I Need Bread!

Pr. Jasmine Waring

12th Sunday after Pentecost

August 15, 2021

I am going to be very honest with you all today…I don’t have a sermon for you. This whole month, every square of my calendar has been filled, and as I approach finals week they are only getting fuller. I knew for weeks I was assigned to preach today, and yet it felt like it snuck up and surprised me. Every time I sat down to read the texts or to do the research, I was pulled away by an email, or a class, or a meeting. If I could be even more honest and vulnerable with you, since we’re all friends here, I wasn’t really inspired by the assigned text. My pastor friends warned me about the homiletical slog over the festival of bread. I love bread! Why would I not enjoy preaching about it? I think I started out inspired. My illustration of the feast from Hook was a hit! When I was writing it, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me and speaking to me. The past two sermons I gave have probably some of the best ones I’ve preached in the short time I’ve been doing this. Today, I don’t have any more Hook illustrations…I’m sorry if this disappoint you. I don’t have any Greek translations, or clever catchphrases. The only word I have for you today is, I need the bread of life. I need the bread of life because the grace I receive through it fills in the gap between where I fall short, and where I would like to be. Grace reminds me that everything in life is a gift. There is no need to earn anything here. This is the time and place where I can truly receive something no one or nothing else can give me, life everlasting. I need to hear this as I take my final exams and turn in my final essays for the summer term this week. When my inner critic tells me that I am not good enough or smart enough, the bread of life says, “My grace is sufficient for you”. I may not be enough, but Christ is enough, and Christ’s grace fills in the gap for me and you. I need the bread of life because I need strength to get through my week. When I consume the true bread and true drink Christ gives, I am abiding and metabolizing the real presence of Christ into my skin and bones. The risen Christ, who conquered the grave is integrated into my musculature. So as I stay up late at night to finish all that I need to do this week, and as I struggle to get my body out of bed in the morning, I know that the presence of Christ is within me. When I feel the world is against me, and I am misunderstood, I know Christ is within me. When I am at the end of my rope, and I am in need of rescue, the same God who heard the cries of the oppressed and delivered them, became flesh and now lives within me and you. I need the bread of life because I need community. “You are enough” is a popular phrase I see in self-help culture. And yes, this is true. The fact that you exist means that you deserve dignity, love, and have inherent value. There is nothing you can do to earn or take away from this foundational truth. And, you are not meant to do this life on your own. I am not enough! I am built to be in community. When I consume the bread of life, I am joined with the saints around me and the saints who have gone before me, and we become the body of Christ. There are times when I need to call on my ancestors, the women and queer folks who came before me, to have the courage to stand up for what is right. I need the elders in this community to encourage me and comfort me as I go along my journey. I need the help and support of my peers and the kids, and in turn, I am able to serve and love my beloved community. We are all gathered around the heavenly banquet table that stretches beyond time and space, to nourish and sustain us as we go out into the world and be a blessing to others. My candidacy mentor, Rev. Terry Tuvey-Allen, has told me on several occasions that if the sermon is a flop, the Eucharist will save you every time. I’m glad I leaned on her advice today. The truth is, we didn’t come to church today to hear a spicy and inspirational sermon. We came here to be nourished by the bread of life. Because we need it. Because we need grace. We need strength, and we need each other. So that we can be sent out to serve and truly live. May the body and blood of Jesus Christ strengthen you, and keep you in God’s grace now and forever. Amen.