Sermon for Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 2nd, 2015
Text: John 6:24-35 Revised Standard Version (RSV)
24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper′na-um, seeking Jesus.
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
“Then what signs do you do, that we may see, and believe you?”
HUH?
Isn’t this the same crowd that had just been participants in the mass feeding on the other side of the lake? What more of a sign could they possibly want? Aren’t these the same people who witnessed and were part of that “miracle of transformation” I talked about last week?
And yet, here they are today, asking Jesus for “signs”! It seems as though they just wanted a repeat performance of the meal over there on the other side. It’s kind of like that low comedy routine we’ve all heard. Some guy asks another for help of some sort, and the other guy says, “No.” The first guy says something like, “What? Why not?! Didn’t I just save your life last week?” “Sure,” says the second guy, “But what have you done for me lately?”
Same thing here – these people Jesus is talking to were pretty desperate when they were over there on the other side of that lake, but now their situation has improved. That miracle with the loaves and fishes had really been something remarkable – something truly new to them – and now they were sticking to him like glue, following him wherever he went, not giving him a moment’s peace. They remembered the manna in the wilderness that had saved their ancestors. “Could this be the new Moses?” they wondered. “Do you think we could get this guy to work another miracle or two for us?” Could this man be The Answer?
But they missed seeing the forest for the trees. Despite what they had just witnessed and been a part of, they just wanted Jesus to do a few more conjuring tricks for them. “Give us some more heavenly bread, right here, on the spot.” And Jesus says, no. He gives them something better – he gives them himself as living bread. The problem is that they’re not quite sure what “living bread” is.
Jesus tells them “You have seen wonderful things happening before your very eyes. You have seen how God’s magnificent grace allowed an entire multitude to be fed. But, instead of turning your thoughts to the God who did these things, all you can think about is bread. You can’t think about your souls – all you can think about is your stomachs.” It’s the same thing that Paul wrote in Philippians 3:19 about those “whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (KJV)
“Men,” as John Chrysostom wrote back in the Fourth Century, “are nailed to the things of this life.”
There are many, many people out there in the world have no hope, who have become nailed to the things of this life. To them, life is just an endless string of days – days of toil, days of heartache, but – to be fair – certainly also of occasional joy – but that deep, deep hunger remains unsatisfied. That hunger is really the hunger for meaning, the hunger for the knowledge that they’re here on this planet for a reason, that they have a purpose. We all know people like that – they’re the ones who look at the world with a kind of sour expression. They’re the ones who jump from one fad to another in the hope that –this time, just maybe – they’re going to finally latch on to something that will make their lives worthwhile. Some of them eat too much, trying to fill that deep hole in the middle of their beings. Some of them do just the opposite – they starve themselves so that they can wear the latest fashions, in the hope that this will give their lives some meaning. Some of them literally bury themselves in work, because they think that this is how their lives will gain significance. Some of them gorge themselves in all kinds of material goods only to discover that the hunger never goes away. That hole is still there, yawning open, sucking in their energy like a black hole that pulls in everything around it, and they just have to keep moving to avoid being pulled in themselves for good.
These people have become strangers – strangers to their loved ones, strangers to their friends, strangers to the world, strangers even to themselves, and, worst of all, strangers to God. Their hopelessness is like a snowball rolling down a mountain – the further it rolls, the bigger it gets and then it picks up even more speed, and careens, down, and down, and down, into the deep valley of despair.
All these other “breads,” things we use to fill ourselves up, don’t last. They all grow stale and moldy and inedible in a fairly short period of time. Even the manna from heaven that fed the Hebrews in the wilderness was temporary – here today, gone tomorrow.
There are two kinds of hunger. There is physical hunger which is satisfied by physical food; but there is a deeper spiritual hunger that food can never satisfy.
To that hunger, Jesus has an antidote: Himself. “I am the Bread of Life.”
Jesus came offering a new kind of bread, one that doesn’t go bad, one that isn’t temporary, one that nourishes perpetually and lasts forever, one that sustains relationships and bolsters hope.
He is that bread.
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus reminds us that we live, not because God gives us what we want – a miracle or two, a bit of manna now and then – but because God gives what we need. First, last, and always, gives us love.
Lest you think for a moment that love is just a syrupy emotion, let me tell you about something I read a long time ago. It’s quite sad, really. It seems that some scientists did an experiment once where they took newborn monkeys, and cuddled and touched some of them, but totally neglected the others. They fed them, but didn’t touch them or show them any kind of affection. And in a surprisingly short amount of time, those baby monkeys literally curled up and died. They died because they did not know love. So, the next time your child, or your husband, or your wife, or your friend needs a hug or a pat on the back, please be sure to give it to them – for you will be doing God’s will when you do.
“I am the bread of life.” God gives us what we need. Some love, and people who love us and whom we love. God gives us bread. God gives us water.
Mostly God gives us a relationship with the One whom God sent, who is the Bread of Life. And today, and every day, we have the opportunity to accept that relationship which fills that black hole in our lives. We have the opportunity to accept that Bread of Life which satisfies as nothing else will or can.
So, this morning, sisters and brothers, let us open our hearts and accept that wondrous relationship offered to us by Jesus. As we partake of the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, let us take to ourselves the Bread of Life, that we may go forth into the world and proclaim to others with our words and in our lives that they, too, can receive that Bread of Life!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.