In the Face of Doubt

John 6:1-15
Listen to the doubts expressed by the disciples when faced by the challenge of feeding a multitude. “Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’” (John 6:7-9). We don’t have enough. There are too many needs to be met. We can’t do it all! According to John, this is what the disciples were saying to Jesus, but he was not swayed by the fears of his followers. He took what they had, a few loaves and fish, and fed the five thousand people who were gathered there…with food left over. It was an act of grace in the face of human need.

How often do we allow doubts to cloud our expectations of what God can do? How often do we look at a situation through human eyes—seeing limited resources and limitless needs––and forget that God sees things differently? We may never know how often has God gone beyond our assumptions creating, claiming, redeeming, sustaining, guiding, healing, loving where we see nothing to be done or no reason to do anything in the first place. It’s an aspect of the feeding story (one of the few that appears in all four gospels) that I often overlook. But it is vital that we allow God to work when and where God wills, that we keep our eyes open in faith, and that we do not close our minds to what is possible in the hands of the Lord.

 Prayer: Lord, ease our doubts and fears and help us to live with hope and expectation of what you are doing in our lives and in our world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What You Don’t Know That You Don’t Know

Acts 19:1-10
It was in Ephesus that the Apostle Paul encountered some disciples whose knowledge of the faith was limited. “(Paul) said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’” (Acts 19:2). According to Acts, Paul quickly shared the gospel with them, and when they were baptized in the name of Jesus “the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied - altogether there were about twelve of them” (v. 6b-7).

It seems significant that the number of these “disciples” was twelve. That of course is the number of the original disciples called by Jesus. It is also the number of the tribes of Israel. The number twelve also shows up in accounts of the feeding of the five thousand as the number of baskets needed to collect the leftovers (Matthew 14:20, and John 6:13). This is a fairly common number associated with the Christian faith, and not to oversimplify the point, but when the author of Acts tells us there were “about twelve” of these disciples it would seem to indicate that they, as a group, are representative of the gospel enterprise as a whole, all those who have been called, set aside, and tended to by God through Jesus Christ. In other words they represent you and me as people of faith. If this group of twelve had more to learn about what they believed (in their case, the existence of the Holy Spirit), then it appears that all of us have more to learn.

What is it that we need to know? Sometimes the only way to answer that question is to pay attention. A friend of mine is fond of saying, “It’s amazing what you know that you didn’t know you knew.” The reverse of that would also be valid: it’s amazing what we don’t know that we don’t know. The best way to deal with this lack of knowledge is to study, and to ponder, and to pray, and to share, and to consider, and to ask, and to compare notes, and to attend church and Sunday school, and to read, and to reflect, and to do all sorts of other things in order to learn what it is we didn’t know we didn’t know. Then we, like the twelve disciples of Acts 19, may live more fully for God because we, like them, will have more of the tools we need to do the work of God’s reign.

Prayer: God, help us to open our hearts and minds to your word, humbly receiving its truth for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Something Radical

John 6:27-40

I find myself wondering what sort of world it would be if we lived according to our gospel reading for today. "Do not work for the food that perishes,” Jesus says, “but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27). To work for food that perishes is to worry about today and one’s current needs. We call it “earning a living,” and it occupies a great deal of our energy and time. Some people, of course, are better suited for such activities or have been blessed with opportunities that others do not have. Some folks, for a variety of reasons, are not able to function as well. This can lead to an imbalance in what various individuals have at their disposal, and therefore to a difference in the amount of “food that perishes.” We call this a difference in the “standard of living.” The bottom line is that over time there are those who have less trouble accumulating “the food that perishes” than others, those who have an abundance while others go without.

But what if we stop focusing on “the food that perishes”or on achieving a higher “standard of living?" What if we were to work for the food that endures? Wouldn’t that lead us to some pretty radical behavior, like caring more for others than for ourselves, or accumulating good will and not possessions or letting go of fear and living in openness? Is this what Jesus is calling us to do? And more to the point, are we willing to do it? Just think of the possibilities, of the grace, of the love flowing in all directions. Farfetched, I know. But isn’t that just like Jesus to challenge the status quo and to shake up the world?

Prayer: Lord, help us to care for one another more and to worry about our own need less. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No Way to Run a Campaign

John 6:1-15

Maybe it's because the lengthy process for electing a president is in full swing here in the US, but I found one verse from our gospel reading today to be poignant. "When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself" (John 6:15). While we in America are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to determine the next president, Jesus, who could have been king by acclamation, ran away and hid from the crowds.

I think if I had 60 seconds in which to speak to each of the major candidates for our highest office I would point to this verse and say, "this is what leadership is about. If you really want to make a difference in lives, then follow this example of love and self-sacrifice." But I know that if I really did have the chance to say these things to the major candidates every one of them would thank me for my time and interest and shake my hand. As they did so the honest ones might actually say what they were thinking. "How utterly naive! Don't you know just how complex and challenging the world really is? How can you come to me, point to one verse of scripture, and tell me that's what it's all about?" And they would be right. It is a very naive thing to say in terms of modern politics. But what could possibly be more important than the righteousness of God and the truth of the coming kingdom? And why shouldn't love, self-sacrifice, and a healthy dose of humility before God be requirements for elected office?

And then it hits me! What have I done today to foster love and self-sacrifice and humility? What have I done today to follow in the steps of Jesus Christ? So while I long for someone to follow Christ’s example as a public leader I know that I, too, have a role to play in my own life; we all do. So lead on, Lord, but don't get too far ahead. Your people are awfully slow to follow.

Prayer: Lord, may those who seek to lead do so with true humility and with justice and with love. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Who Are You?

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Romans 8:29-39

John 6:52-59

From a Christian perspective each of our readings for today offers insight into the identity of Jesus Christ, who he is in relation to the world and to the people of God. The prophet Jeremiah tells us, “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch… And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:5,6). As an ancestor of David and a king of the Davidic line, Jesus embodies the righteousness that God wills. To meet the need of Israel for a good shepherd, one who cares for the flock, God will produce one who lays down his life for others.

Paul adds to this picture of Christ’s nature. “Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:33-35). In Paul’s terms it is Jesus who has bridged the chasm between humanity and God. The one who is willing to die for us is also the one who holds us close and does not let go. How can we be condemned if we are loved by the one who judges?

But more than dieing for us, and more than saving us from condemnation, Jesus promises those who believe in him a share in his resurrection. Comparing what he offers to the manna God provided in the wilderness, Jesus says, “This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever” (John 6:58).

Scripture gives us many, many more ways to characterize Jesus. But these three are significant. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God’s righteousness who holds God’s people close and who offers himself to them along with a place in the coming reign of God. Thus we are blessed by the presence of God’s word in our midst.

Prayer: God, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ and for the love and grace that he shares with us. Amen.

Hunger and Thirst No More

John 6:27-40

“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’” (John 6:35). This is meaningful verse, one which assures God’s people of eternal wellbeing. But I think we all recognize the spiritual nature of these words. They couldn’t be literally true, right? Jesus must be speaking metaphorically.

And yet these words do speak of real life, of real hunger and thirst, of real bread, and real sustenance. To center our lives on Jesus is to free ourselves from many of the things the world tells us we should worry about. When we are frightened or unsettled we become easier to manage. But if we truly trust in God through Jesus Christ we can let go of fear and live to God. Ultimately all is well. What we eat and drink, the people we interact with, the clothes we wear, and the work we do all become relative to the joy of God’s reign. Life is not easier, perhaps, but it needn’t cause as much anxiety.

What we hunger and thirst for should be the grace we find in Jesus Christ and the opportunity to live as disciples of the gospel. When this becomes our focus life becomes a journey toward fulfillment and away from what we thought we needed.

Prayer: Lord, give us the bread of life that we may life in faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Simple Compassion

Jeremiah 16:(1-9)10-21

John 6:1-15

In the reading from Jeremiah for today we find words of judgment and of warning. Because of their sinfulness, following after other gods, the Lord will banish the people from the land (Jeremiah 16:9). The details are gruesome as to what will happen, but tucked in Jeremiah’s account, just after the mention of unburied bodies and unshaven heads, we read, “No one shall break bread for the mourner, to offer comfort for the dead; nor shall anyone give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or their mothers” (vs. 8). Even simple gestures of compassion will cease, says the Lord.

The feeding of the five thousand is one of a few accounts contained in all four gospels. But each gospel writer has a particular insight into the event. John alone provides us with this detail: “One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’” (John 6:8-9). We have no way of knowing whether the bread and fish had been offered freely by the boy, or if Andrew had asked if he could take it. But no matter. This remains a simple gesture of compassion in the midst of a teeming crowd. I’m not sure what I find more important to the story, Jesus’ miraculous ability to feed the multitude, or the offering of fish and loaves by an unnamed boy.

The warning of the prophet was valid, and his word was true. But in the end, when God is at work, acts of generosity abound. Gifts are shared, wounds are healed, lives are changed for the better. In a moment of need someone steps forward and offers what they have, and by God’s grace it becomes enough. It is easy to condemn the church for its hypocrisy, for its divisiveness and its ugliness. But let us never forget the Spirit-filled acts of love that also spring from God’s people. The acts, like the people themselves, are imperfect, but in God’s hand they become limitless expressions of grace. There are those who will break bread for the mourner, who will give a cup of consolation to the one in distress. May we, too, share in this blessed activity, giving what we have to the work of God.

Prayer: Lord, help us to care for those who mourn and to offer what we have to those in need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.