Bread Security: John 6:24-35 ~ Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sea of Galilee as seen from Capernaum by Christyn.  Creative Commons Image on flickr

²⁴So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

             ²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"  ²⁶Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  ²⁷Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."  ²⁸Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"  ²⁹Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."  ³⁰So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?  ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  ³²Then 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.  ³³For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  ³⁴They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

             ³⁵Jesus 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.

Looking back on my week at Camp Lutherlyn in June, there was no adventure that could top the afternoon of trust falls…

We started out small—the typical trust falls you see at marriage retreats…  Fall backwards into the arms of another.  No problem.

But they kept upping the ante: next thing we knew, we were lifting campers up over our heads. 

Then, the ultimate trust fall: stand on a picnic table, and fall into the arms of the people below.

I didn’t participate—because I didn’t trust myself not to break the bones of the fourteen-year-olds who’d be catching me.  But make no mistake—it took one hour’s worth of injury-free falls to create the trust in each other for something as significant as this…

So what does it look like, then, to trust Jesus?

Today in our Gospel, there are five thousand people who found in Jesus what they thought to be the ultimate solution to the food insecurity they experienced every day.  They had just eaten their fill of the fish and barley loaves Jesus miraculously gave them.  No sooner are they finished gathering up the leftovers, that Jesus slips away unnoticed, crossing the Sea of Galilee (on foot, by the way). 

They pursue him and catch up with him on the opposite shore.  Immediately, they ask him: “when did you get here?”

Yet Jesus knows why they’ve followed…  It’s not because they saw signs, but because they ate their fill of the loaves.  In other words, it wasn’t faith that brought them to Jesus.  It was their hunger.  It was their need for food security. 

Yet it is very un-Christ-like that Jesus did not solve the problem of their food insecurity—especially since we now know that he was perfectly able.

How often do we see, on billboards, T-Shirts, bumper stickers, the words ‘Jesus is the Answer’?  I honestly have no idea how to interpret those words—except to think that Jesus is the solution all our problems. 

That’s what the crowds were thinking—and that’s why they ask him for a sign, so that they would believe he’s the answer.  In other words, “give us what we need, and we’ll trust you!”

The problem with that, is that God’s ways are not always our ways.  I’m not saying that it doesn’t matter to Jesus that the people are hungry, because I’m certain it matters a lot. 

But Jesus makes it clear that he’s not the answer!  In other words, you can’t pursue Jesus as a solution to a problem.  Instead, Jesus is calling the crowds to follow him on the basis of who he is, and what he promises.  He says, “I am the bread of God that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

They’ve seen the signs.  They’ve heard his words.  Now it is time to trust him—even as the problem of their food insecurity remains.  Now it is time to trust that their hunger matters to Jesus, and to trust that Jesus will give them food that endures for eternal life.

This is just as great a challenge for us as it was for the five thousand—because we, too come before Jesus in our brokenness and need.  We come before him so that he may heal our wounds; forgive our sins; provide our daily bread; and lead us to a meaningful and peace-filled life.

Jesus doesn’t always give us instant solutions to our problems and questions.  Even if he does; it’s only a matter of time until there’s new problems and new questions. 

What Jesus ultimately gives us is himself.  He is the Son of God; the Bread of Heaven; who desires to live in an intimate relationship with you and love you forever.  But relationships don’t just happen.  We must make the effort to get to know Jesus as he reveals himself in the Word.  We must be intentional about speaking to and listening to Jesus in prayer.  We must be intentional in eating and drinking at his table.  Above all, we must be intentional about casting ourselves, our needs, and our desires into the hands of Jesus—when all we really have to go on is his promise.  We trust Jesus by acting upon his Word and his promise, anticipating that he will provide what will satisfy the hunger of our bellies and the hunger of our hearts. 

None of us can truly know what will happen when we come to Jesus.  All we know is that he will lead us to the Word, the water, the sacraments, and prayer.  We know that he will lead us to the neighbors for which we are bound to in humble service. 

We trust that he will unite us in the belonging with our sisters and brothers in Christ. 

We trust that he will meet our needs with an abundance of grace. 

We trust that he will be faithful even as troubles and trials remain. 

We trust that he’s more precious than the bread of finest wheat; more precious than silver or gold.

We trust that he is our Bread Security.