Bread and Unity - Wants vs. Needs?

I confess that this sermon started out as two completely different sermons. I switched between one and the other, struggling with which message God had for the congregation (which, let's be honest, is not only those who join me later this Sunday morning, but all of you who take the time to read it here).

I can only hope that the result, which follows, is at once cohesive, coherent, and faithful. I drew on many resources and writers, including "Sermon Illustrations," Mark Tranvik and Ginger Barfield of "Working Preacher," D. Mark Davis of "Left Behind and Loving It," Kathryn Matthews Huey, and "Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary."

Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people." (When it says, "He ascended", what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

John 6:24-35

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

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."

This is the Word of the Lord.

It didn’t take long, did it?

That next morning, after the Feeding of the Five Thousand, everybody woke up, and though they’d eaten of the bread and fishes until they thought they would pop, soon enough they had felt their stomachs grumble, and started looking for Jesus and his disciples. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that they were looking for people who weren’t there, hop in their boats, and set sail for Capernaum.

This sensation they had all shared – the feeling that, for once, there was enough to eat, that from now on, to quote Scarlett O’Hara, they’d “never be hungry again,” was intoxicating, compelling. They needed to know more about this rabbi, to find out where he came from and why he was here, and perhaps – just perhaps – in the midst of finding out all they could about him, Jesus would feed them again.

But of course the Feeding of the Five Thousand had never been about having a full belly, but about who Jesus really is. Certainly, the crowd knew that to some degree, because they had been on the cusp of forcing Jesus to become their king. But as they climb out of their boats and try to start a conversation, Jesus begins the arduous task of setting their sights higher, of bringing their minds out of their stomachs and into the now-and-coming Kingdom of God.

They ask about when he got there – and while Jesus’ answer appears convoluted and enigmatic, it speaks to the heart of the matter – they aren’t there for signs but for food. Make no mistake, Jesus is all about providing them with bread, but the food they’d had yesterday was not the food they needed.

That crowd who sought out Jesus thought they needed bread for a day, when what they needed was bread for eternity. Jesus’ purpose in providing that food was not to fill their bellies, but to demonstrate the nature of who he really was: the Bread of Life, the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

I find a strange kind of comfort, knowing that the crowd that day was so much like me – and, if we’re honest, so much like all of us. Think of it: how much of our attention, efforts, time and treasure is spent seeking and maintaining the things we want, rather than the things we need? And how often do we confuse those two things – not just materially, but spiritually?

Certainly, the church at Ephesus had some things confused. Since it was a matter of record in Jewish culture that contact with a Gentile made a person ceremonially unclean, in an effort to maintain purity, the Jewish Christians made it a point to separate themselves from the Greek Christians.

When the Apostle Paul got word of this, he wrote from his prison cell to set the record straight: what the church at Ephesus needed was not to be “clean,” but to be united.

And that is a message we need to hear today.

We used to know this, I think. Once, long ago, perhaps only for a moment, we knew God’s dream for us. I think it was that night of the Passover Seder, just before the garden and the betrayal and the arrest, when the Rabbi, arms outstretched and face turned heavenward, spoke with his Father, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…

We knew it, but we forgot. Somewhere along the way, we lost track of the one-ness of this Body, the truth of our unity in Christ. At some point, the struggle to comprehend what it means to say “Jesus is Lord,” to understand what it means to have faith, to walk with the Living God, to discern the nature of baptism and of God as Parent became an argument, an insistence that the only possible way to do and think and interpret and live was my way!

And let’s face it, Christianity is easier that way, isn’t it? The unity that Jesus prayed for may be what we need, but it’s hard work. It’s far easier to strive for doctrinal purity, theological perfection, spiritual supremacy, to convince ourselves that we are right and everyone who doesn’t see the clear logic of our position is either stupid or an agent of the devil. It’s easier to define our denomination as the one out of over thirty thousand Protestant denominations that has it all right.

Make no mistake, though, each one of those thirty thousand denominations thinks the same thing about themselves.

We think it, we argue about it, we ignore and exclude one another… and all the time, we – and the world around us – starves for the Bread of Life.

Just like the crowd who had been fed with the loaves and fishes, who tried to make Jesus their earthly king one day, and who went in search of Jesus in order to be fed again the next day, we Christians have become experts at missing the point, at setting our sights too low. Our efforts, our energy, our focus and intentions were never meant to be wasted on being right, but to be invested in being one.

The story is told about a day in 1917 when the Russian Orthodox Church was holding convocation, and the bishops were locked in a loud and contentious argument. A few doors down, another meeting was going on – Bolsheviks plotting the overthrow of the Czar, and the beginnings of Communism.

While their world was crumbling around them, the bishops were fighting over how long the candles they used in worship were to be… 18 or 22 inches long.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…

We who call ourselves by the name of Christ think we need a spotless spiritual walk, when what we need is one another. We are called, individually and corporately, in ways that – when used correctly – promote a unity which serves to demonstrate the nature of who the risen Christ really is. The mark of spiritual maturity – of being grown-ups in the faith – is not in having all the answers, but in being comfortable enough with one another to live in the questions.

Please understand that the point of unity in the Body of Christ is not simply to have a singular voice to affect social or political change in the world. It is not simply to offer a united front in efforts to bring the Good News to unreached people, any more than the sign of the Feeding of the Five Thousand was about feeding five thousand people.

Rather, the unity of the Body of Christ and the Feeding of the Five Thousand have a similar purpose – a demonstration of the nature of Jesus Christ. When we do that – remember who we are and the purpose to which we are called, and act as a unified Body of Christ, growing together into maturity, all of those other things will, as a part of the overall process rather than as the focus, be addressed!

May we remember who we are, and may we nourish ourselves, one another, and the whole world with Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Let us pray…

Come and See!

I owe a debt of gratitude to René Girard and the folks at "Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary" for giving me much to think about concerning this week's Gospel passage. Also, a shout of appreciation goes to Peter Woods, whose words I used to close my sermon.

I don't know if I'm wallowing in heresy or not, but it's a fascinating way to view atonement...

Isaiah 49:1-7
Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The LORD called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the LORD,
and my reward with my God.”
And now the LORD says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength —
he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Thus says the LORD,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
“Kings shall see and stand up, princes,
and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind — just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you — so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 1:29-42
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

This is the Word of the Lord.

“Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

If you’ve spent more than fifteen minutes inside a church, you’ve heard Jesus referred to as the “Lamb of God” more than once.

But have you ever wondered what that phrase, “the Lamb of God,” means? Well, come on, everyone knows what that phrase means, right? Jesus is the new Passover, a spotless sacrifice, removing the sins of the world and reconciling us to God.

The reason I ask the question is that I’ve come across some intriguing thoughts in my study resources this week. You see, I’ve always been under the impression that Jesus’ sacrifice was something God required in order to reconcile humankind to God’s self. The idea is that, in order for humankind to be worthy of relationship with God, blood must be shed. Our separation, by way of sin, is so great that a sacrifice must be offered. We are so depraved and dirty that, in order for God to look upon us with favor, someone has to die.

I mean, church folks usually say it in prettier ways, of course, but it comes down to the same thing.

In order to appease God, who was angry with the sins of humanity and poised, at any moment, to bring disease, famine, and conquest raining down on all of Creation, Jesus had to come to Earth and get nailed to the cross. God’s son was the only acceptable sacrifice for such corruption.

What if God is not like that, though?

I began to think about this a few years back, actually, during my training as a Commissioned Lay Pastor. You see, Reformed Theology, which defines the way Presbyterians struggle to understand God, has at its core John Calvin’s idea that man did nothing – can do nothing – to reconcile to God. God did everything necessary to reconcile humankind to God’s self.

Now, taking it a step further, we have to look at the Reformed understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We’ve talked before about how the Triune God is one God, a singular, and though our human interaction with our singular Creator understands three “persons,” we risk falling into pantheism if we do not understand that every act of any “person” of the Trinity is participated in by every part of the Trinity – all of God is directly involved with every act of the Father, every act of the Son, every act of the Holy Spirit. We can say with as much confidence as we can about any point of theological thought that God does not operate any other way.

As I began to understand these kinds of concepts, the idea of Jesus volunteering to sacrifice Himself in order to appease a wrathful Father, bent on annihilating everyone, began to make less and less sense.

Author and lecturer Gil Bailie suggests that the phrase “Lamb of God” means something wholly different than what I had become accustomed to. He says that if God had demanded the sacrifice of Jesus, then Jesus would have been the lamb of the human community given to God.

I’m almost certain I will get this wrong, but I’m going to do my best to explain what he suggests: Over the millennia, humankind developed a scapegoat mentality: quoting him here, “All archaic religions existed to take away the sins of the world. How did they do it? Every once in a while they dumped all these sins on someone and ran them out, or strung them up -- and felt righteous about it.”

Commenting on Gil Bailie’s words, Michael Hardin says, “We have [misunderstood what it means for Jesus to be the ‘Lamb of God’] largely by failing to attribute the demand for blood to the correct party, us. In the now-overused words of Pogo, ‘We have met the enemy, and he is us!’ Jesus’ sacrifice was designed to expose our bloodthirstiness, our enslavement to the sacrificial mechanism, not to satisfy a God who sits on the throne demanding yet another scapegoat. By making our sacrificial system and its falseness visible, Jesus takes away our ‘sin,’ our ‘missing-of-the-mark’ and leaves us without a viable victim.”

We are left, in other words, without someone to blame. We can no longer blame it on God. We can no longer say God wanted that sacrifice. What’s more, we can no longer look around and point at another, saying “your sin killed Christ,” because if we are human, we must realize that we are as responsible as any other human for the sacrifice. There are no more victims, there is no one left to blame. All of our excuses, our deflections, our justifications have been torn away by the violence of the Cross.

If you’ve spent more than fifteen minutes inside a church, you’ve heard the phrase “God is love.” If we dare to view Jesus as the Lamb of God, and understand it in a way that removes the responsibility for the sacrifice from God, do we not begin to glimpse the staggering, breathtaking breadth and depth of that love?

God loves you, personally and individually, without reservation, without hesitation, without limits! What’s more, if Jesus is the Lamb of God given to us, then it becomes glaringly obvious that God has always loved us! There truly is no depth we can sink to, no far country we can travel to, no philosophy we can hide behind, which will remove us from the love of God!

John says to his disciples, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” And Jesus invites them to “Come and see.”

Despite the countless layers of encrusted doctrine, dogma and determined identities that the Church has put onto Jesus as well as the requirements so many communities put on prospective followers before they even begin, Jesus simply invites you and I to come and see. Come and see, come and experience a life where we don’t have to worry about being good enough, where we don’t have to make sure we’re always doing the right things at the right times. Come and experience a world where we sacrifice not because we are trying to gain God’s favor, but because someone else is in need. Come and experience a world where we don’t have to obsess over who is “in” and who is “out” when it comes to the love and grace of God.

No, we can be like Andrew, sharing the Good News with confidence bordering on abandon, because we know that, since the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world, then by definition God loves everyone, and everyone deserves to know that love, to be welcomed into the family, into relationship with God!

Christ’s invitation to us, and to everyone, is simply to experience. Come and see.

It is an adventure where the disciple and the teacher are in real relationship.

It is the path to life.