Note: You can watch this teaching on CrossWalk’s YouTube channel.

Here are some of my thoughts on this week’s passage, John 6:24-35 (see below):

     The Peoples’ Demand.  The people who wanted Jesus to perform a Moses-like sign were not among those who saw the miracle of the loaves and fishes.  Jesus certainly raised their curiosity – he was known for his healing power and provocative teachings.  But many in that time claimed to be God’s anointed.  For some of them, they simply wanted a proof of sorts.  They were all from Missouri, apparently. I wonder if wanting a particular sign from heaven was part of the problem Jesus wanted to address.  Beyond wanting to know Jesus was legitimate, I think this may speak to a larger human issue.  Is this a sign of them wanting to control things – I’ll only go so long as you deliver the goods?  Or is this akin to our current consumer orientation that will eventually result in their disdain when Jesus doesn’t deliver the goods that they want? Or is it a sign of them wanting to be assured of their right belief?  Or did they just want a free lunch? It sure seems like a “what are you going to do for me”, transactional orientation.  What else might it be?

     Jesus’ Response.  It is interesting that Jesus first called them to a higher way of thinking – free food is not the point (neither is health or wealth). Jesus also clarified for the people that Moses was not the source of the manna and quail, but rather God – I AM – was the provider.  The multiplication of the bread and fish miracle was a sign from God and not the point in and of itself.  The sign was the seal that God was working in Jesus.  Yet, the sign was also a metaphor that Jesus now took to a deeper place.  There is a bread that forever satisfies, and a drink that forever quenches our thirst. That bread is Godself whom Jesus embodied so fully.  The way we eat the bread is through belief in Jesus, what he was saying, what he was passionate about, and what he was doing.  

     Here and now.  Since the 1800’s In the United States, hell avoidance and heaven assurance have been central in the loudest voice of Christianity. Evangelist Charles Finney mastered the art, using fear of death and eternal punishment in hell as a chief motivator to get people to cross the line of faith.  Certainly, Christianity does speak to hope after death.  But I think for many people it became the only message.  Fear became the primary underlying motive.  Getting rewarded with heaven for signing on with the right faith not only provided hope, it also created a new class of people.  True believers were in, and non-believers were out.  Life-after-death concerns – which were not primary for Jesus – eclipsed the much more relevant aspect of the Good News: Life!  Jesus taught an alternative way of living and being in the world, one intimately connected with God who loves us unconditionally, is always working in our lives and in the world toward well-being, who is as close as each breath, who is in us, around us, and beyond us.  Life after death is essentially an after-thought, not central.  Life after death is assumed, but not ever to be the primary focus of our lives.   Learning to live in this dynamic relationship is a process.  That process is the Way.

 

 

John 6:24-35 (NLT)

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

     Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

     They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”

     Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

     They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

     Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

     “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

     Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

 

Ephesians 4:1-6 (MSG)

In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

     You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

 

Spirit of Peace Creed by Tim Tahtinen

I believe in God the creator, whose love is the life force of the universe:

Who believes in us, trusts us and empowers us;

Who lives in us and through us and fills us with wonder.  

 

I believe in Jesus, God’s own son;

Who showed, through his life, the heart and character of God;

Who lived to raise up the lowly, loved those unloved, 

fed those who hungered and healed those with sickness;

Who taught adults and laughed with children;

Who was crucified for speaking truth to power.

Who was raised by God to live forever; and 

Who inspires us to truly live.

 

I believe in God’s Spirit; Who brings the mystery of God Into our hearts;

Who guides us through a familiar whisper of truth;

Who sparks our creative passions;

Who comes to all in the bread and wine;

Who gathers us into one family; and sends us out to be the good news.   

 

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Deliver us from evil. Lead us not into temptation.

For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.