Jeremiah was a prophet in Judah in the years leading up to, and following, it’s destruction. He warned the people that they would be destroyed for their unfaithfulness to God. He is known for his lament, his bitter wailing over the destruction and exile,             and is credited with writing the book of Lamentations. But in today’s reading, toward the end of his book, Jeremiah has a different message.

Jesus said, I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
Whoever eats of this bread will live forever;             and the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Perhaps it is comforting to know that the things Jesus is saying about bread and flesh and eating his body didn’t make any more sense to those first listeners than they do to us today.

Three years ago, my first summer at St Michael’s,             I went with a group of high school students to Chicago. We had lined up a series of service projects to do while we were there The first was that we spent two mornings at a child care center for low-income families. It was a mixed experienced. Some of our youth really connected and had fun with the kids. But the adult leaders at the day care center were sick of working with a never-ending series of volunteers, and they didn’t really need us,             so most of our group felt useless and uncomfortable.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen             The Lord is Risen indeed, Alleluia Grace and peace are yours in the name of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ It is a beautiful Easter morning - welcome We have been enjoying beautiful spring weather            We have put on our fancy Easter clothes –             some of us have hunted for eggs or will hunt for eggs –             some of us will go on to fancy Easter brunch or dinner later today.

Our culture has become adept at avoiding darkness. Electric lights make it possible to never be truly in the dark –             indeed, the lights in our city make it almost impossible to experience real darkness. We can dull our pain with medicine or other drugs,             or comfort ourselves with sugary, salty food .  We can distract ourselves with myriad different kinds of entertainment. We know many ways to try to escape the darkness,             both external and internal, which threatens our peace and well-being. This day strips away the distractions and brings us face to face with the darkness.