9th Sunday after Pentecost
John 6:24-35
I warned you that if Pastor Doug and I went to Togo, Africa to visit our son Tim in the Peace Corps that you would probably hear an abundance of sermon illustrations from there. I beg your indulgence for one more. When you get tired of these stories let us know.
The week before we arrived in Togo and this coming week Tim will be involved in summer camp. In many ways it's not all that different from the many camp experiences he had here at home. The kids at the camp in Togo get hyped up on silly songs just like they do here. They like to laugh at Tim dancing. They have just as much fun playing games and fall back on competitive soccer when given the chance. Some kids will excel at the crafts showing they to be true artists; others will suffer through craft time and produce unintelligible globs, just like here. Every once in a while at this camp they'll sneak in a session on hygiene or nutrition or problem solving techniques. This camp is for Aides orphans--children at the age of 8 or ten who have been left without mother or father, children at the age of 14 or 16 who find themselves the head of the household taking care of younger sisters and brothers. Fifty one weeks of the year they shoulder the responsibility of finding food, cooking food, hauling water, keeping house, possibly working maybe getting to school and caring for other siblings. One week of the year they get to go to camp and be kids. Tim says it's a hard transition for some of the kids; they sit at the back of the room and watch the others getting involved but the counselors are good and by the end of the second day almost all the kids let loose and join in. And of course it takes getting used to have plenty of food and to actually having it prepared for you... Tim says the counselors have to watch closely when the kids eat. They are allowed to have seconds and to eat their fill but they are not used to having food provided. Some kids want to stuff their pockets and hide the food for later. Some kids will eat so much that they get sick and then of course the goal of building these kids up, many who themselves are infected with HIV is frustrated. To have food provided, to have plenty can be a new experience for some.
It's a little hard for us to imagine, to fathom. But then we have our own food problems don't we. With a 39% obesity rate here in the U.S. we too might be eating ourselves into illness and death. Did you see the article in the paper this week summarizing a study published in the journal of Psychological Science? The study explores more deeply the issue of "unit bias". The tendency to think that a single unit of food--a bottle or can, a plateful or a banana-no matter the size is the right amount to eat. The study put out a bowl of M&M's with a ¼ cup scoop once with a tablespoon. Sure enough, people took more candy the days the big spoon was provided.
Too much food, not enough food we all have our issues with nutrition. I suppose that helps us understand our lessons for today. Jesus had just fed the 5,000 as recorded in our lesson for last week. There had been 12 baskets of leftovers from the five barley loaves that Jesus used to feed the multitude.
Is it any wonder then, that when the crowd saw that Jesus and the disciples had gone that they got into the boats and started looking for him? This was too good to be true--somebody who could take care of all their food needs in one fell swoop. The bread king, the ultimate diet guru.
The admiration of the crowds is great but Jesus is on to them and their true motives. "You're looking for me, not because you saw signs but because you had your bellies filled." For Jesus, the feeding of the 5,000 was not only about eating; it was to open our eyes to see that God is in our midst. The feeding of the 5,000 is a sign. A sign is meant to point beyond itself to show a glimpse of the real meaning of life, to crack an aperture on eternity. Jesus wants to direct the crowd away from immediate wants and on to their immediate needs. "Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life."
The crowds are persistent, "What sign, what work will you give us that we might believe? Our ancestors got food in the wilderness."
How often are we like these persistent crowds, focusing on getting our physical needs fulfilled all the while missing the real needs we have. In our lives of great abundance it is even easier to think that we are self sufficient, that we are taking care of ourselves, that we have no need for the bread that Jesus has to offer. Why, after all, will we even look for Jesus if we don't have any way to know we're hungry?
Jesus says "I am the bread of Life."
Like the crowds, we come to God with what we want and in God's mercy we are offered what we need.
We come to the Lord's table and find if we eat and drink in faith and trust, that what looked like merely bread and wine have become the real presence in our lives.
This testimony was penned by a Civil War soldier of the confederacy whose identity is unknown to us. It expresses better than anything I know the grace of our God who hears what we want but gives what we need.
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve. I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy; I was given poverty, that I might be wise. I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men, I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life, I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing I asked for but everything I had hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am among all men most richly blessed.
We all have our food problems. Some of us, God's children, have physical needs so great we can't see beyond the gnawing hunger in our bellies. Some of us, God's children are already so sated and full that we don't even know that we're hungry--that we need something more than bread in our lives. We all have our food problems....
And Jesus said, "I am the bread of life."
Amen