Rev. George Miller
August 4, 2024
John 6:24-35
Today’s reading takes place the day after
Jesus fed the people with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
In today’s reading, it is morning; the
people of faith have gathered.
They have come to experience Jesus yet
again, getting into their vehicles, going to where Jesus is.
When the people find him, Jesus engages them
in a conversation.
Jesus offers them Bread from Heaven,
spiritual nourishment meant to not only feed them, but to enrich the world.
People of St. Lucas UCC- how many of us
can relate to this story today?
It is a story about a group of
people. It is a story about people who
have been waiting for this day, a new day.
It is a story about a group of folk who are
hungry, truly hungry.
A story of a people who go on a journey,
arrive on the other side, and are reminded that-
Jesus cares about our past, Jesus cares
about our present, and Jesus cares about our eternal welfare.
There is a lot to think about regarding
the people in today’s reading.
When we first meet them, they are a very,
very large crowd.
They have been amazed at all the things
Jesus has done. The water into
wine. Inspiring a man to pick up his mat
and walk.
So they follow Jesus up a mountain wanting
to witness more. When Jesus sees them, what
he’s most concerned about is that they are physically hungry, and how they will
be fed.
So with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, Jesus
does the impossible- all are fed, they are satisfied, and the day ends.
Jesus goes to be by himself. The people say to each other “This is indeed
the One.”
Imagine what it was like that night for
that community.
The stories they were telling each another
about the miracle they witnessed.
Imagine those who listened, the questions asked,
the healthy disbelief some would have had.
Imagine what it had been like for those
who had been waiting, had been waiting all that time.
Imagine what it was like for those who
remembered the stories of the ancestors, who recalled the prophets’ words.
Imagine the hope that the people
felt. The excitement.
Imagine the preparation the people had put
into the next day, what it would be like to have the sun rise and make their
way to experience Jesus once again.
How they were ready for another amazing
feast, they were ready for another miracle.
They were ready for another experience
with the One who fed them when they were hungry.
So what if it meant they had to get into
their boats and go across the water? It would be worth it.
What is surprising though, is the way
Jesus talks to them that day.
They find Jesus, expecting that he’ll put
on another show, that they’ll ooh and ahh with his theatrics.
But instead, Jesus has a much more
different and much more mystical talk with them.
Jesus says “I know you want more of that
wonder bread, but don’t think that’s what this is all about.”
Jesus says “Yesterday’s bread filled your
tummy because you were hungry, but today, today-
we are going to feed your spirit, we are
going to feed your mind with another kind of bread.”
The people understandably do not get
it. How could they?
Everything Jesus is saying is brand new to
them.
Jesus says “The bread that God is ready to
give you is heavenly bread. It is bread
that will give the entire world life, not just your village.”
The people are perplexed. “Yes yes yes, please please please, give us
this bread always.”
To which Jesus says “ I am the bread of
life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, whoever believes in me will
never be thirsty…”
…and the people don’t get it.
They don’t get it, and they complain.
They don’t get it and their joy of
anticipation turns into frustration.
Escalated disputes and confusion emerge.
The people woke up on that day expecting
to see miracles, and instead they encountered a way of thinking they had not
thought about before.
And to tell you the truth…this is so relatable.
This is not an easy text to preach upon,
especially when you’re the newly called Senior Pastor of a historic church
founded upon the strength of Scripture.
There is a lot going on here. Lots of back story. Lots of coming and going. Lots of speaking. Lots of symbolism.
2,000 years after this story was first
written down, it is natural to hear it and be like “What?”, “Huh?”, “How so?”
But this is how we can process this story,
today.
It feels as if Jesus is doing something so
new, and yet so ancient.
It feels like in order to point them
towards the future, Jesus is pointing them back, way back, to the wilderness
experience of their ancestors,
that Jesus is reminding them of the words
and the directions God had given them through Moses.
And it feels like Jesus is letting them
know that he has arrived to them to be an embodiment of those teachings,
that he is there to be a living expression
and a living representation of what those wilderness teachings are.
The bread of heaven is that which God
shared with the people upon their gift of freedom,
instructing them and letting them know how
to live as the best version of themselves as they could be.
The bread of heaven can be the ways of God
that call each and everyone of us to love God, to love neighbor,
to live as if heaven is right here right
now in how we live, how we act, how we treat one another.
And that Jesus, Jesus is the very
embodiment of God’s Word.
Jesus is the embodiment of the teachings
that God gave the people when they were in the wilderness, in their search.
For today, when Jesus says he is the Bread
of Life, perhaps what he means is that he is-
the embodiment of
what God desires,
what God hopes
for each and every one of us.
And that is beautiful.
Because it is the word of God,
Given to our spiritual ancestors
so long ago,
that inspires us how to live,
How to be.
It is the word of God,
Given to our spiritual
mothers and fathers,
So long ago-
How to be a better neighbor,
How to share our gifts,
How to elevate our talents,
Hot to feed others,
How to come together,
How to worship,
How to seek,
How to grow.
The people in today’s reading show us what
it is like to come together and to look for Jesus.
Jesus today reminds us that our faith is
more than just us,
-it is our neighbors, our community, our
world.
Today’s scripture is a way for us to start
our ministry together as we gather, on this brand new day.
With the awareness of those who came
before,
The wonderous things God has done,
And the ways in which Jesus has come to
us, come to each other, has come to the whole earth,
As Bread for the World.
We may not fully understand or know the
answers and ways today,
but we have a lifetime together to explore
and discuss and seek and to question.
And to know that in Christ we have a Savior
who sees us,
meets us,
hears us,
and is concerned about how our body, our
mind, and our spirits are fed.
For that, let us say “Amen.”
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