Let us pray Gracious God, thank you for Jesus, the bread of life. Open our hearts to the gift of your love and compassion for us. Open us to the possibilities of your love. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Our story begins
with the crowd looking for Jesus after being fed on the grassy hill. Jesus, knowing that they want Him to be King, disappears before that could happen as we learned last week. Now they search for and find Jesus on the other side of the sea. The questions begin.
First the crowd wants to know “When did you come here?” Some would say Jesus rebuked them with His answer of “‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” A scolding for just coming to look for food again. Others would say Jesus answer was one of compassion. For once again, the crowd did not understand what had happened back on that grassy hill. Jesus goes on to say “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” In other words they missed the point of the feeding of the five thousand. It was a sign for them that Jesus came to fill more than just their bellies, He came to fill their hearts, minds and spirit with a lasting food.
They then ask what kind of work they should be doing that would be pleasing to God, to find this imperishable food. Again they miss the point. They think they must do some action for this bread. Jesus answers that the only work that matters is believing in the one God sent, do you have faith? Which essentially means — do you believe Jesus is the One who reveals God uniquely and fully?
As the dialog continues, they want proof of Jesus claim of who He is. They want a sign like Moses did by providing the ancient Israelites with manna. Kind of interesting, since Jesus has just fed five thousand of them with a few loaves of barley bread and some fish. Apparently that wasn’t enough of a sign. Jesus extends his patience and and compassion by responding that it wasn’t Moses who provided the manna, but God. It is God who will provide bread from heaven for God’s people directly.
Finally, the still confused people ask for, even demand, this bread, and Jesus responds “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus reveals God’s character and Jesus provides direct access to a relationship with God. It is saying that in Jesus, God is revealing God’s own self most clearly and fully so that all people will have access to God. Or if we go back to the first chapter of John it is so that all people can become “children of God” (1:12). It is simply about faith.
Faith, as the word is used here, means an encounter with a person, one who is “the way, and the truth, and the life”. The one who speaks to us in this way, Jesus, is the the one who desires not only that we think about Him, but that we feed on him, implying that we could starve to death without him.
Like the crowds, we too fail to hear this wonderful gift, and instead focus on Jesus’ words in the verse about “work”. The question is misguided. We, like them are focused on what we could or should or must do, rather than on what God is doing right in front of us. We too often forget that the gospel is the declaration of what God does, and instead act as though all of reality centers on, and is determined by, what we are doing.
God certainly knows our daily needs, but through Jesus, God also shows us that our preoccupation with our needs can prevent us from seeing the “greater things” God is doing and that God wants to do through us. God’s will isn’t for temporary sustenance, but for ongoing life. And this living only happens when we allow our expectations to be reshaped and we receive the living bread given to us.
Real life is the new relationship with God, a relationship of trust and obedience and love of which we have already. That relationship is made possible only by Jesus. Apart from Him no one can enter into it. That is to say, without Jesus there may be existence, but not life. If Jesus is the essential of life, He may be described as the bread of life. The hunger of the human situation is ended when we know Christ and through Him know God. The restless soul is at rest, the hungry heart is satisfied.
We can be nervous about our futures, economic realities that produces financial anxiety. Personal relationships that are plagued by bitterness, resentment, and betrayal often show no promise of reconciliation. Cycles of addiction, anger and depression paint a future that is as dark as it is bleak.
That is why Jesus’ response is so liberating. When we learn to believe in the possible, despite evidence in the past, then it matters very little happens to us in the present. When we learn to let go of the expectations we place on God, then everything that God gives to us is blessed surprise. When we learn to trust and believe with a faith that surpasses our capacity to understand and comprehend, then we find the reliability, the true security, for which we are longing.
This week put aside your expectations and demands, your confusion and disappointment, and look for Jesus. Listen to what He’s saying. You can find Him the written word. You can also find him as we gather as a community of faith for worship. Jesus is in the music, the message, the prayers, the bread, the wine and and the gathering. He may not be saying what you want to hear. Try not to be discouraged, He might be challenging you. Try not to be defensive. Following Jesus will fill you with what you need. Jesus is the bread of life.
Amen.