Gospel: John 6:22-35 (Pentecost 11: Series B)
Gospel: John 6:22-35 (Pentecost 11: Series B)
This day is only part of a much longer journey, and Jesus invites us to stop looking at what He gives us and to live by looking to Him instead.
Fault lines remind us that the land beneath our feet is not stable. Our world is broken. Although we may not see it, massive rock formations move over time. As they move, they encounter resistance with one another. Should these rock formations become locked, stress can build up and finally rupture into an earthquake. Powerful forces that we do not fully see can fundamentally reshape the landscape of our lives.
While this is true of us physically, it is also true of us spiritually. Our faith exists in a fractured world. Unseen forces can suddenly erupt, changing our lives. The doctor orders a biopsy. Differences in faith separate a mother from her daughter. Your dad’s forgetting the day of the week, then turns into him not knowing your name. As the land beneath our feet becomes less stable, we become disoriented. We wonder where God is in all of this.
For the next three weeks, we will be reading the Bread of Life discourse from John. This dialogue falls right along a fault line in the ministry of Jesus. At this point in His ministry, fractures in the spiritual landscape grow in tension and finally erupt.
As the chapter opens, Jesus sees large crowds following Him (John 6:5). Faced with their physical hunger, He miraculously feeds them. After the miracle, they show their spiritual zeal, desiring to take Him by force and make Him a king.
At the end of the chapter, however, the landscape has changed. Jesus now sees large crowds of people leaving Him (6:66). Faced with their disappointment and abandonment, He turns to His disciples. Nevertheless, even there Jesus sees that one of them will eventually betray Him (6:70-71).
So, in the span of one chapter, we move from thousands following Jesus to thousands walking away from Him, from a celebration of life in the wilderness (6:6) to a foreshadowing of His death in Jerusalem (6:70-71).
In between these major shifts in the landscape, Jesus proclaims He is the Bread of Life. Within this discourse, we can hear the tensions which are tearing His ministry apart. Since the lectionary offers us three Sundays to cover this discourse, I would like to suggest a sermon series called “Fault Lines.” For three Sundays, we will consider three fault lines or areas of tension where God breaks forth to transform our world. These fault lines are God’s work in our lives, God’s rule over our lives, and God’s closeness to our lives.
This Sunday we will consider: God’s Work in Our Lives.
One of the beauties of Christianity is we do not have a “watchmaker” God. God did not simply set the universe in motion and then walk away. No, God is intimately involved in the experiences of His world. He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve and not a bird falls to the ground, but He is aware of it (Matthew 10:29). God is at work in our lives. Unfortunately, His work is not always what we expect it to be.
God is intimately involved in the experiences of His world.
Consider our text. Jesus has just fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. You would think things would be good, but they are not. You see, not every miracle leads to a happy ending. Each miraculous act runs along a fault line in our lives. It is the demarcation between what we want God to do and what God chooses to do when He works in our lives.
What do the people want? They want to make Jesus a king. Jesus tells them, “You are seeking me... because you ate your fill of the loaves” (6:26). God has given them bread and they want more. They want a God who caters to their needs.
Here, you see the fault line, the tension between what we want God to do in our lives and what God chooses to do.
Humanity has always been prone to this fault line. Our culture teaches us to think of ourselves as consumers. We expect others to fill our needs. We cultivate this attitude in our stores and restaurants, our governments and schools, and sometimes even our churches.
When we come to church and hear how Jesus does miracles, we begin to wonder what He can do for us. Areas of our life need improving, like relationships, health, and finances. We ask God for help and, if God does not, we wonder whether we should just walk away.
To answer this tension, Jesus teaches the people. He says, “I am the Bread of Life” (6:35). Notice how Jesus turns their attention from what He gives to who He is. He has given them bread, but He is also giving them Himself. He is the true Bread of Life. Our relationship with Jesus is more important than things. Regardless of what we have or do not have, when we have Jesus, we have all we need.
Jesus knows He will not always meet our needs in the way we want. That does not mean He is not present. It just means His plans are different than ours. He sees us with eternity in view. This day is only part of a much longer journey, and Jesus invites us to stop looking at what He gives us and to live by looking to Him instead.
Some walked away from Jesus. But those who followed saw Him go to the cross to offer His life for their sin. The Bread of Life was broken for them. Then the earth quaked and Jesus rose from the dead, revealing His rule over all things.
While God will not always give you what you want, he will give you what you need: His presence. Jesus is with you in all things. Therefore, with the apostle Paul, you can say, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Regardless of what you want God to do, He chooses to do what is best for you.
--------
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on John 6:22-35.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 6:22-35.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach John 6:22-35.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Charles Gieschen of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through John 6:22-35.
