SAINT ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Eve of the Tenth Sunday After Pentecost (August 12, 2006)	Lake Worth, Florida Canon Richard T. Nolan
AN EFFECTIVE DIET WITH THE BREAD OF LIFE
A well-known, retired couple went out to dinner in a restaurant with fine beverages, the best possible food, and nearly immediate attention from the staff – who knew them well. They had needed the night out at the restaurant to get away from their dutiful chief architect. He was always hounding them about details concerning their multimillion-dollar home under construction just down the road from their current multimillion-dollar house. Beleaguered by social obligations, they went on cruises now and then just to have some relief from societal duties. Being away was the only excuse for declining some invitations from their close-knit circle. The couple got along well together, and unlike many of their friends, they were not addicted to alcohol or other substances; nor had they even come near getting a divorce – like more than half of their friends and associates. No scandal whatsoever! A well-matched pair! Furthermore, they were decent stewards of their fortune - generous patrons of the arts and many charities. In a sense, they were an honorable example of American, even global, success and generosity. Nevertheless, there was a simmering discontent, a restlessness, and a sense of incompletion within them – which they thought might be soothed by building the new mansion. Of course, nothing changed after the initial exhilaration of moving in. Perhaps something else would relieve them of their restiveness: an added charity, some redecorating, an extended trip to an exotic destination, or a new Bentley. As an alternative, they tried a variety of spiritualities, which encouraged them to look within, which they patiently did and experienced a bit of relaxation, a rather vague isolation, and nothing lasting. They are still looking for that “something else” that will provide inner fulfillment, strength, and quietude. It is curious that the same internal feelings may be found among more ordinary folks, even when all is going well. You and I might try to find remedies in similar ways: a splurge at a fine restaurant, a new address, redecorating, “getting away from it all,” some new stuff, or new achievements for our résumés. As innocent and gratifying as any of this can be, none is a remedy for a simmering discontentment, a gnawing restlessness, or a sense of incompleteness within. Something very basic seems to be missing. An even more intense unhappiness, uneasiness, and feeling of lacking within may be detected among individuals facing various difficulties. In such predicaments counseling and medication are often appropriate. Yet, after all the counseling and medical support, after the crisis has been coped with, there may still be an abiding sense that something more is needed. Nothing is more basic than bread for satisfying one’s physical hunger. Although human beings have been making some form of bread for at least six thousand years, its exact origins are unknown. In the Bible “bread” is a common word. Bread was so basic to life that the word “bread” could be used interchangeably with “food.” However, Jesus cautioned his listeners that ordinary, perishable bread is insufficient for complete nourishment. Faithful people knew that the bread provided to their ancestors in the wilderness had become a symbol of the life-giving power of God. Jesus now declared that God’s life-giving power is exemplified in his life, his Way, and in the truth he embodied. The Word of God lived fully by Christ is the true, living Bread, the staple providing genuine life that truly satisfies the deepest of human hungers. As Risen Lord and Messiah, he embodies the Creator’s authentic source of wholesome sustenance. It is reasonable to ask how this happens through prayer in the lives of willing Christians. The theological word for what can occur is grace. One British theologian commented on grace in these words: “We begin by repudiating all notions of grace which think of it as a something given by God to work mechanically, after the manner of a medicine given by a doctor to be taken three times a day after meals. We think of God’s grace after the analogy of that help which one can give to another in personal relationships, help which does not set aside or supersede individuals’ own freedom but enables them to be more truly themselves and more fully free: the sort of assistance which leads them to say with gratitude, ‘I could never have been what I am but for that support.’” Neither controlling nor coercing, God’s freely given grace empowers, fulfills, and quiets the hearts and minds of the faithful. Recipients of grace remain free to respond or not; otherwise, God-given human freedom would be shackled. An Episcopal Church theologian, writing in the official “Church’s Teaching Series” a number of years ago, noted about grace: "...that word denotes one of two things. Either it means the active work of the Holy Spirit, enlivening people and helping them to grow into their identity in Christ; or else it means the results - what we call the effects - in the lives of human beings, of what the Holy Spirit does. ... It signifies the way in which, as the Holy Spirit, he becomes the interior power through which people learn to know themselves in Christ and are strengthened to grow up into his life. ... Grace, then, is both the activity of the Holy Spirit and the effects of that activity (Rom. 5:5)...the results it produces in human lives. …. What grace is not, though, is a ‘something,’ a special kind of stuff or substance, which God confers on people.” Fortified by God’s strengthening, fulfilling and consoling grace, you and I are further enabled (in the words of tonight’s reading from Ephesians) to put away falsehood, to speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. We are strengthened to be angry but not sin; to let no evil talk come out of our mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that our words may give grace to those who hear. We gracefully put away all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice; we become kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as we are forgiven. We grow in our capacities to live as imitators of God’s Word, as beloved children, growing in mutual love. We gather here tonight for a graceful occasion of worship. By sharing the symbolic Bread and Wine (poetically speaking, the Body and Blood of Christ) we set aside through prayer some time to open ourselves to God’s “something else” sought by so many. We receive unquantifiable grace as a gathered people of God, as a faith community that continues to grow in Christ’s Way - in his love and service. Although privately and communally we may be graced at various other times, here, as an assembly of God, as disciples of Christ at prayer, we again bond in affection with God and each other. Whenever and wherever we choose to respond to God’s Spirit, the more we will discover that simmering discontentment, gnawing restlessness, and a sense of incompleteness within will subside. Whether wealthy, more ordinary, or in the despair of some sort of crisis, we will find growing within us that coping power and inner peace of God which passes all understanding, the internal solace and strength so many desire and need. We will penetrate everlasting life here and now. If you win the lottery and purchase everything you ever wanted, if you receive a Nobel Prize or are otherwise affirmed, if you are managing well a number of difficulties, something will still be missing within – unless you take Christ’s Way genuinely. He as the “Bread of Life” is to be profoundly honored, and His Way of communal affection and equal regard – which is the Creator’s purpose for us - is the pathway to genuine human fulfillment. If you have not yet done so, open your hearts and minds tonight and begin a graceful pilgrimage. If you have already begun the journey, may the grace of God and Our Lord Jesus Christ continue within you this night and forevermore. Amen.