Embracing God's Intimate Love Through the Eucharist
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
No more shall people call you forsaken, or your land desolate. But you shall be called my delight, and your land espoused. For the Lord delights in you, and makes your land his spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, your builder shall marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you. [00:01:41]
And really, these words from the prophet Isaiah are very radical, perhaps not to our ears any longer, but to the Jews and the Israelites that would have heard this at the time. We have to remember that in the ancient world, pagan religions of course abounded and god was not in any way their pagan god was not in any way associated with their regular lives god creates the world and he sets everything in motion and then he's he's gone for them but this is not the case for the christian god for the god of moses no he's very close intimate and not only is he that but he desires to be [00:02:07]
He wants to be. He does not want to be a God who sets everything in motion and then departs, but rather this marital imagery. As a young man marries a virgin, your builder shall marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you. Our God wants to be so intimately close to us. [00:02:49]
And we have to also recognize that in, again, in the Old Testament especially, this imagery, this idea of wine running out is very symbolic. It's not just a kind of a throwaway line in this gospel. It symbolizes that ultimately there has been a corrosion, a lack of grace, a lack of trust, a lack of this self-giving, the lack of this sacrifice in the hearts of the people. [00:03:34]
And so we have this wonderful account of Jesus bringing the stone jars, having the servers bring the stone jars, fill them with water, and then he brings this great wine back to the head waiter. changing it from water into wine. And ultimately for us, just as for them Jesus provided for their need, so too he provides for us. [00:04:22]
Week after week, we strive to receive the Lord Jesus and then let him transform our hearts so that we might encounter him, might trust him, might love him, might sacrifice for him. But ultimately, every time we sin, that wine runs short. That warmth in our hearts kind of dims. That love wanes within us. And we need to be filled. [00:05:12]
What's so beautiful, obviously, about this Holy Mass and every Mass is that every time we come to the altar, every time we come into this church, we desire to be filled. And that desire to be filled really materializes in this Holy Word that we hear proclaimed and also in the Eucharist. Jesus is still... giving us new wine. Jesus has now saved the good wine until now and gives us warmth, gives us love, gives us light. [00:05:42]
The point is that we come here to this altar week after week in need of a Savior, in need of that new wine that the Lord Jesus alone can give. And so ultimately, as we come forward this morning to receive him, We pray, especially as the communion antiphon so beautifully says, You have spread a table before me, and how precious is that chalice that quenches my thirst. [00:08:10]
And so ultimately, as we come forward this morning to receive him, We pray, especially as the communion antiphon so beautifully says, You have spread a table before me, and how precious is that chalice that quenches my thirst. Indeed, as we come forward, the Lord does spread a table, a banquet before us, and his body and blood truly quench our thirst. Amen. [00:08:27]
That the only reason we come to this church, the only reason we present ourselves for Holy Communion, is that we recognize that we are empty, that the wine has indeed run out within us, and that I need to be filled. Any Christian who claims to be perfect is not a friend of God. Even in John's letter, he calls himself a liar. We all have sin. [00:06:58]
Wine runs out within us, and we need to be filled. And so that's why we come here week after week, is to be refilled. empty as if a reservoir desiring to be filled with that new wine that the Lord gives us, ultimately his body and blood, the true gift of eternal life, given to us freely. [00:07:27]
Rather, I would dare say it would be hypocritical to leave here bitter and unhappy because we've come here already filled. If we come to the church already filled, then there's no room for Christ. And then we do leave bitter and unhappy, thinking it's boring, a waste of time. The list goes on. It's because we've missed the point. [00:07:45]
Ask a question about this sermon
And really, these words from the prophet Isaiah are very radical, perhaps not to our ears any longer, but to the Jews and the Israelites that would have heard this at the time. We have to remember that in the ancient world, pagan religions of course abounded and god was not in any way their pagan god was not in any way associated with their regular lives god creates the world and he sets everything in motion and then he's he's gone for them but this is not the case for the christian god for the god of moses no he's very close intimate and not only is he that but he desires to be [00:02:07]
He wants to be. He does not want to be a God who sets everything in motion and then departs, but rather this marital imagery. As a young man marries a virgin, your builder shall marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you. Our God wants to be so intimately close to us. [00:02:49]
And we have to also recognize that in, again, in the Old Testament especially, this imagery, this idea of wine running out is very symbolic. It's not just a kind of a throwaway line in this gospel. It symbolizes that ultimately there has been a corrosion, a lack of grace, a lack of trust, a lack of this self-giving, the lack of this sacrifice in the hearts of the people. [00:03:34]
And so we have this wonderful account of Jesus bringing the stone jars, having the servers bring the stone jars, fill them with water, and then he brings this great wine back to the head waiter. changing it from water into wine. And ultimately for us, just as for them Jesus provided for their need, so too he provides for us. [00:04:22]
Week after week, we strive to receive the Lord Jesus and then let him transform our hearts so that we might encounter him, might trust him, might love him, might sacrifice for him. But ultimately, every time we sin, that wine runs short. That warmth in our hearts kind of dims. That love wanes within us. And we need to be filled. [00:05:12]
What's so beautiful, obviously, about this Holy Mass and every Mass is that every time we come to the altar, every time we come into this church, we desire to be filled. And that desire to be filled really materializes in this Holy Word that we hear proclaimed and also in the Eucharist. Jesus is still... giving us new wine. Jesus has now saved the good wine until now and gives us warmth, gives us love, gives us light. [00:05:42]
The point is that we come here to this altar week after week in need of a Savior, in need of that new wine that the Lord Jesus alone can give. And so ultimately, as we come forward this morning to receive him, We pray, especially as the communion antiphon so beautifully says, You have spread a table before me, and how precious is that chalice that quenches my thirst. [00:08:10]
And so ultimately, as we come forward this morning to receive him, We pray, especially as the communion antiphon so beautifully says, You have spread a table before me, and how precious is that chalice that quenches my thirst. Indeed, as we come forward, the Lord does spread a table, a banquet before us, and his body and blood truly quench our thirst. Amen. [00:08:27]
That the only reason we come to this church, the only reason we present ourselves for Holy Communion, is that we recognize that we are empty, that the wine has indeed run out within us, and that I need to be filled. Any Christian who claims to be perfect is not a friend of God. Even in John's letter, he calls himself a liar. We all have sin. [00:06:58]
Wine runs out within us, and we need to be filled. And so that's why we come here week after week, is to be refilled. empty as if a reservoir desiring to be filled with that new wine that the Lord gives us, ultimately his body and blood, the true gift of eternal life, given to us freely. [00:07:27]
Rather, I would dare say it would be hypocritical to leave here bitter and unhappy because we've come here already filled. If we come to the church already filled, then there's no room for Christ. And then we do leave bitter and unhappy, thinking it's boring, a waste of time. The list goes on. It's because we've missed the point. [00:07:45]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Jan 19, 2025. Do you have any questions about it?