As I
discussed last week, our lectionary editors really desire us to spend some
significant time discussing the Feeding of 5000 Men plus Women and Children and
the subsequent teachings offered by Jesus on the event. For those of us with a liturgical bent, the
connections between what Jesus did in feeding the folks with five loaves and
two fish, what God did in feeding Israel with Manna in the wilderness, and what
God does for us each time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist are easily
connected. Bartimaeus would like be even
to see many of those connections. That’s
not to say that God’s judgment and discipline of David, and Bathsheba, or that
Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus do not provide us with a wealth of
discussion material. Part of the difficulty
is discerning which is more necessary for us this day.
Also,
these Gospel lessons these next few weeks are hard. I want you to understand I understand
that. As we work our way through these
Gospel lessons, whether in the end I preach on them or not, notices what
happens. Most of the crowd and many of
Jesus’ disciples fall away. Judas is
even acknowledged by Jesus as a devil.
To illustrate further the difficulty of this teaching, the Apostles do
not seem to be fired up to follow Jesus.
When Jesus finally asks them if they, too, want to leave Him, Peter
gives Jesus that “Where else can we go?” answer rather than an enthusiastic “We
hear and are excited by what You say, Lord!” answer.
To better
understand what is happening in John’s account of these events, and the Bread
of Life Discourse, we need to remember the context. Jesus has just fed a lot of people from five
loaves and two fish. We talked last week
about how some commentators and preachers like to diminish the miracle describe
by the Apostle John. Some like to
proclaim that the little boy’s willingness to share was the real work of power
that caused everyone to share what they had.
What total and utter skubala!
Those of you newer to the parish may need to ask longer attending
Adventers what that great Greek word means.
Let’s just say it’s an ancient equivalent of BS with an emphasis on the
S! How can we know that’s not the
miracle? What would it take for you to
continue to follow this itinerant preacher and teacher? How likely would you have been to pay to be
transported across the lake or, for far most of those present, to walk all that
distance in order to continue to hear Jesus speak? If the miracle was you sharing your food, would
you walk miles and miles to continue to hear Him speak? Or would you, rather, head back home
recognizing that it was your, and everyone else’s sharing, that made His
miracle.
I know,
some of you want to argue that we are so much more sophisticated that ANE
folks. Commentators and preachers often
take that route. We would never be taken in by whatever He did to make this happen. Human beings are human beings, no matter the
time and place and regions they live in.
How well do we or others avoid charlatans in our own age? How well do we or others avoid snake oil
salesmen? How well do we or others avoid
conspiracy theorists? I could go on and
on, but you seem to be laughing and getting my point. The same thing that would cause you to walk
miles, to miss work, to miss your daily chores, to put your life on hold, is
likely what prompted them to follow Jesus to Capernaum.
A number
of preachers and commentators will also express ignorance of the context of the
Discourse. If you read or listen to
teachings on the Discourse, preachers and authors will often spend a great deal
of time declaring that Jesus is being obtuse, ignoring the questions that are
being put to Him, in favor of a what He would like to talk about. Neither the questions of the crowds nor
Jesus’ answers are particularly shocking given the background. John has reminded us that all this took place
at Passover. The faithful in the crowds
have been studying the Exodus story in depth.
Heck, the Christmas Easter Only’s in the crowd, as we like to call them
today, have been studying the Exodus story.
It was the culturally defining moment for Israel. Imagine, if you will, Christmas, Easter, and
July 4th all rolled up into one big holiday! That’s the cultural significance of this all
taking place at that time.
One other
detail is often overlooked in the Discourse.
Where does all this teaching take place?
That’s right! The synagogue! Jesus is teaching them in the equivalent of
what you and I would call the church. So,
for just a second, pretend your preacher has performed an incredible miracle in
your sight and NOT given credit to God in the intercessory fashion and now is
teaching you. As excited as some y’all
get when you hear about a healing or hear about an obvious divine account, and
as clear as I make it that it was God and not me who accomplished these things,
imagine how you would be responding if, say when I snapped the priest host
during the Eucharist, it turned into a real feast with no claim of intercession
on my part. THAT is what these folks
have experienced, and now the One who performed the miracle reminiscent of
Moses’ but with authority rather than intercession is teaching you! We on the same page? Great.
So, the
crowd asks Jesus when he came there? Is
it a confusing question? No. John tells us in verses that we skipped that
the crowd saw the disciples depart in one boat and that no other boats were
missing from the marina. They
specifically saw Him not get in the boat with His disciples. How did Jesus make it to the other side so quickly
or without another boat? The disciples
in the boat understand, of course, but that story has not had time to spread
amongst the crowd. All the crowd knows
is that Jesus went off by Himself, the disciples got into the boat to head to
Capernaum, and now Jesus is teaching in the synagogue the next day. Rabbi,
when did You come here?
Jesus, of
course, does not answer their question.
The simple answer would be that He walked there last night, at least
until He caught up with His disciples’ boat.
Instead, Jesus instructs the crowd that they are looking for Him not
because they saw signs, but because they ate their fill of bread. It’s not at all an answer to the when
question of the crowd. It is, of course,
an accurate observation of the crowd. Jesus
is instructing them that they are seeking Him out for material sustenance
rather than for the fact that He is God’s Anointed, the Messiah. Put in later language of this season, they
are focused on human things rather than divine things. They are excited because their bellies are
full; Jesus reminds them they should be excited because of the deed of power
that they have witnessed. Jesus
instructs them to work for the food that gives eternal life rather than food
that perishes. Work, in this case, is
belief. Working as God wants us to work
means first to believe in the Son of Man, in the One on whom God has set His
seal.
Sitting
here this morning, you may well wonder how the crowds could be so blind. I know I used to. I have shared with different groups around
here and maybe in a sermon the miraculous healing of Gib at a hospital. For those of you who have never heard the
story, I was called to a local hospital in the middle of the night at my last
parish. An 80-90 year old man was dying
of a brain aneurism. He was a member of
another parish, but I was called to give Last Rites. I could not pray the words in my prayer book,
that black one. I could see them. I could read them. I just could not give them voice. I ended up sheepishly praying a healing
prayer over Gib and his crying wife. It
was the season of Epiphany and I entreated God to act not for Gib’s sake or
even for Gib’s soon to be widow, but for those who would hear of His
manifesting power during this season of Epiphany and turn and be saved. Gib famously got up with those “I’ve got to
pee” words.
Unfortunately, from my perspective and that of my parish, too many
people thought the power was within me, that I was some kind of medical good
luck charm. For the next several months,
I had as many deep conversations about God as I had requests to heal this
patient or that patient. Doctors and
nurses would see me and ask me to heal their patients. Sometimes, the medical staff talked and acted
as if the power came from me, and I would have to explain to the individual or
their loved ones that God chooses when to act, that I had not wanted to pray
the prayer I did over the dying man for fear of what it would do to his soon to
be widow. I am covering a lot in a few
short words, but others here can fill in the details. How is it pertinent to the crowds in our
story? Those who worked in the hospital
had the same kind of work of power that we read in this story. Some two dozen or so actually worked with or
on Gib and knew his expected outcome and what had happened. The blood vessel in his brain healed as
quickly and as certainly as it had burst!
God came near in all His glory and healed a man whom they had given up
as dead. Some turned to God, recognizing
His presence and power among them. Way
more, though, thought only to use God to help their tough cases. To use Jesus’ words today, they were seeking food
that perishes when they were offered eternal food. God was offering them true healing, and they
were accepting band-aids.
The
congregation, unsurprisingly, is unhappy with Jesus’ answer. They catch His Mosaic and manna references,
but it makes no sense to them. Can he
call down the manna from heaven and give it to them just as Moses did their
ancestors? Jesus takes their question
and uses rabbinic thought to answer them.
Jesus first reminds them that the source of manna was not Moses, but God! God is the One who fed them in the
wilderness. It is God’s bread who gives
life to the world. Those who studied
under rabbis would, of course, understand the claim that human beings are fed
by God’s word. Certainly Deuteronomy and
some of the later prophets make that connection clear. Now, in this section, Jesus is making the
claim not only that He called forth the fish and the bread that filled them and
left them with more leftovers than they started, but that He is the bread sent
down from heaven, He is the source of nourishment for the people of God, and He
is the Word that will give eternal life to the world! It is an emphatic claim! It brooks not rational excuse. Either Jesus is who He claims to be, as
proven by the Resurrection, or He is a madman, to use C. S. Lewis’ oft used
observation. There is no in between;
there is no “perspective” or “truthiness.”
Jesus answer in the Greek is even more emphatic. He takes the ego eimi of the Burnish Bush and applies it to Himself at a time
when everyone, and I mean everyone, is mindful of God calling and using Moses!
Again,
the congregation present is unconvinced.
They are not prepared for God to become fully human, to give His life
for the world as a ransom from sin, or for death and the grave finally to be
overcome. They crave what Jesus offers
and ask Him to give them that bread always.
Jesus reminds them famously that He is the bread of life, and that
whoever believes in Him will never be hungry or thirsty. As a group of liturgically minded Christians,
we understand the Eucharistic overtones suggested here by Jesus. Or do we?
Does Jesus instruction in this section point to the Eucharist? Or, is it more that the Eucharist points to
these instructions? When we gather to
celebrate the Eucharist, we are each reminded of the institution of the meal
that Maunday Thursday and we are
reminded specifically, as we gnaw on that wafer and drink from that cup, that
His body was given and His blood was shed, for each one of us. It is both a corporate event and an intense
personal reminder!
Better
still, when this story and the story of the woman at the well from a couple
chapters ago are combined, particularly in the eyes of those with a sacramental
focus, the claim of Jesus is unambiguous.
He offers live giving water to the woman and life giving bread to the
congregation. Both ask Him of what He
offers, water and bread, always. That
the latter instruction comes during the season of Passover makes the claims of
Jesus about Himself all the more emphatic!
He is the Son of God! He is the
Anointed! He is the living Word that
gives life to the world! He should be
our focus!
The
crowd, as we might expect, responds the way the woman at the well does
earlier. All ask that He give them this
always. For the few minutes they are
engaging Him and struggling to understand His identity and offer, both the
woman and crowd accept Him for who He claims to be. But do they?
I have already told you that, as the Discourse continues, most will fall
away, Judas will become the betrayer, and even the Apostles give Him as bit
less than enthusiastic answer. Reading
these passages and exploring them in sermon form might tempt us to judge
harshly the crowds. If I was there, I’d certainly know who He was! If I was there, I’d never be so stupid to
forget. Yet how much like those
crowds are we?
You and I
live on this side of the Cross, Empty Tomb, and Ascension. In some ways, we can understand the ignorance
of the crowd because they do not have the confirming signs of power that
testify ultimately to the truth of Jesus’ claims. You and I have no such excuse. Most of us are here today because someone
shared with us the power of the Gospel.
Perhaps it was a loved one like a parent or grandparent or aunt or
uncle, maybe it was a spouse, perhaps it was just a good friend or co-worker
whom we admired, maybe it was even a pastor.
Someone, though, told us the story of Jesus. And we believed. Hopefully, you have even experienced the
Living Jesus. And unlike the crowds in
John’s story today, we had the advantage of looking back at that Easter and
Ascension moment. We could ask
ourselves: Given the persecutions that
the early disciples faced, being stalked by Rome and being hunted by their brother
and sister Jews, what would cause them to believe a story that a carpenter’s
son was really the Son of God? Given
Saul’s meteoric rise and cultural advantages, what would cause him to go from
being the chief persecutor of the Church to its Apostle to the Gentiles? What would cause human beings being
persecuted to be willing to risk death or disfigurement serving the least
during the outbreak of plagues? Nothing
makes sense unless that Tomb was Empty and He truly ascended! Nothing!
Do we really think fishermen in Judea had this incredible idea of the
Vatican and that they plotted and planned and conned so that followers a couple
centuries later, not even relatives, would enjoy the power and prestige of the
Church, whatever we think that is? That’s
the fanciful idea, if Jesus is not who He claims to be!
If He is
who He claims to be, though, His claim upon our life, upon all Creation, is
absolute! If we really believe that He
came down for us, that He died for us, that He was raised for us, and that He
sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us and waiting for
His Day, well, then, our lives should be dramatically counter cultural. If we truly believe Him, we should be
studying His story, His redemptive history!
If we truly believe Him, we should be constantly communicating with Him
trying to discern His will for our lives!
If we truly believe Him we should be actively engaging others in word
and deed so that they might be drawn into His saving embrace!
But how
like the crowds are we? How many of us
use God when we need Him and then put Him away until the next problem in our
lives? How many of us prefer to bargain
with God rather than accept that He will see us through the peaks and valleys
of life? How many of us chase after the
human things of God and not the divine things?
How many of us would be more excited if Apple showed up in our parking
lot to give us phones than we are to give thanks to God for the saving work He
has wrought in us through His Son? Ouch.
I know.
Many of us are idolaters deep down.
We love to worship God when it suits us, when He fits into our plans. Think I’m too judgmental? Think I’m wrong? Let’s see how things go when the Titans or
the SEC gets rolling later this month!
The
challenge for us, as it has always been for humanity, is our ability to
discern. Put more succinctly, what are
the things that perish and the things that endure? So often, we buy into the world’s rebellion,
that money, or power, or reputation, or health, or any number of other “signs”
are lasting; and we spend far too much of our lives chasing the illusionary
security that they offer, often discovering along the chase that our idols
destroy the very things we sought to preserve.
And even if we manage to succeed at our worldly efforts, the threat of
death should cause us to reconsider our chase.
Will my heirs spend my fortune wisely?
Will people remember me in 20 years?
40 years? A hundred years? If they do, what does it really mean to me? What good will all my perceived power do for
me when I am older, betrayed by this weak body, and perhaps even betrayed by a
mind that does not work as well as it once did?
Thankfully and mercifully, our Lord helped and continues to help us in
that discernment! He gave us the
Scriptures to teach us in many different ways.
And He came down Himself and dwelt among us, that we might begin to
appreciate His longing desire for us to choose to dwell with Him and to invite
Him to dwell with us. And then, when we
had rejected and turned away from Him in our sin, He made it possible for us to
return to Him, for us to know what it means to be forgiven and loved. After 8 this morning, folks joked I was a bit
heavy on Jesus. I’m sorry to hear
that. I should be heavy on Jesus day in
and day out, but especially on Sunday after Sunday. And this week begins a long reading reminding
us of His purpose and our need and His willingness to meet our need. The question is whether we want truly to
acknowledge our need and His claim, and His claim upon all of us! It’s hard discernment. It’s hard work. It may even drive some of us away. But for those who accept His claim and, more
importantly the discernment and focus He offers, the reward is true life, life
that endures, in the end, for eternity!
In Christ’s Peace,
Brian†
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