Before I write a sermon, I have read a reflection on the UCC website, I’ve discussed the text with other clergy or read what they’re thinking online, I’ve read what the scholars and commentators have to say, and I’ve been cogitating throughout the week.
But when I sit down to write—or technically, to type—what I’m going to say on Sunday morning I often find myself becoming restless and getting up and walking to the kitchen to see what I can find to munch on.
Distractions, distractions! There’s even a group of clergy on facebook who discuss all the things they allow themselves to be distracted by before they finally settle down to write their sermons. I was so glad to know I’m not alone!
But as I was thinking about bread and faith and Jesus saying “I am the bread of life,” I wondered if there was more to my forays into the kitchen in search of nibbles? Can cinnamon toast or popcorn, grapes or dried apricots, cheese or a cookie improve my sermon or my thought processes? Or is it symbolic of my search for inspiration or meaning or guidance?
What does it mean that Jesus is the Bread of Life or that those who believe in him will never be hungry or thirsty? And what does that mean to people who have never truly experienced hunger?
Oh sure, we’ve all had growling stomachs and I’m sure many of us here this morning have had times in our lives when we weren’t sure if the grocery money would hold out ‘til the next pay check. In my last year of college my work study money ran out part way through the year and I was grateful for Food Stamps. But most of us have never experienced not knowing where our next meal was coming from or what it’s like to only have one meal a day. Our biggest food worry might be who’s going to sign up for Coffee Hour next week?!
For many Americans today the opposite is a problem—we’re not hungry, we’re stuffed! Maybe even over-stuffed! Every time you turn on the TV or pick up a magazine there’s some new kind of diet being publicized. A colleague got me started on a list of diets… There’s Christian Weight Loss, or if you don’t like that idea there’s Scientific Weight Loss. There’s Miracle Weight Loss Pills, the Grapefruit diet, Dr. Phil’s Diet, Pat Robertson’s Diet, the Celebrity Juice diet,[i] the Zone diet , the South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, and even the Bread of Life diet! You need to be on a diet? There’s an amazing number to choose from!
Even when it comes to plain ol’ bread… there’s a wide variety of choices in American grocery stores—even in our very own Super One! You can get potato bread or rye bread or buttermilk bread or French bread or Italian bread or 12-grain bread and of course wheat and white to name just a few. The last time we were at Courtney’s we grilled veggies on her Panini griddler and put them between slices of ciabatta bread, converted the grill to a press and had fabulous Panini sandwiches!
Now that you’re wondering what you’ll fix for lunch… I’ll remind you that some of us can’t eat too much bread because the carbs are bad for us. But we can’t have too much of the Bread of Life and it’s always good for us.
Last week we heard John’s version of the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish. The people were pretty impressed and thought someone who could pull that off would be perfect to be their king. So Jesus hurried the disciples off across the lake before they could seize him and make him king.
Once the people realize that this amazing person who fed them is gone, they jump into boats and follow him across the lake to Capernaum. When they catch up with him they ask “when did you come here?” which may be more like “hey, how’d you get here so fast?” or “how did we lose you?”
Jesus answers them something like this, “you’re looking for me only because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you witnessed miracles. Don’t work for food that goes to waste, but for food that lasts—food for real life—which the son of Man will give you; on him God the Father has put [the] stamp of approval.”
But the crowd persists. “What must we do to set about doing what God wants done?” they ask.
“What God wants you to do,” Jesus says, “is to believe in the One God has sent.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “Believe in what I teach. Believe in me.”
In John’s gospel bread is a symbol of life and the Bread of Life is a symbol for Jesus. Jesus IS life—the life God wishes for all people. No one can ever accuse Jesus of ignoring the physical needs of hungry people since he has just fed five thousand all they could eat, BUT life is more than eating, and until the crowds understand that, they will not grasp who Jesus really is and what he is about.[ii]
For John who Jesus is and what he is about means believing as Jesus believed—that God creates good and suffers from our evil, as we do; and that goodness comes to us when we let ourselves see and hear it, and when we live good—godly—lives as a response. It could get us killed, living and believing that way. Jesus himself has shown us that. He also has shown us how to conquer fear and the cold hand of death, and God has blessed that belief—and our [belief], as we come to believe as Jesus believed and [live as Jesus] lived.”[iii]
But what does it mean for the people in the world who never get enough to eat? For the little girl in Haiti who tries to assuage her hunger by eating dirt or the little boy who cries at night because he’s so hungry?[iv]
“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” In Jesus’ day this means “authentic Mediterranean commitment, loyalty, and solidarity. Stick with Jesus no matter what!” If we read the story of the loaves and fishes as a sign, pointing to the profound reality of the gift of God in Jesus we can see that "The gift and the giver are one and the same.” But we most likely do so on a full stomach. “It is difficult to think lofty thoughts when one’s stomach growls from hunger.”[v]
So bread may be a sign of faith to us, but it’s an absolute necessity for life to others. In following Jesus, we too are called to feed the hungry. As we gather at the communion table, we are reminded also that Jesus ate with everyone, rich and poor, men and women, the sick and the healthy…everyone! And to each one he gave what they needed—the Bread of Life as food for their stomachs or faith for their spiritual journeys.
If we follow his example, not only we—but others as well—will find our huger and our thirst satisfied with God’s love. AMEN.
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