A sermon preached at St. Mary’s by Graham Low on 4th August 2024

We live at a time in which there is prominent disunity in so many directions, revealed most sharply in warfare in Ukraine and elsewhere; in violent demonstrations in our own country; in the polarization of politics in many countries; in fractured family and community relationships, and in the Christian church as a whole, as well as in the Church of England as it wrestles with ministry for same-sex relationships. The Letter to the Ephesians places the focus of unity, the centre of unity, not on human ways, but in God. When we gather together here as Christians we share in a sense of unity. This unity is not something we create or decide upon for ourselves. Instead this unity is a gift from God. It is about ordering our lives around one Lord, one faith, one baptism. It is about growth by means of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the church, so that we may enter into the measure of the full stature of Christ. That is why we are called to maintain the God-given unity, rather than to create, ourselves, the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Unity is a gift which is very easily broken, or damaged, or lost. So often we see that proud, aggressive, impatient and thoughtless behaviour results in division, in disunity. The Christians of Ephasus are encouraged to create humility, gentleness, patience and forbearance. Perhaps these are not the most dramatic of qualities to be developed, but they are key elements for the building up of unity. Christian unity is not something that is to be sought at any cost. The heart of Christian disunity is often to be found in a lack of humility about our grasp of what constitutes truth. Disunity also comes through pride which seeks power and control. And very importantly, disunity comes through a lack of sympathy and understanding of the many factors which make people different.

The greatest manifestation of Christian unity is in the celebration of the Eucharist. Today’s gospel is about the bread that is the source of life in all its abundance. It is about the living bread. It nourishes us. It fills us. It satisfies us. It enlivens us. In this and every Eucharist we are given the body of Christ, which becomes part of us, part of our life.   

This bread is what God does for us. It is a gift to feed the hungry. It requires nothing of us other than to accept that this is food which will feed us at the deepest level. All that we have to do is to earn this food is to accept and trust Jesus. That is our task.

When we have this bread we have nothing less than life, a life which we are promised will never be lost. As John reminds us here, the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world will satisfy the hunger of all who come with faith in Jesus, and those who believe in him will never be thirsty.

May we have the grace to receive the bread of life with thanksgiving, and with hearts rooted in the unity of Christ, which is for everyone. Amen.