Sermon II for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Year B August 4, 2024
Do not labor for the food that perishes (John 6:25-35)
Today’s reading builds on last week’s reading, the crowds were fed, and now they seek Jesus wanting more, seeing him as a permanent solution to their empty bellies… a meal ticket that never expires!
They seek him out, looking for him and crossing the sea of Galilee to find him…but they are looking for the wrong solution.
They want their human needs to be met, but they lack the self- awareness to understand who Jesus is.
The crowds are looking for an easy fix and see Jesus as their solution.
Jesus admonishes them for laboring for food that perishes.
Jesus states, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
They respond, asking what do they have to do to perform the works of God?
Jesus, after first giving them a refresher course on the Exodus and what God did for his people, reminds them that God, not Moses provided the manna in the wilderness, and then throws them for a loop, turning their world upside down.
Jesus says I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
But what do these words mean?
What is perishable food?
What is the food that endures for eternal life?
So, perishable food is anything that wears out, or that has no eternal worth…this includes food, clothes, homes, cars, wealth, status, human wisdom, and pleasure
Now to be clear it doesn't mean we don’t work for our needs and the needs of our families.
What it does mean is that we don’t expect money, status, or physical possessions to bring us fulfillment in our lives.
Food that endures for eternal life is harder to define and understand.
Food for eternal life comes from God, it’s sent down to us from heaven to help teach us to trust God and work and live together as a community, as a people who see others as important.
In order to understand food that does not perish we need to move past physical food and move into an awareness of self.
We need to see the foolishness of human wisdom, we need to see Jesus for who he is, Jesus, the son of God, who empties himself in order to serve others.
Jesus gave up his “status” as the Son of God, to come down from heaven and teach us silly humans how to care for one another, how to love, forgive, show compassion and acceptance to one another!
Jesus shows us the wisdom of God by showing us love and peace, not hate and violence are the true gifts of life.
Jesus shows us how to become stewards of creation, how to become community, how to live lives of abundance not scarcity.
Yes, Jesus performs miracles or signs as John calls them, but these do not bring people to faith. These miracles only bring more questions of how the crowds can use Jesus to meet their needs and wants…the navel gazing continues; the crowds want to know what we get out of it?
How does following Jesus benefit us?
Jesus identifies God as the bread of life for the world.
But how does this happen?
What makes Jesus the bread of life?
How does Jesus satisfy our hunger and thirst?
How does Jesus provide life for the world?
One of my favorite contemporary theologians, author and Lutheran pastor is Walt Wangerin Jr, he writes so that ordinary people like you and me can begin to understand the mystery of God.
My favorite book is Ragman and other cries of faith.
This book gives us real life stories of faith in action, Wangerin uses analogies to make his point.
But full disclosure- have a box of tissues ready…it’s impossible to read these stories especially the title story, Ragman, without tears flowing and a tugging at your heart.
One of the stories in the book is called: Modern Hexameron: De Aranea- it’s the story about a particular species of spider.
So, I never knew this, but most spiders lay their eggs, wrap them in a sac and leave. Never knowing if the eggs survive.
But there is one species that doesn’t abandon their eggs.
Instead, the mother spider stays with the eggs to protect them and find food for them.
Like all spiders this spider injects poison and digestive juices into her prey. She has no stomach, so her victims become her stomach, she literally sucks the life out of them, leaving an empty shell, a dead body.
The mother spider cares for her baby spiders but it’s what happens when there is no food available that is truly amazing.
You see, when there is no food, the mother spider injects herself with her poison, giving her young one last meal—herself!
The mother spider dies giving life to her young.
She is selfless, dying so that her young can live.
In this scenario, Wangerin sees Jesus the crucified one who
willingly gives himself for the life of all humanity.
When we celebrate the Eucharist, feasting at Christ’s table, it is Christ’s own life poured out for us that becomes our bread.
And as hard as it is for us to believe, it is in the giving of himself that Jesus is most alive, even as he dies.
When we follow Jesus instead of chasing after him, we learn the simple truth from his Living Word…
We are only fulfilled when we empty ourselves for others.
Jesus is the bread of life not because he gives us our daily bread but because he teaches us how to live-- really live in community, peace, love, and forgiveness to one another.
In Holy Communion, we take Jesus into ourselves.
Jesus shapes us into his body and prepares us to give ourselves
in the same way that Jesus first gives himself to us and all humanity.
When we dare to follow this radical upside down way of life, we experience a life full of color,
we find purpose and meaning beyond merely existing from birth to death.
Friends, because we are made in God’s image, we the hunger for purpose and meaning beyond ourselves, beyond physical satisfaction
Jesus awakens us to these other hungers—peace, justice, loving kindness, and a humble walk with our God.
And part of that involves giving back to God what he has first given us.
This is why the offering is done as part of the celebration of the meal
It’s our way of bringing forth the fruits of our labor,
it’s our way of giving thanks to the God of all creation,
it’s our way of offering ourselves into the service of Christ
who gives himself as food for us.
We become bread like his bread, and in so doing, we empty ourselves for others.
This congregation has a big presence in the Lakeland community, and yet, we are called to continue to look around us, seeking new opportunities to serve, and new ways to expand our current services.
And we do this not to get something out of it for ourselves but to give everything to others, just as Christ has given his all to us.
Jesus the bread of life, invites us all:
To come hungry for life,
And to leave hungry to give live,
Having been fed by Jesus the true bread of life.
Amen
1Wangerin, Walt, Jr. Ragman and other cries of faith. Harper Collins e-books oo35-40. Viewed 7/30/2024
