Sermon
In order to set the stage for today's text, let me begin at the beginning of the sixth chapter of the gospel of John.
This chapter begins when Jesus and his disciples go up a mountain to be alone, but a crowd follows them. Jesus feds the 5,000 who came, with five barley loaves and two fish. The people who followed were astounded by this sign and felt even more sure that Jesus was the prophet who was to come into the world. Jesus went off by himself again so that the crowd would not come and take him by force and make him their king. That evening the disciples went to the lake and began to cross the lake to Capernaum in a boat. It was dark and the waters were rough and Jesus walked on the water to come to them and they were taken to land. Meanwhile others from the crowd came to look for Jesus and found him finally on the other side of the lake, at Capernaum. The conversation that ensued had to do with believing in what we cannot see, and understanding that what comes from God through Jesus will lead to more than just sustenance, but will lead to eternal life.
Let me read a few lines that come just before our reading for today. Beginning in verse 31:
Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
And that's when Jesus says to them starting the reading for today, I am that bread. “I am the bread of life.” Jesus reminds them that it was God that sent the manna, and it sustained them. They did eventually live out their lives and then die. Jesus is trying to tell them that he himself now is the bread that has come from God, and they will be sustained forever with this living bread.
The Jewish people at the time would have understood that God provides sustenance for the journey, because they would have been familiar with a second scripture reading in the lectionary for today, from 1 Kings, about Elijah.
Elijah, worn out from doing the work of God and feeling persecuted, has had enough. Scripture reads,
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 'Get up and eat.' He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, 'Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.' He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
The story of Elijah points to the importance of rest, food, energy. Twice Elijah fell asleep. And both times an angel touched him and said “Get up and eat.” The angel didn't say “Get up and get moving.” “Get up and get busy.” The angel allowed the rest and provided the food. And allowed rest again, and provided food once again. And Elijah went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights.
The Jewish crowd had a hard time understanding the paradox that comes with knowing Jesus. How can Jesus be the Jesus they know, and also be from heaven? How can people die and yet live forever? Yes, God provides, but no one lives forever. What was Jesus talking about?
We have these kinds of questions too. Whether we have been believers our whole lives, or have found ourselves discovering the Christian faith later in life, none of us came to Jesus unless we were drawn by God. Each of us may have a moment within our lives of faith when our belief in the person of Jesus and the depth of his love for us has really landed deeply within us.
When John wrote this gospel, he was writing to people who had never met Jesus. In a way, you and I are a third audience. There were the people there with Jesus in Capernaum, and then there were the people of John's community who had never met Jesus and perhaps were waiting for Jesus' imminent return. You and I then are part of the great third audience, those who have never met Jesus, were not around when scripture was written, and yet follow Jesus through our faith and scripture and the human witness to the fulfillment of scripture through the ages.
I invite you to take a minute with me now to try to remember, if you can, when you first experienced God in your life, and knew it at the time. What was the setting? Was it a ritual? something particularly sacred or holy? Something bland and every day, yet somehow you felt God's presence in the ordinary? Or maybe it was at a time of great loss. How did it feel? Sweet; did you feel full up? Was it warm? Or was it a lightning bolt? I like to try to imagine sensation from all five senses: Does God's presence feel soft? Warm? Is it loud? Soft? Maybe its like the smell of lilacs or jasmine. Maybe it's a bright light or a comforting darkness.
Now think of the things that are going on in your life these days. Maybe you're anxious and exhausted, caught up in the general upset that fills the general global psyche. Maybe you're grieving any number of things. Or is there something new happening that's exciting and makes you feel good?
Can you invite that feeling of God's presence that you remember, into your current life path?
Jesus tells us that whoever comes to him he will not turn away. Maybe you're exhausted like Elijah, and want to give up. Rest, and eat, and rest, and get strong. For God, even the wilderness is a place of rest and renewal. Maybe you're confused like the audience at Capernaum, and find a way to ask Jesus “Give me that living bread, always.”
I don't think I know anyone who is feeling enormously joyful or rested or raring to go these days. Most of us are tired. We're tired of being angry at those who seem to put us in danger without a second thought by their scientific doubts. We're tired of doing all the new things that this year and a half has required of us. Many of us have been lucky enough to get a break. Some are finding themselves needing to just stop.
Even in this wilderness place, God is there. Because God will provide the rest and the renewal. Because God has provided the bread of life that we have with us always. Living bread is nourishment that goes beyond bodily physical sustenance. Living bread is Jesus' presence with us.
On my retreat, I spent a lot of time in the chapel at the Mercy Center. There are really beautiful chairs at the front of the space that face side to side instead of the pews that face forward. They are old and feel nice to sit in. During some of my prayer time I tried to imagine God next to me in the pew and it felt kind of like trying to put a giant invisible random shaped glow into the seat. But I could imagine Jesus, a person, sitting in the chair because Jesus was a real person. And Jesus is able to be with us now also. That was an experience of living bread for me.
God provided manna in the wilderness, and God provided living bread in the person of Jesus, so that we might have everlasting life. I memorized a prayer while I was there, that I've shared with you before so it's on my mind now. It's called I Am the Lord of Love. One of the lines is “All that I have for you is good. All that you need is available now. Don't rush – don't fret – don't panic. Just rest and wait – and wait and rest. Let the water flow on, carrying you. Leave it all to me. For I am the God who moves gently to you, I am the Lord who loves you deeply.”
It's a beautiful prayer for a good day. It's a perfect prayer for a lousy day. We can't predict what God in our life looks like. We can't predict what Jesus will do in our lives. We just have to trust and know. Founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, Fr. Richard Rohr says we cannot think ourselves into a new way of living; rather, we must live ourselves into a new way of thinking. Reality continues to unveil how things like adversity, disruption, and suffering become sources of transformation, greater love, and connection.
What do you need? It's okay to ask. God sent Jesus for us, so that we would not hunger or thirst.
Thanks be to God!
Let's pray…