going to give them the bread they needed. Only they understood that the bread served to them wasn’t going to be catered to their tastes; instead, they would have to adapt their diet, change their eating habits, in order to receive the bread that was given to them.

When we eat the bread of life, our lives are changed. There’s a lot of metaphor here, of course, but it’s very powerful.

A few weeks ago, I met T’Challa…

In case you don’t know, this is all from the movie the Black Panther.

And since then, I realized that, in one way at least, eating the bread of life is kind of like when T’Challa ingested the heart-shaped herb.

T-Challa ingests the heart-shaped herb into his body, and becomes the Black Panther. Ingesting the herb allows the Black Panther to enter another plane of existence, where he can interact with the spirits of his ancestors. When the Panther returns to our reality, his strength, endurance, agility, and stamina are all enhanced.

In short, he becomes a new person.

Maybe all those would-be followers who ended up walking away from Jesus didn’t want to become new people. Maybe they all kinda liked the people they were, and the lives they were living. Maybe they were all too comfortable with the status quo.

Partake of the bread of life that makes all things new? No thanks! Sounds too difficult...

And they walked away.

As the dust settled from their departure, Jesus turned to the twelve disciples who were his closest, most loyal companions. He asked them:  “Do you also wish to leave?”

It’s kinda like he’s challenging them, the same way Joshua challenged the people of Israel. “Are you sure you want to do this? Think about it carefully, and make your choice…”

And the answer he gets back isn’t quite an enthusiastic yes. Peter responds for the group, and Peter is known for answering too quickly, blurting out answers he later regrets. But this time, Peter hesitates. He seems to think about it for a moment… and instead of quickly answering Jesus’s question, Peter actually responds with a question of his own.

So in response to Jesus’ question, “Do you also wish to leave,” Peter responds..., “Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” In other words, “it would be nice to walk away. It would be easier, more relaxing. But then we wouldn’t receive the words of eternal life. Then we wouldn’t receive the bread of life.

“And no matter how difficult and challenging the transformation is that takes us from our old lives to our new lives, we’re committed to it. Ultimately, nothing else will satisfy us as much as the bread of life…..”

When T’Challa ingested the heart-shaped herb, his life became more challenging, more difficult, but also more meaningful. The same is true for those who partake of the bread of life.

Being a Christian is not easy. It takes us beyond our comfort zone. Having our stomachs filled with food is no longer enough to keep us truly satisfied. Now that we have been changed, the only thing that keeps us truly satisfied is doing the will of God.

Gary Hall, the Dean of Washington National Cathedral, spoke some words that explain in a little more detail what it’s like for those who have ingested the bread of life and have committed to following Jesus:

“Following Jesus entails some risk. It means signing on to some values that push deeply against the culture. It involves a willingness to stand with people who can do nothing for you. It asks that you find your fulfillment not on your own but in mutuality and communion with others. There is, in fact, a cost of discipleship. In a self-serving culture, many around you will be confused and offended by what you stand for. They won’t get a life centered around love and justice and not around self-aggrandizement.

“But that life has so much more to it than risk. As Peter says, ‘You have the words of eternal life.’ Life lived in solidarity with the poor, the sick, the oppressed is neither unrelievedly grim nor entirely self-denying. There is suffering and pain, to be sure, but there is also joy and freedom in standing with those whom in the Beatitudes Jesus calls ‘blessed.’”

This is what all those church words and phrases we hear thrown about really mean. Phrases like “new life,” “born again,” “kingdom of God.” These phrases all point to this new state of being - the state of being we find ourselves in when we follow the ways of Jesus.

Not everyone who throws these words around and speaks the language of Christianity actually follows Christ. A lot of people claim to be Christians, but don’t really follow Christ, because they are afraid of what the change might bring. They kind of like things the way they are, they like the lives they are living, and they’re quite comfortable with the status quo.

They are not ready for the radical transformation that comes to those who truly eat of the bread of life.

So the question of Joshua remains: Who will you serve? Choose this day whom you will serve.

The question of Jesus remains: Do you also wish to leave? Do you want to go back to your quiet, peaceful lives?

Or are you truly ready to follow me?