Scripture: John 6:24-35
Adam is in a slump. He enters the office knowing what everyone expects, success. To Adam he feels pressure to perform miracles, yet today he would be happy just to make it through the day. Success is defined in many ways, but often in our culture it is defined in only one way. That is the amount of money he can bring into the company. He like everyone else in business puts in long hours often without adequate pay just to ensure a project or sale is complete. His family fixes a plate and leaves it in the refrigerator like countless other people across the nation. Today, he looks at the clock wishing only that the time would fly so that he could move on to things that seem more important.
It seems that everyone is looking for success or miracles. Athletes want to set the world record so their names will go down in history. Businesses want to achieve the highest profit. Stockholders hope they are able to read the markets well enough to get the greatest options. Farms hope the weather and seed will produce the greatest yield. Everyone is doing all they can and praying for just a bit of luck.
This is really where the masses in this passage are. If we were to read a few verses prior, which would have happened around one day prior they would have just been fed by the miraculous hand of God. They look around them and see that Jesus and the disciple have left the area, they search for them but the only option is that they have sailed across the sea. So the multitude loads up as many boats as they can find and they set off to find their hope for the future. What are their hopes? They are like many of our own hopes; they want freedom, their needs met without excessive amounts of work, and hope. Like I said it is like most of us. They are slightly confused though, how did Jesus get to this place? They saw the disciples sail away but Jesus they watched go off into the desolate place in which he often went. When they went to find the rabbi in the morning he was gone. So when they came to the shore and saw Jesus with the disciples they were confused. They searched for him because in their mind if they follow Jesus one of their items on their list could be crossed off. They ate their fill in his presence.
Jesus looked at them and called them out saying you aren’t here because of the signs and wonders but because you ate your fill of bread. Guilty as charged. These people followed or sought after Jesus because they believed He was the path of least resistance. Investing their time in Him would provide their family with the most basic of needs so that everything else they earn from their labors could be used for luxuries. We do the same today. We take jobs and/or promotions because of the potential for personal gain, in the form of income or benefits. I am not saying that this is wrong it is just how our minds work. We strive to make more per unit of time thinking that we will be better off, but at what cost?
Jesus says you follow because you ate your fill of bread. He continues to say do not work for things that are perishing but for the food that endures. With every promotion or new client something happens. We lose time. As we rise in the leaves of a corporation we tend to sacrifice time spent elsewhere. If we add a client to our schedule something else has to give. It’s perishing, we are stretched to thin and our families and lifestyles are threatened because of it.
What is something that is not perishing? What is the food that ensures eternal life? Believe! Believe is a loaded term. Today belief is equated to knowledge, and it often stops there. In ancient times believe went beyond knowledge it also included action. If you said that you believed then you would live that belief in your life and act accordingly. This is why they immediately respond by saying what must we do? Jesus said that the eternal food comes from belief, but not belief in the metaphysical like some much of our contemporary spirituality points to. Belief must be grounded in something. To gain eternal food we need to believe and follow the one sent from God. It sounds simplistic, almost as if Jesus is poking fun at these people. They know that the eternal can only come from God.
This causes confusion among the people. Jesus is claiming not only to be a prophet, but also to be the greatest prophet. He’s claiming to be a prophet even greater than the lawgiver, Moses. One with a claim of this magnitude should be willing and demanded to prove it. Of every sign Moses participated in, things like the plagues on Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, bringing water out of a rock, they focus on one that speaks to the base needs of humanity. Food. The feeding of the nation for forty years is the greatest miracle of their history. God took care of His people, He lead his people provided for their needs and ensured their future. They were looking for a new Exodus, a new campaign into the Promised Land and they were not about to follow someone that could not prove to handle the task.
Those in power often get credit for what happens during their reign. Moses received credit for manna, because he was in power, but there were factors outside of himself. In our contemporary history presidents gain credit for both positive and negative aspects of our nation, unfortunately like Moses they contribute very little to the larger picture. Factors beyond a single person caused things like the Great depression. Things like extreme draught in the agricultural centers, inflated property values, and rampant speculation all contributed to the greatest economic tragedy, yet President Hoover was blamed. One of the greatest periods of economic growth in our nation occurred during the 1990’s and many credit President Clinton with it, yet again several factors played into this mainly the exploitation of emerging technologies in a way never before seen in the world market. Moses was in charge while God Himself provided the substance of continued existence and humanity credits Moses. What will Jesus do to prove Himself?
Where is eternal bread found? What sign will Jesus provide? Both revolve around a single thing belief. I mentioned before belief is knowledge and action. The food providing eternal life is found in discipleship. Discipleship is knowing and living a life with God in relationship. It is built on knowing what is said in scripture, it is built on knowing the context in which those words were spoken, and it is also built on the actions that proceed out of that knowledge. Jesus told them Moses did not provide the bread that fed the children of Israel, but God. The bread came down from heaven and sustained life. He then says, “I am the bread of life.” With this one statement Jesus claims not only to be equal to Moses but also equal to God the Father. Just as the manna came from heaven so does He. So those that want to feast on the bead of eternal life, must believe, follow, or become disciples of Him. They must participate in His life and in His lifestyle.
To participate in this eternal feast we believe. We engage with God in scripture seeking not only knowledge of what is written but why. We engage in the life of Christ through prayer. Prayer is the place where we commune and relate with the divine. Just as Jesus withdrew to the desolate place we too should withdraw to these places to relate with God. We participate in the eternal feast when we act as Jesus would act.
Oddly this sounds like an easy task, yet we have divisions throughout the Church. Each group claims to have the answer, each group claims to be the right way. We read scripture and try to harmonize every aspect and it raises questions. How can we claim that God wants us to live in peace, yet also commands a conquest? How can we trust a God that commands us to stone the adulterous yet through Christ forgives the one commanded to die? Belief. Not just knowledge but following and reflecting the lifestyle and relational aspect of Jesus. These people wanted a sign to follow Jesus; a sign that they themselves had already participated in yet failed to see. They wanted a political leader; a leader that would provide for their base needs so they would not have to labor in a perishing quest. Jesus is claiming that all this comes through belief. Teaching, encouraging one person at a time, to disciple them to become the people God created them to be, and encouraging them to do the same. His command to us is to Go Make Disciples. He does not command us to teach classes in universities, or to take on political roles, but to make disciples. Developing disciples who also develop disciples.
The rest of the story is that the followers of Jesus did conquer the Roman overlords of Israel. They conquered not by weapons of war, but by making disciples. These disciples have spread around the world and across the span of time yet there are still many that have yet been given the opportunity to truly believe. Even today in our own communities there are people that are starving. They yearn for bread to satisfy their base physical needs, and they yearn to be known and to be loved by God. Are you willing to share your feast, are we willing to invest our time and energy to walk along side someone, as they become disciples of Jesus? Are we willing participate in a conquest and adventure to spread the love of God to those around us?
As we enter into this time of open worship. I encourage each of us to consider what type of bread we are seeking, are they eternal or perishing, diminishing or expanding? I also ask are we willing to join Christ in the journey of belief as we become a community Loving God, Embracing the Holy Spirit, and Living the love of Christ with others.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16
We live in a time that is actually quite scarey. The nation I live in (the USA) is being divided over a company that serves chicken sandwiches, when the rest of the world is watching their athletes compete in London. The issue has nothing to do with what this company serves but what charities they support. I am very concerned not because of the issue but because of the way in people are responding to each other. I am concerned so I pray.
For me prayer is more than just lifting our concerns to God, although our petitions are a very real part of prayer. Prayer is building a relationship with God. In my life I have been taught several things about prayer, but the greatest and most benifitial to me is interacting with scripture while I pray.
Today I meditate on a writing from Paul. Paul is often seen as the Apostle of division, which is sad because his writtings are filled with much grace and love. In this passage we are encouraged to lead a life worthy of our call, first. Have you considered what that life would look like? If I am calling myself a disciple or follower of Jesus what sort of life should I be living in my world today? Just as I write that question my mind instantly spins with half going to either side. I should stand firm on the values taught according to scripture on one side, and being loving, gracious, and accepting of all on the other. Wait!
Even within the scripture we are found divided, what should we do? Jesus did love the sinners and he did dispise sin, how was He able to handle this crazy discord of faith? He did so by relationships. He called people to follow Him. As they walked from place to place He taught and He lived out his teaching. If we were to really look deeply into His actions, He rarely got angry and when He did the anger was directed not at the people living in sin, but to the ones that claimed to be rightious. Why did he do this?
Paul continues to say, “with humility, gentleness, and patience bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” How are we doing here? I myself am getting irritated, I have called everyone hypocrites on social media, I did so with I believe rightious anger, but what did I accomplish? It is very difficult to bear one another in love. It is even harder to bear one another in love if we do not agree with one another on an issue. As I pray and meditate today I realize that this is what everything is about. It is not about who is right it is about how we love. How we speak, encourage, respond, and act toward those that oppose our values are very important.
I am sure many of those that know me are probably getting nervous and may think I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth, but I am not. I believe strongly that there are activities that will be seperate us from God, scripture is filled with these things which are know t us as sin. Sinfulness is missing the mark, or falling short of the standard. The question is what is the standard? Many may say that this is a crazy question the standard is set for us in scripture, my answer though is not the ten comandments. Those are not the total story. Our standard is Jesus Christ. If we do not live a life equal to Jesus we miss the mark. He lived and fulfilled the entire law, sinless. Yet he took on sin for us so that in Him we can stand before God clothed not in our own rightiousness but in Christ.
This is the most important issue. This is the ultimate goal, our job as followers of Christ is to teach each other to reflect Christ’s life more. To do this we should invest time teaching and encouraging people so they better understand the ways of Jesus. Along with that we should also forgive and be gracious toward those around us when their lifestyles fail to reflect the lifestyle Christ would have us live. There is no judgement in this, how could we judge others when we ourselves are also in need of grace, we ourselves fall short and sin. Our hope is not in ourselves but in the one who took on humanity and lived the perfect human life for us.
If we were to focus on Christ and reflect His ways in our interpersonal relationships we will stand firm, we will not be blown around by politics or doctrines, because Christ does not change. He stands firm for us all. Today I encourage you all to imagine Paul sitting beside you, speaking these words directly to you. Deeply reflect on the words spoke to you. Let the words illuminate your life and your lifestyle, and let us bear one another in love.
Scripture: Psalm 78:23-29
I realize that I have not written much over the past few weeks. It is a testiment of how easily our lives can spiral out of the disipline. What caused my spiral out of a rhythm of prayer. You might think it would be something sinister, but no it was nothing like that. It was simply a change in the rhythm of my life. I recently changed positions at my job outside the church. With this new position came a different schedule, then another change, and yet another. I know it sounds like an excuse but little things in our lives, things that in many ways are good, can drastically change the expression of our relationship with God.
Israel was met with a rhythm change several times in their history. They were nomads, slaves, nomads againg, warriors, farmers, traders, and exciles each of these lifesyle changes changed the way they related to the God that loved them and called them to be His people. This Psalm was remembering the past, remembering how their God carried them through a change in the rhythm of life.
What changed for them? They went from an enslaved people to a group wondering in the wilderness. Though they were basically free they still had to adjust to a radically different life. They we faced with challenges they did not anticipate this caused them to look back to those days of slavery with distorted vision. As slaves their most basic needs were met, at least they were had enough food. In the desert they did not know where their food would come from. They began to fall into a rhythm of complaining instead of praise, they quickly forgot the amazing exodus out of the land of bondage and began to focus on their base needs.
Life changes always require adjustment. I think this is the greatest treasure we recieve from the trail our spiritual ancestors walked. When they were hungrey God fed them with bread and meat, and when they were thirsty God provided the water through a stone. They forgot that God was in the exodus, they also forgot the promises He made to their fore fathers, God would provide an was providing. All they had to do to see His mighty hand was to change their perspective, and proceed in faith.
Life’s rhythm constantly changes, this requires us to adjust to it. These adjustments can be seen as trials, or we can see them in a more positive light. These changes can be like a dance with God leading, turning, and moving forward and back. We can train our spiritual lives to respond to these movements and respond, or we can step on toes and trip. (If I were really dancing steel toes would be required)
If you dance or if you do not the fact remains the same, as our lives change we must adjust. Jobs change, worship communities change, our political ideals change, even our families change, pretty much everything about our lives change daily. How we adjust to and respond to these changes reflect our relationship with God. I am not saying that if you struggle you are not trusting. Actually I am saying the opposite are we responding with trust as God throws us a different step and turn, or are we letting go of His hand and stomping our feet. To learn to dance we practice, trust, and follow the lead that is what this Psalm is about. Remember that God will provide through every twist and turn, Our job is to keep trusting and adjustin our movements to His.
Now you all witnessed a period of my own adjustment in the rhythm of life. A simple change in my job cycle caused a twist in my prayer cycle. I encourage you all to reflect on these scriptures, reflect on the history of these children of Israel and reflect on our own responces to the changes in life. I also encourage us all to be very mindful of our rhythm of prayer, it is through prayer our relationship with God and our ability to respond gracefully to others is built. So let us all dance with God in the rhythm of life.