Sermon for August 18, 2024; John 6:51-58

 

Rev. George Miller

August 18, 2024

John 6:51-58

 

Today is our third officially- official Sunday together. 

 

It’s our last Sunday in John’s Gospel.

 

It’s our First Sunday Funday in which our amazing Michele is going to share the art of architecture and how to create something out of anything.

 

Kind of reminds us of Genesis 1-

 

“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep,

 

while a wind of God swept over the face of the waters.

 

Then God said, ‘Let there be light,”: and there was light.”

 

Creation. Imagination. Play.

 

What a wonderful activity to share with our youth, families and anyone else, young, old, or middle aged who wish to attend.

 

To come together, to fellowship, to imagine, to explore.  But here is the thing about architecture-

 

things that can be physically built, can be physically destroyed.

 

Things we build with stone and brick, Legos and pipe-cleaners can always be dismantled and destroyed, knocked down by winds or washed away by water.

 

BUT, but the things we build, the things we create with our hearts, with our minds, our spirits- they are eternal.

 

And no distance, no space, no time, no natural disaster can wipe them away.

 

Architects build that which can be destroyed;

 

God creates that which lives on as long as we have breath, and we believe.

 

Genesis teaches us how God creates; Jesus shows us how to exist in the eternal, and we are all so fortunate about that…

 

Today is the final part of Jesus’ conversations with the crowd after he has fed them with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

 

The people sailed across the lake to see him.  They’ve been reminded of their ancestors.

 

They’ve shown their disbelief because they knew just where Jesus went to school.

 

Today Jesus shares more about the Bread of Heaven, and he goes a step further, discussing eternal life.

 

The people and the disciples don’t get it.  “This teaching is just too difficult” they say.

 

And that’s understandable, because there is a good chance that everyone is thinking way more with their logical brain than engaging with their interactive heart.

 

There is a very good chance that Jesus is actually talking in the abstract, in the creative and emotional realm that allows true Genesis to take place.

 

People hear the word “eternal” and they often think about time.

 

But the original meaning of “eternal” has nothing to do with time, it has to do with quality.

 

When people hear “eternal,” they think it means “forever and ever with no end.”

 

But the original meaning of eternal is about value, beauty, joy.

 

For example, think about that time in American history that people refer to as our “Camelot.” 

 

It was an era seen as filled with hope, progress, possibilities, a time of being that still shapes our thoughts and wishes today.

 

But the fact is that America’s “Camelot” was just a three-year period in the early 60’s.

 

3 years is not a long time at all, but yet, that era has stayed with us, informed movies, styles, discussions about how we can be the best citizens we can be.

 

That period of time in America’s history is in many ways “eternal.”  It did not last forever, but it has forever left an impact.

 

When Jesus discusses the Bread of Heaven and receiving the gifts of Eternal Life, he is most likely talking about how we can live a life of hope, progress, possibility.

 

A more recent illustration of “eternal” is the life of Glenn Scott, husband of Margit, who sadly died at age 58.

 

Though his life was way too short, Glenn built homes, raised an amazing family, went on world-wide excursions,

 

He ate delicious foods and made a difference in his community through ecological advocacy.

 

Glenn lived a Christian life through the works of his hands and feet, and in doing so, he lived an eternal life.

 

“Eternal” is such a beautiful word and such a stunning concept, because it means-

 

we are not limited by how long we live, or where we dwell or who we know.

 

This Eternal Life being offered by Jesus Christ is a life that offers ways of personal peace,

 

-means to make a difference amongst family, friends, our neighbors;

 

-wisdom in where we put our energies, what we do with our days;

 

-sanctuary for when we find ourselves scared, sad, unsure;

 

-relationships with people who are present, pleasing, and playful.

 

When Jesus discusses Eternal Life, he is referring to places like St. Lucas where for 144 years we have found ways to-

 

share the Word, educate, offer spaces for people to grow vegetables, play sports, eat Walkable Waffles,

 

even a place to lovingly bury and honor our dead.

 

People came to Jesus expecting miracles to baffle their eyes; instead he says words that illuminate their hearts and bring them closer to God.

 

Jesus offers us eternal life.

 

Life that goes beyond a garden, life that goes beyond the wilderness,

 

life that even goes on beyond a Friday Cross and a Saturday tomb.

 

Jesus is the Bread of Heaven,

 

here to feed us, nourish us, and remind us that he is a Savior who cares about quality,

 

who wants to see us be architects who co-create lives that are filled with hope, filled with progress, and filled with possibilities.

 

The eternal gifts of Heaven are already here for us to build with;

 

Jesus Christ is the Genesis, the beginning, of how we do so.

 

For that, let us say Amen.

Sermon on John 6:41-51; August 11, 2024

 

Rev. George Miller

August 11, 2024

John 6:41-51

 

What an intense, exciting time this have been.

 

3 weeks ago, I was in the land of orange groves and alligators.

 

Now, I am in land of Imo’s Pizza and Eden Seminary, with folk who love to ask “Where did you go to school?” and supermarkets have huge wine selections.

 

My car spent its entire life driving over flat earth, now it’s going up and down hills, on roads with swerves and off ramps that can take you to Chicago, Memphis, and Kansas City.

 

We’ve already had our first Communion, sadly, our first Memorial, and now the blessing of the Back Packs, with preparations for pre-school.

 

Let’s not forget our youth returning from their Mission Trip and the anxiety caused last week by my uneven stole!

 

What a time, and here we are, together again, to further explore what it means to transform lives as the hands and feet of Christ.

 

We continue today in the same space and time that Jesus and the people were in last week.

 

It’s the day after Jesus fed the people with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

 

The people have woken up early, got in their boats and sailed across the lake.

 

Instead of greeting the people with more miracles, Jesus has a discussion with them about their ancestors, Moses, and bread from heaven.

 

It's a mystical, spiritual dialogue that leaves everyone a bit perplexed, especially when Jesus says “I am the Bread of Heaven.”

 

Well- this does not go over well.  And the reason why?

 

Jesus is amongst people he grew up with. 

 

He is amongst people who knew him as a kid; folk he played tag with; went to synagogue with.

 

Jesus is not an outsider who can pretend to be anything and anyone he wishes to be.

 

He is with folk who knew his Momma, knew his Daddy, where we went to school, and they don’t like the things he’s saying.

 

This reading is sooo real. It’s so true to life. 

 

How many of you have ever had the experience of going away, or achieving great things in your professional life…

 

…but when you come back to your old neighborhood….

 

you’re still Marty or Donny or Barbie, and you’re still expected to take out the trash?

 

Or the people you went to school with remind you of who you were or what you did when you were five or ten or fifteen?

 

How many here have ever found great success or admiration from co-workers or folk you attended college with…

 

…but when you go home, old friends still see you as they did in high school?

 

They remind you of that time you did that thing that ended up a certain way and no one will ever let you live it down?

 

If you haven’t experienced that, God Bless you.

 

If you have experienced that, God Bless you as well, and how cool it is to know that Jesus experienced this also.

 

Because to hear folk say to Jesus “We knew your Momma and we knew your Daddy” shows us just how human Jesus is and how much he really did have a human experience right here on earth,

 

as he walked amongst us, talked with us, ate with us,

 

living with the joys and the pains of what it means to be human,

 

what it means to be real.

 

Jesus may have tried his best to teach what it meant to be the Bread of Life, and to experience God through him.

 

And maybe the people did not get it, but it doesn’t change who Jesus is nor what he is about.

 

Jesus shares with the people that whoever comes to him will not be hungry, nor will they thirst, nor will they be driven away.

 

And that is powerful….and it has had great personal meaning to me these last 3 weeks.

 

Please allow me to share:

 

As stated before, these past few days have been exciting, but they have acquired great adjusting.

 

When my best friend Tonya and I got into my car on Tuesday, July 23, we drove straight through, from central Florida to the big city of St. Louis.

 

When we arrived on Wednesday morning at 3:30 we were tired. 

 

So it was wonderful when we entered my new house, and we were greeted with gift bags and cards and a fridge full of food.

 

One of those items was a foot-long hero sandwich.

 

While Tonya was here, we went out to eat, but after dropping her off at the airport, the first meal I ate in my new house was that delicious Dierbergs sandwich, with potato chips and Pepsi that Katy had placed in the kitchen.

 

THAT sandwich was heaven, a moment of nourishment that went beyond the stomach and felt more like manna.

 

A week later, I was blessed by Donna with a dining room table that Lanny helped to pick up and patiently put together.

 

That night I had my first meal in my new home, at a table.

 

You don’t realize how important a table is until you go 9 days without one.

 

That meal was also heaven.

 

These two experiences validated something essential to our faith- the importance of a meal, the importance of bread, of cup, of table.

 

In other words, Communion.

 

The Lord’s Supper.

 

The way we come together, are united, experience and share God through Christ.

 

Over the last 2 weeks, thanks to that Dierbergs sandwich and the donated table, I am reminded of just how amazing Jesus is and magnificent our faith is.

 

That Jesus cares about us being fed, physically and spiritually.

 

That Jesus is the Bread of Heaven who also cares that we are fed here on Earth.

 

How Jesus created a way for us to care for one another and to make heaven known to each other when-

 

we feed each other, when we freely give to one another, when we assist one another.

 

No matter if it is someone we went to high school with, or someone we met on our Mission Trip, or the newly called Pastor.

 

Jesus has done something so amazing with the gift of himself, the gift of celebrating his presence, and the presence of God via bread.

 

It means we can experience the holiness of God and the presence of Heaven any time and any place.

 

You can be from Germany, on a boat sailing across the Atlantic to Ellis Island, and if you have a piece of brot, you can celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

 

You can be from Bogota, Colombia living in Kissimmee and if you have an arepa, you can experience Communion.

 

You can be far from orange groves and alligators, but if you have a supermarket sandwich, you can experience the gifts of Heaven.

 

It is so good to be here today, to be with all of you-

 

to celebrate the Blessing of our Backpacks,

 

-to celebrate where we went to school.

 

-to anticipate the start of classes.

 

It is so good to recall that Jesus had a very human experience,

 

that he too knew what it was like to be judged or doubted for who he was, not who he is.

 

Because knowing that means that Jesus truly is a Savior we can turn to,

 

A savior we can confide in, find strength in when we are doubted, when we are far from home, or we find ourselves in new beginnings.

 

For that, we can say Amen.

First Sermon at St. Lucas UCC; John 6:24-35

 

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.”