Beyond our ResourcesBeyond our Resources
Text: John 6:1-21 26 July 2009
“They’re just using us! We’ll never see them again,” is muttered from one member to another as the church fills up with the fifty odd guests who have come to see the wee one ‘done’. As the baptismal visitors leave they thank the vicar for a lovely service with the promise that they might come back. The parents leave with their little bundle over whom they’ve made solemn promises. Even if they’ve been coming to the church for weeks to prove to the minister their earnest intentions it is quite likely that all their assurances will evaporate as they walk out through the door.
“They’re just using us! We’ll never see them again,” complains a member as they notice the confetti littered in the entrance way to the church. “All they want is an aisle to walk down and some nice music to augment the occasion.” The family and friends of the bride and groom gather and enjoy the ceremony all the while planning what they’re going to order for the first round of drinks. Even if the couple have attended church prior to the marriage service it is highly unlikely that they will return as worshippers.
“They’re just using us! We’ll never see them again. Families think that our minister is here to bury their dead. They never darken the doors of the church and then expect her services in their time of need. We’re the ones paying her and yet her involvement with funerals is keeping her from looking after us! Sure, the family of the deceased might make a donation to the church and attend the Sunday service following the funeral but then that will be it.”
“They’re just using me.” Jesus could have said this as the crowds followed him up the mountain side. “All they want from me is to see signs - all the amazing things I’m doing. All they want from me is healing from their illnesses. Once they get what they want from me they’ll be off and I’ll never see them again. Why should I bother with all these people? I’ve got limited time and energy. I should only be looking after the ones who appreciate me and understand what I’m all about.”
Jesus could have reacted like this. He had just gone up a mountain with his disciples just before the Passover celebrations. At the moment when he may have expected to have a bit of quality time he looks up and sees a huge number of people approaching. Jesus knows that they’re looking to get something out of him but doesn’t react by sending them on their way.
What’s his first concern? You might have thought Jesus would have quickly devised a lesson plan for the day ahead. Instead, he sees a massive catering job. The crowd had been travelling to keep up with him and were hungry. Jesus starts where the people are at. Teaching people who have empty stomachs doesn’t achieve a great deal. Jesus begins with their need for bread which prepares the way for them to hear the message about bread from heaven.
People do come to churches looking for what they can out of us. They need baptism, a wedding, or a funeral. They need the friendship of the coffee morning. They may not feel that they need or want all the spiritual stuff that goes with the church. But they are drawn to us because we have something to offer. With Jesus, will we look at the crowd and meet them at the point of their need and, in doing so, create the opportunity to meet their spiritual longings?
Jesus sees the approaching crowd and knows what he is going to do. However, like every good teacher, he put his students to the test. He wants to see if they have learned to trust him. They had witnessed him turning water into wine, clearing the temple, and performing healings. Had they seen enough of Jesus in action to believe that he would meet the need of this vast gathering?
“Where are we to buy enough bread for these people to eat?” Jesus asks Philip. “It’s way beyond our resources,” he replies. “Even if we were near enough a place to get the food, we wouldn’t have enough money to make the purchase. It would take six months average earnings to feed this lot.” Philip has common sense. You can’t spend what you haven’t got. He didn’t live in a world of credit cards and easy to get loans. Philip’s response shows that he hasn’t understood learned to trust Jesus. Jesus isn’t looking for a money solution. He wants Philip to look to him and not to the bank account.
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, chips in. “I’ve found a boy with five barley loaves and two fish. It isn’t much at. How on earth can this small snack make a dent in the appetite of so many people?” Andrew looks to the resources that are available. But what difference will this packed lunch make? It will be nothing more than a drop in the ocean. Andrew, like Philip, doesn’t realise that Jesus wants him to trust him as the source of bread.
Before we’re too hard and Philip and Andrew let’s look at the limits to our own faith. We look at ourselves and say, “How can we get out into our community with the love of Jesus? We don’t have enough money to run outreach programs. Besides, our congregation is getting older. We don’t have enough young people to attract the younger ones. We don’t have the musicians either. It’s the same people doing the same stuff over and over again. We just don’t have the resources to meet the needs of our community.” Does this sound at all familiar?
Jesus orders the people to sit down on a large grassy area. He takes the few loaves, gives thanks and shares the pieces with all who are seated. He does the same with the fish. The food doesn’t give out until everyone has had enough to eat. Jesus tells the disciples to gather up the debris of the boy’s lunch. Nothing is to be wasted. Everyone is astonished that the crusts of bread fill twelve baskets - far more at the end than at the beginning!
The crowds conclude that Jesus is the prophet Moses (Deut 18:15-19) whom they expected to come into the world. Their physical hunger satisfied they hunger for a king. But this is one thing that Jesus will not give them. As he later explains to Pilate at his trial, “My kingdom is not from this world…” (John 18:36). Retreating from this popular coronation, Jesus withdraws to the solitude of the mountain.
It isn’t until the next day that Jesus will make clear that the extraordinary sharing of the boy’s lunch points toward the reality that he is the bread of life (v. 35). Moses may have given manna to the people in the wilderness. But now God the Father was giving true bread that lasts in the very person of Jesus. As the small lunch was shared among so many with much more left over, so in the person of Jesus is true nourishment made available to all. Jesus, the bread of life, has no limits. He is available to all.
Whilst Jesus is on the mountain the disciples are caught in a gale. They fight the forces of wind and waves until they reach the middle of the lake. Had they reached the end of their strength? Were they close to exhaustion? We don’t know for sure. What we do know is that Jesus approaches them, walking on the lake. They are utterly terrified. They didn’t expect anyone to walk on water any more than we do today! Jesus calls out to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” They want to take him into the boat and yet, as he escapes the coronation, so he eludes the grasp of the disciples. Jesus does not climb aboard nor is the storm stilled. Instead, the boat mysteriously reaches land with immediacy.
Whilst we have lots of questions about how Jesus could have walked on the water and how the boat was instantaneously transported to land, these are not at the heart of what is happening here. What matters is Jesus revealing who he is to the disciples battling with oars in adverse weather conditions. Jesus is the Word through whom everything came into being (John 1:3) and has extraordinary authority over creation.
The reassuring words of Jesus to the disciples translated “It is I” literally means, “I am.” When Moses encountered God in the bush that burned but was never consumed the divine name was revealed: “I AM THAT I AM/I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE”. Jesus comes to the terrified disciples and reveals himself, not only as flesh and blood human but also divine presence which brings peace. Jesus is the “I am” - the bread that never runs out of supply. Jesus is the ‘I am’ - calming presence when we are straining and struggling through the storms of life. Jesus is the ‘I am’ -enough for all that we need.
In 2006, David Cameron expressed his opinion that, “It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money, and it’s time we focussed not just on GDP, but on GWP - general wellbeing. Well being can’t be measured by money or traded in markets. It’s about the beauty of our surrounding, the quality of our culture and, above all, the strength of our relationships. Improving our society’s sense of well-being is, I believe, the central political challenge of our time.”[1]
Cameron’s sentiments seem more apt now than they did at the time when he spoke them. The current financial crisis has thrust General Well Being onto the political agenda as people reassess their values. Is there more to making us happy than having money and things?
Jesus is “I am.” He offers himself as the source of our General Well Being. Can you think of a relationship or a situation in your life in which you feel like you haven’t got the resources to meet the need? Will you bring these things to Jesus in prayer and ask him to use the little you have and to make it to be enough? In the storms of life will we recognise Jesus as the ‘I am’ who takes away our fears?
Jesus offers himself as the source of our General Well Being. Are there any people you can think of who are hungry…hungry for purpose and meaning…hungry for friendship…hungry for someone to listen and care…hungry for someone to be with them through a redundancy or the break up of a relationship…hungry for support through financial hardship? Will we bring these hungry people to Jesus and ask that our limited resources of love and friendship would be used by him to satisfy their needs?
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