THE REAL THING

Readings: Psalm 137, Lamentations 3:19-26, John 6:41-55, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, on July 4th 2010

There was an advertisement launched by one of the Cola giants a few years back, (I forget whether it was Pepsi Cola or Coca Cola), anyway... the slogan was… that this particular brand was THE REAL THING.

How would you know if it was the real thing? Well it was a ploy designed to make that particular brand the standard by which all others were measured. When you tasted that particular brand of Cola, something in your mind was supposed to go. "Now that's how Cola should taste!" If you tasted cola and it didn't taste like that then it was obviously a bogus product.

A clever idea, set yourself up as the authentic thing and all others will, by implication, be mere imitators and less worthy copies.

In many spheres of life there is a search for authenticity, for reality, for originality. Take as an example the world of classical music. Occasionally recordings are released which claim to be a true representation of how the composers piece would have sounded played on the instruments of his day, in the way they were played at that time... as though you could be there centuries ago. There is a desire to recreate precisely the feel of the original, the sound of the real thing.

If ever you get to visit Great Britain, one of the places well worth seeing is the city of York. Wonderful museum, Yorkminster cathedral. Little twisty turny narrow streets with oldy worldy shops in an area known as ‘The Shambles’.

And at the center of York is an exhibition known as the Yorvik Center. You stand in line for hours on end and then spend a comparatively short time sitting in a little carriage that takes you through reconstruction's of how life had been in York at the time of the Vikings... complete with sights, sounds... and the biggest novelty of all... smells. You don't just see the pigs, you smell them as well. Not a particularly inspiring odor, but authentic nonetheless!

Of course all such attempts are doomed to failure. The only way to experience a symphony in it's original form or to find out what it was like to be living in York at the time of the Vikings is to travel back in time… and as yet H.G Wells and his time machine remain a flight of the imagination!

As we come to share bread and wine this morning I want us to think about a verse that appears in John 6:55; where Jesus tells the disciples..

"For my flesh is the real food, my blood is the real drink"

Allow me to point out two things; firstly, that there are false things we can feed our lives upon, and secondly, that Jesus Christ is the real thing.

1. There are false things we can feed our lives upon.

Something has gone dreadfully wrong with the American dream. Somewhere along the way people have built lives upon false hopes and dreams and the fruit of that misplaced trust becomes ever more apparent.

Family breakdown, Shootings in schoolyards, Acts of terrorism, rumors of corruption in places high and low, lack of accountability and no-one to blame, random acts of violence and pointless vandalism.

There's a lot of hurting people.
There's a lot of confused people.

Some turn to forms of religion which offer life in terms of simplistic formulas or uncompromising dogmas and do all the thinking and decision making for them. Some find solace in drink or drugs or denial. Others have just given up hope altogether.

Yet whilst the sands of society shift in different ways, the gospel message is still the same.

It calls us to encounter the Living God in Jesus Christ, just as did the disciples in the upper room at the first communion. It calls us to embrace a new reality, the reality of God's Kingdom, found through His Holy Spirit at work in our hearts and lives together as a new community in Christ.

We are not called to go back in time. I hear people sometimes talk about ‘The good old days', when churches were better attended or when great revivals took place in religious life. We don't need "The Good Old Days". We need the "Good News". That God's power is with us today. His Spirit is reviving us. God's love is for us.

When people truly encounter Christ they are not the same. You cannot get to know Him and stay the same as you were. Something of His hope, His love - rubs off on you, confronts you and challenges you. Why? Because..

2. Jesus Christ is the real thing.

He is the standard by all others are measured.

The life He offers is described as "Eternal".

Eternity is something which can happen to us today. It is the love of His Kingdom breaking in, often unexpectedly, to our humdrum lives. It is, to coin a phrase by C.S.Lewis, being "Suprised by Joy"

The Psalmist of old said, "O taste and see that the Lord is good'.

Jesus said, "For my flesh is the real food, my blood is the real drink."

By today taking these elements of bread and wine we are signaling our willingness to be Christ's. We are seeking for eternal realities to be within our daily lives. We are declaring our need for His love and life to be our food and our drink.

This weekend sees America celebrating independence. Independence is a great thing. It’s worth setting off fireworks and taking time out to consider how things may have been had the struggle of Independence never taken place. Its extremely doubtful that a ‘United States’ of America would ever have come into being had any parts of the country been held captive to other nations.

Political Independence is worth celebrating. But not so independence from God. Most of us would benefit if we more dependant upon God rather than independent of God. We need God’s love and strength and grace to transform us and forgive us and renew us.

After the first Thursday when the disciples had their feet washed by Jesus and shared with Him in a Passover meal, came Friday, when they witnessed the crucifixion, the pain and the torture of their dearest friend and teacher.

Then on Sunday they declared to the world, "Christ is Risen.. He is Risen Indeed!"

So communion is always a preparation. A preparation sometimes for darkness, at other times for light. A preparation on occasions for deep sadness and at others for great joy.

We never know what is around the next corner. But I do know that if I feed myself on the love of God, I'll find the real thing, the real resources, the real presence of Christ, to go with me wherever the road may lead.

So today your are invited to feed your lives upon the love of God. To take bread and wine and prayerfully seek for God's presence to fill your life. To declare not your independence, but your dependance upon God. His love is the real thing. Christ alone can satisfy the deepest needs of your life. Only His Spirit can bring the reality of the things of His Kingdom to your daily living.

The real thing.
Accept no substitutes.
Feed your life on the reality of the awesome love of God!