Eleventh Sunday after pentecost 8th August 2021
Psalm 130
Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice;
O let your ears consider well: the voice of my supplication.
If you, Lord, should note what we do wrong: who then, O Lord, could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you: so that you shall be feared.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits for him: and in his word is my hope.
My soul looks for the Lord: more than watchmen for the morning,
more, I say, than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy:
and with him is ample redemption.
He will redeem Israel: from the multitude of their sins.
John 6: 35, 41–51
Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’
Reflection:
The older I get, the more I feel like I have so much to learn. My recent holiday gave me time to think more deeply about life and the things of God, perhaps by not filling my days with doing, I had more time to be. Unexpectedly it seems there are multiple lessons being gifted to me, making me thirsty for more.
So, first lesson- don’t fill life with too much activity- allow time to ‘be’ rather than ‘do’. i.e Trust and rest with the Lord. Second lesson, pray more, feed on God’s word and practice his presence - not just AM and PM but continually through-out the day- Paul in Ephesians says pray constantly. Also, as we appreciate the value of our relationship with Jesus, he then becomes central to all our thoughts, words and actions.
The other thing that strikes me especially in the last couple of years with fires, floods and pandemic affecting our lives, more than ever it is essential to know that this world is not all there is. This allows us to let go of our grasp on the things of the world and really embrace the joy of knowing God. Thus, allowing God to have his way in us and working through us, confident that he loves us more than we can imagine. It’s that God loves us so much that he was willing to give his all, so that we may have life, life in abundance.
Let me tell you a story: Once upon a time near a river there was a tree that loved a little boy very much. The little boy would often go and climb up the trunk, swing from the branches, eat its fruit and then rest in its shade. After a long relationship of friendship, the little boy moved away, leaving the tree alone for a very long time. Until one day- the tree looked off into the distance and saw the figure of a young boy approaching. Filled with happiness, the tree said to him, “come here my friend and climb my trunk, swing in my branch, eat my fruit, rest in my shade and stay with me.”
The young boy said to the tree, “I’m not a child who just plays now, I’ve grown up now and I need money to buy a lot of things.”
“I’m sorry”, the tree answered sadly, “I have no money. But you could climb in my branches and pick my fruit. You could take it to the market and sell it.”
The young boy quickly climbed into the tree and picked all its fruit. Almost bent over under the weight of it all, he disappeared off into the horizon and was not seen again.
The tree remained alone for a long time. Several years later, he saw his old friend approaching and he was now a man. Filled with happiness, the tree welcomed him: “Come here my friend and play like you used to do. Climb, swing… stay with me.”
“No” answered the man. “I’m too busy to play. Now I want to marry and have children but I need a house where I can live.”
“I’m sorry”, said the tree, ‘I don’t have a house for you. My house is the forest. But if you want you to, you can climb my trunk and cut off my branches. With those you would be able to build a house where you could live with your family.’ The tree didn’t even have to wait for an answer. Soon the man disappeared off on the horizon dragging behind him a mountain of branches, and he was not seen again. Once again, the tree remained alone.
Many years later, he spotted a figure of a man off in the distance, and he recognised his old friend. Once again, he was filled with joy.
“Have you come to stay this time? Rest in my shade. Stay with me.”
“No” said the man. “I feel very alone, and want to travel to a far away land to meet new people. But I don’t have a way to get there.”
“I’m sorry you’re not happy.” The tree said to the man. “I’m not sure how I can help you, because there is not much left of me, but if you want to, you may cut my trunk and make a canoe. A river runs nearby that could carry you to the land where you could find happiness.” The man could hardly believe he had a found a solution for his dream. So he set to work, built a canoe and set off on his journey.
The tree stump was again left alone for many long years. Until one fine day the tree stump saw an old man slowly approaching in the distance. He recognised his old friend from so many years ago. With sadness in his voice, the small tree stump whispered, “I’m sorry my friend, but I don’t have anything to give you. I don’t have fruit to feed on, I don’t have branches to swing on nor a trunk to climb.”
“I appreciate that,” answered the old man, “but I don’t need anything anymore. I’m only looking for a place to sit down and rest.”
“In that case, sit down on me and rest,” the tree stump said.
And the old man finally stayed with the tree and found rest….
(Mondays with my Old Pastor, Jose Luis Navajo, 2012. p38-40)
How does all this connect with our readings today? Several thoughts that come to my mind.
For the last couple of weeks, we have heard about bread. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to ‘give us this day our daily bread’- we know we are not asking for physical food alone. But what is our daily bread- what do we need to sustain life and good health. That is good health of body, mind and spirit.
In the gospel today without question Jesus says ‘I am the bread of life’. We heard this same verse last week and it is repeated today- it’s saying- take note, this is important to hear!
It is Christ who completes us, satisfies our deepest longing, and it is Christ is our all in all. He gives rest for our soul. So my question is how can we rise above doubt, circumstance and the obstacles to grace that life can bring and truly know Jesus is the Lord of life.
This is the third week of hearing from, John Chapter 6. In all, the lectionary allows us 5 weeks to explore, discover and unpack John chapter 6 which is quite a long chapter- 72 verses in all. 5 weeks to me indicates that this chapter has a message that is something not to just skim over. Instead we are to savour and dissect, and take on board new insights and teaching as much as we can. Perhaps it offers us opportunity for some self-examination- Why have we come today? Are we hungry for Jesus? Are we seeking him with all our hearts as we come?
A superficial faith is not enough to experience the abundant life that Jesus promises to us. Going through the motions of eating won’t fill you up. Jesus tells us that if we want the hunger in us to be satisfied, we must believe he is who he says he is, God with us. We have to start living like we believe it. Our lives must have Jesus at the core.
When I am in need or when I am hurt or afraid, I reach to God, I want to see a God who is revealed in strength and through miracle, I want to call upon a God who answers clearly and quickly, and I want to rely on a God who is there when you need him. Like the people who came to Jesus hungry or came for healing, its often when we want something that we come to Jesus with expectation. But then, life begins to creep back into the forefront and Jesus is left waiting for us to return to him.
Our God is willing to suffer the pains and problems, the injustices and discomfits of human life? But the crowd, not recognising Jesus divine identity instead grumble at Jesus’ words. To them his words are in conflict with their limited understanding of God’s majesty. The people don’t know their own deep need for a God who surpasses the very life which is causing them so much difficulty.
John’s gospel reports that the people who have followed Jesus, regarded him as a teacher, and witnessed his miracles, but also know him as one of their own. That is, they knew his parents, brothers and sisters, they watched him grow up, learn his trade and eventually leave home. In other words, they are very familiar with him. And for this reason – because he has always been there with them – it’s hard for them to grasp his value and his identity as the one God sent for redemption, the Messiah… Its easy to judge another when we think we know all the facts. (We have the advantage of hearing the story complete, but they are in the midst of it as it unfolds as it were so their vision unbeknown to them is obscured.) God comes in vulnerability, where we look for him in power.
But from this lesson, Jesus is revealed as very human and yet very divine. And so, we confess and believe that God uses ordinary things, common elements, to achieve God’s will and to bring to the world God’s salvation. We also believe that as we pray, God will supply our daily bread. The psalmist knew this as he prayed out to God from the depths of human suffering, hoping for, expecting and insisting on God’s hearing. The psalmist has every confidence that God will respond to his every cry, because God is a God of mercy and generosity. Psalm 130 is written not from a sense of abandonment but from a certainty that God will hear, from the sure conviction that God cares and provides.
We pray ‘give us this day our daily bread’- And Jesus says ‘I am the bread of life’. What more should we need? Do we take then what we want, eat our fill as it were and then abandon him till our next time of want? We are invited to bask in his presence, rest in his arms and allow his Spirit to continue to wash over us and satisfy the depths of our very being. And in doing so we give to him the joy of a loving heart in return.
The psalmist cries to God and says, ‘trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy:
and with him we find abundance and restoration’. Thanks be to God.