The Bread of Life

The Gospel:  John 6: 1-21 & 22-35                           

How many of you here have ever climbed a mountain? Can anyone share why you did it?

Jesus often climbed mountains, as he does in the scripture here with his disciples. On the one hand, he is connecting his ministry with that of Moses who climbed mountains to speak to God. The people knew Moses’ story and could relate to that. On the other hand, much like us, Jesus just needed to get away from the crowds, to clear his head, to think, and to pray.

I know I certainly clear my head, do some reflective prayers, and thank God for the beauty of the earth when I look at the view from the top of a mountain. For me, climbing the mountain is a chance to stretch my muscles as well as my mind and heart. It was likely that for Jesus too, but not for long as people sometimes followed him up the mountain or, at a minimum, waited at the bottom for him. Despite this challenge, Jesus never stopped taking time on the mountain top or time in the wilderness. This was an essential part of his ministry. It fueled his ability to do all the healing, teaching, and preaching that he needed to do.
 
We need to remember that if Jesus, God in human form, needed time out in creation to think, pray, and regroup, we certainly should make time for that as well. Don’t think of that time on a walk, kayak, swim, bike ride or even just time watching the birds out your window as a luxury; think of it as your contemplative time. A time to open your heart and mind to listen and observe. It can refuel your body and spirit in the same way it did for Jesus. 
 
Now when Jesus looks up from his discussion with the disciples in our scripture today, he sees a huge crowd, five thousand people, and this means that he has to get to work, so much for that quiet return to civilization. Luckily, I doubt any of us encounter that after emerging from our time in the wilderness, but Jesus often does and this time he knows he needs to feed them both spiritually and physically and, in this case, they are linked. By multiplying the loaves and fishes, he feeds them physically but, in performing this miracle, he is also feeding them spiritually showing that he is favored by God and God cares for them. And while this is helpful in advancing his ministry and expanding his following, it is also frustrating for Jesus on several counts:

People only seem to believe in God and Jesus’ connection to God when they get something. Even as Jesus says to them in line 29 “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” they still want more proof, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?” Mind you, this is coming the day after he fed 5000 people, these people among them, with five barley loaves and two fish! Tough crowd! It is as if the people need Jesus to give each of them a Star Trek style food replicator before they will believe.

 The second challenge is that when he performs miracles, the people want to throw him into a political role by forcing him to be King, which is the last thing that Jesus wants. Note that Moses was considered both a prophet and a king so the people are considering Jesus as both as well. But, Jesus does not need the earthly leadership role, this would just hold him back from his larger role of serving all God’s people. As we see in our scripture today, Jesus feels the need to escape into the wilderness for safety and some more contemplative time when the people want to promote him. 
 
And while Jesus was up on that Mountain the second time, his disciples left. Maybe they knew he needed a solo retreat, but they headed across the water, presumably thinking he would jump in another boat to join them later. Imagine their surprise when he comes walking across the water to them when they are four miles off the shore! Once he calmed them down, this likely strengthened their faith but it also was noticed by some of the crowd who, although they did not see him walk on water,  knew that only one boat had left and that Jesus was not with the disciples on it.  They catch up to Jesus and disciples on the other shore and question how he got there. 
 
At this point, Jesus seems a bit frustrated, like a teacher who has taught the same lesson multiple ways but the students still do not seem to be getting it. Jesus says, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” It is as if Jesus is saying, “You are just here for the free food.”

And while we all like free food, and will indulge in a great banquet after this service in honor of the Kottkamps, Jesus is not really talking about food. He is talking about a faith that feeds us, “the food that endures for eternal life” that Jesus, the Bread of Life, gives us.
 
 The price of that bread of life is belief, as Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent”. That was their primary job as followers of Jesus and Jesus was right in front of them, performing the signs, and yet still they wanted more - more signs: healing, food, maybe even the vanquishing of enemies. 
 
If it was hard for the people watching Jesus do these works to believe, to receive the bread of life, it can only be more challenging for us, 2000 years removed to believe and yet it is still possible. We just need to take our mountain top moments to remember the stories of all Jesus did in the world, to look at the beauty of the balanced earth, animals, plants, and people that God created, ponder, wrestle with our doubts and be open to receiving the Bread of Life. Faith is not easy and some may question us for it, but the reward is so much more. 

Fed by the Bread of Life, we know:
Jesus will show up in unexpected ways in our lives

Fed by the Bread of Life, we know:
This present conflict will pass.

Fed by the Bread of Life, we know:
We can handle life’s challenges.

Fed by the Bread of Life, we know:
We matter, just as we are, no matter who we are.

Fed by the Bread of Life, we know
We need to follow Christ’s model:
Welcoming all, loving all, even our enemies.

Fed by the Bread of Life, we know:
We need to celebrate diversity and nurture spiritual growth:
Our own and others.

Fed by the Bread of Life we know:
We can work towards peace and justice.

Fed by the Bread of Life we know:
That in serving our community, nation, and world
We are also fed.

​Fed by the Bread of Life:
We become an extension of Christ’s Living Bread.

So make sure to take your wilderness or mountain time, as I will do this week as I head to the Mercy Ecospirituality Center in Benson, Vermont Monday-Wednesday for a solo retreat. For you it might be a quiet moment looking out your window or sitting on your deck, a walk or bike ride in the woods, or a hike up a mountain. Let that time open your heart and mind to be fed with the Bread of Life. We can do so much more when we have been fed. Amen.
 
Pastor Michelle Fountain

---