1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14
Psalm 111
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
When I was considering this piece of scripture and this sermon, an old song came to mind, “Who Wants to Live Forever.”[1] The music was written by an Englishman named Brian May who you may remember from the Olympic closing ceremony. It was sung by Freddie Mercury and played by their band Queen. The music and the lyric are haunting. There is a beauty to the thought of living forever—and to the lilt of this song—which came together for me.
In our world view, we often think of living forever and eternal life as interchangeable; what happens after our earthly time has come to pass. But truly I tell you, the question of what eternal life means more than we usually think it does; for, you see, eternal life is more than simply living forever.
In verse 51, Jesus says that those who eat of the bread of life will live forever. Unfortunately, our translations do not have the nuance of the original language. In ancient times, there was a hierarchy of time contained in “forever.” Confusing, isn’t it? To make it simple, 2,000 years ago, forever included yesterday, today, and tomorrow—all of these time periods were included in forever. Each of these times were equally concrete, each of these times were equally fragile. So our sense of time is different from the sense of the gospel. Forever was the past, is the present, and will be the future.
This gives us a better grip on the forever thing, but we still need to take a look at living.
In verse 53, Jesus tells his listeners, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” He continues in verse 55, “for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” Since the day after Jesus fed the 5,000, we have been told that Jesus is the bread that lasts. Only through him can we be fed with what we need—not just to survive, but to thrive in God’s bountiful creation.
He also reminds the listener again that while the nation of Israel once feasted on the manna, bread that came from heaven, it could not give eternal life. Only Jesus, in his body and his blood, gives eternal life.
Jesus asks, “Do we rest in Him?” or as the New Revised Standard Version translates this, “Do we abide in Him?” As God the Father gives Jesus life, in his flesh and blood we receive life. Jesus is specific and graphic about this teaching—we are to take of this. Only by resting, by abiding in him and partaking of his flesh and blood can we participate in his death and his life. Only by abiding in him can we live eternal life, life made possible in Jesus Christ.
If we limit our view of eternal life to “the afterlife,” we miss out on an important facet of this passage. In this passage, “eternal life” does not speak just of immortality or a future life in heaven, but is a metaphor for living now in the unending presence of God. Eternal life is not just a future concept; it is a past and present concept too.
Eternal life is our only choice. Life in Christ, marked in the waters of our baptism, nourished in the food from His table, this life is the only life worth living. Before the bread and the cup are served at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, I say, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” So let us truly taste—take from the loaf of life because the Lord is plentiful. Eat, chew, and experience the bread of life. And then, take and share this life with those around us.
We are invited by our Lord Jesus Christ to come to the table and participate in the feast of his body and blood. Through this feast, our spiritual selves are fed and our faith is kindled, growing more and more. In participating in this feast, we participate in the gift of faith and nourishment promised by Jesus, in a sign and seal he calls the church to continue. Through this food, we eat and drink unto eternal life. Jesus tells us very plainly, if we do not eat of Him, the true food, the flesh and the blood, the bread and the wine, then we have no life in us.
Christ is our lifeblood, and there’s power in the blood of the lamb.
In a world where we can pretty much eat and drink what we want, we are reminded that the sustenance we need is the body and blood of Christ the Messiah. We are called to seek the good food, the only food that gives eternal life—his body broken for us and his blood shed for us.
So we do live forever, there is eternal life.
Who wants to live forever? The song asks “who dares to love forever/when love must die?” Thanks and praise be to God that is not our choice. For we know that the love of Christ never dies. The song continues: “We can have forever/And we can love forever./Forever is our today.” Yes, forever is our today, and our yesterday, and our tomorrow. In Jesus Christ, we live, and love, forever.
“Who wants to live forever” is really not a good question. Forever exists and we live in this forever. Our better question is will we live forever in Christ, being nourished in his body and blood, or will we choose something else?
Live life nourished by the good food of the gospel. But first, we must come to the table, and take, and eat. We cannot share what we do not have. Jesus offers eternal life, but if we only take and eat adequate life then we do not experience what has been laid before us. The life of God in us is available and plenty, so taste and see, and share.
[1] May, Brian, “Who Wants to Live Forever.” EMI: From the album “A Kind of Magic,” 1986. Written for the movie “Highlander.”
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