Sermon 15th May 2011
Today, our Vicar, Cameron Barker, preaches based on the reading from John 6 verses 35-43 and 48-51
“Who do you think you are, then?” If you have ever had that question put to you directly, you will know how it can feel. Depending on where the emphasis is put, it is anything from demeaning to argumentative through confrontational to downright aggressive – or worse. There is nothing positive about being asked, “Who do you think you are?”, though – as I too know from personal experience. But there is a way in which that same question can be raised in an even less positive way: “Who does s/he think they are, then?” And that's exactly the way we hear that question put in today's reading from John chapter 6!
Who does he think he is, then? “Isn't this man Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” That's how the religious leaders grumbled to each other, in verse 42 of this story. By this stage they had already heard, and seen more than enough. They were quite rightly outraged by it – just not enough to put the question quite so rudely to Jesus' face; or not yet, anyway. But what he had said, and done by this stage (and that was even before they had heard the shocking nature of what he was about to claim); who did he think he was!
Now, this is all new, to all of us. We're jumping straight in today, landing here in the middle of chapter 6. Not only is the story well under way already. It's also the story as it's told in what is the most notoriously challenging gospel to grasp. Of the four biblical accounts that we have of Jesus' earthly life, death, and resurrection, John's is the most foreign to us. It's best put in terms of John thinking and writing in a circular fashion rather than a linear one. John didn't begin at the beginning, with Jesus' birth, and then go through the key events of his life and work until his death, followed by his resurrection, and then end neatly with his return to heaven.
No, John dipped in and out, exploring in depth, from different angles, themes and ideas that emerged from the story of Jesus. That was far from random, though. John had the bigger picture in mind, right from the beginning. He deliberately started with his own theological development from the story of creation, with how Jesus fitted into God's eternal plan. And John made no secret of what he did, or of why. As any good reporter would, just like the other gospel writers, he chose his material carefully. He wanted people to come to accept that Jesus is the Son of God, to believe in him, and through that to have this eternal life that Jesus came to bring. And we know that's what John wanted to do, because he said so (in 20:31).
That was, and is, fully consistent with what God Himself wants – as we've heard Jesus also say here, in verse 40. “What the Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life”. So John wrote his gospel with that as his main aim. Those who study John must keep his intent very much in mind, then. Adults here will be studying this book, right through to the summer. We'll be doing so in a rather John-like way too. Instead of going through a section of it one part at a time, we're picking out a particular theme. Like 90% of what's in John, this is a theme that we won't find spelled out in any other gospel – but it's still a really important one for us to grasp. Apart from anything else, it makes clear Jesus' own answers to the more polite version of that question: “Who are you?”
Of course these are answers to that question being taken seriously. It does need to be taken that way too. It comes up time and again, in all 4 gospels, in the mouths of any number of different people who had encountered Jesus. More than that, the Bible says that one day we will each have to answer it for ourselves. Eternity hinges not just on what we say in response to the question about who Jesus, but on what we truly believe. Is he the unique Son of God, who died and rose again for us? In the language of this passage, is Jesus the one who can feed us with the sort bread that will sustain life for ever? Or is he not? What do you say?
We don't have to answer that right now – though hopefully many of us could do so. The plan is to take some time to look at the answers to this question that we find in John. Amongst other things, this series will help us to hear what Jesus has to say about himself. This is one of the many features that John is famous for – how Jesus made 7 key claims about who he is. Of course those were usually phrased in the language of first-Century Palestine. None of them take too much unpacking to make just as much sense today, though. Bread certainly doesn't; or is it just in my house that the only question is how many loaves to buy?!
Before we get to this claim of Jesus in more detail, it may help to look back briefly. We spent the first part of this year on what became our Lent book, The Purpose Driven Life. We said at the end that we'll carry on living on purpose, for God. So, just to be clear, this new series links into our life-purpose of being Created to become like Christ. Its purpose is to help us to understand more fully who Jesus is, and then how we can become more like him ourselves. To state the obvious, of course there are ways we can't, and won't, ever become like him. In those places we can understand better who he is, though, and what he came to do; and how to tell others that.
So there's our purpose, to keep in mind along with John's. To all of which there is one more important introductory point to add. It relates to the nature of the theme that we have picked out for this series. These are known as the “I AM” sayings of Jesus, because that's how they each begin. Jesus said: “I AM ... the bread of life” being today's specific topic. That may not sound like much of an issue in such a me-shaped society. We're used to people talking about themselves: “I ... ; I am ... ; I will ...” – we all do it, lots! But there was something very significant about Jesus applying that phrase in particular to himself, in the way that he did, at the time, and in the place that he did.
We need to realise that for any Jew, then or now, this was significant in a deeply offensive, blasphemous way. “I AM” was the name of God as He had revealed it to Moses. For Jesus – or anyone else – to take it for themselves in this way, in that culture, was to be saying that they were God; and that never goes down well! The trouble in this instance was that this large crowd, including the religious leaders, had followed Jesus to find out more about what had just happened. Of course his words, said here three times, “I AM the bread of life”, hadn't come out of the blue. Chapter 6 opens with the familiar story, of Jesus, up a mountain in the middle of nowhere, feeding a crowd of at least 5 000, with hardly any food.
It's the only miracle story that all 4 gospel have in common, and the detail in them is almost identical. But it's not the kind of thing that we expect from those claiming to be God. So it's no surprise that those who had witnessed it started to ask who Jesus is, then! There's plenty to the conversation that then ensued – which we were never going to have time for today. In fact we don't even have time now for a proper look at the edited highlights of that conversation. But I'm sure that you have already got enough to take away with you to ponder further through the rest of this week. That's the kind of thing that John inspires in many people, wanting to go and look from a few other angles at the issues that he raises!
I'm sure too that you haven't missed the main point of this amazing claim. Jesus is saying that what he does, here by feeding all these people, isn't the main point – much less the end of the matter. Him then saying, “I AM the bread of life”, extends his purpose so much broader, and deeper. Bread here is more than 'just' the staple food that keeps us alive day by day. The Hebrew people had that too, bread from heaven that kept them alive in the desert. But this is more than that: when it comes from Jesus, this is the kind of food that is able to feed us so that we won't ever die.
John intends us to see that this is God, Jesus, speaking eternal life into being – in the same way that He spoke, and made the world! As this passage ends, Jesus was crystal clear about exactly what that would mean for him. This bread, that gives those who believe in him eternal life, is his body, which he will give for that exact purpose. This has been God's plan since before the world was made. It's a plan that Father and the Son work together with the Spirit to bring about, and to make real in life-changing ways – for whoever accepts it.
This is the first “I AM” saying in John. But we couldn't pick a better starting place for this series if we tried. What is to follow will pick up so much of what we have begun to see today. Jesus is the source of life, and the one who keeps it going eternally. His words have power to change reality in ways that we can scarcely believe. These are words, and deeds that can change our reality – now and for ever. Isn't it worth taking time to find answers to who he is, and what that means, then? Let's pray ...
“Who do you think you are, then?” If you have ever had that question put to you directly, you will know how it can feel. Depending on where the emphasis is put, it is anything from demeaning to argumentative through confrontational to downright aggressive – or worse. There is nothing positive about being asked, “Who do you think you are?”, though – as I too know from personal experience. But there is a way in which that same question can be raised in an even less positive way: “Who does s/he think they are, then?” And that's exactly the way we hear that question put in today's reading from John chapter 6!
Who does he think he is, then? “Isn't this man Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” That's how the religious leaders grumbled to each other, in verse 42 of this story. By this stage they had already heard, and seen more than enough. They were quite rightly outraged by it – just not enough to put the question quite so rudely to Jesus' face; or not yet, anyway. But what he had said, and done by this stage (and that was even before they had heard the shocking nature of what he was about to claim); who did he think he was!
Now, this is all new, to all of us. We're jumping straight in today, landing here in the middle of chapter 6. Not only is the story well under way already. It's also the story as it's told in what is the most notoriously challenging gospel to grasp. Of the four biblical accounts that we have of Jesus' earthly life, death, and resurrection, John's is the most foreign to us. It's best put in terms of John thinking and writing in a circular fashion rather than a linear one. John didn't begin at the beginning, with Jesus' birth, and then go through the key events of his life and work until his death, followed by his resurrection, and then end neatly with his return to heaven.
No, John dipped in and out, exploring in depth, from different angles, themes and ideas that emerged from the story of Jesus. That was far from random, though. John had the bigger picture in mind, right from the beginning. He deliberately started with his own theological development from the story of creation, with how Jesus fitted into God's eternal plan. And John made no secret of what he did, or of why. As any good reporter would, just like the other gospel writers, he chose his material carefully. He wanted people to come to accept that Jesus is the Son of God, to believe in him, and through that to have this eternal life that Jesus came to bring. And we know that's what John wanted to do, because he said so (in 20:31).
That was, and is, fully consistent with what God Himself wants – as we've heard Jesus also say here, in verse 40. “What the Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life”. So John wrote his gospel with that as his main aim. Those who study John must keep his intent very much in mind, then. Adults here will be studying this book, right through to the summer. We'll be doing so in a rather John-like way too. Instead of going through a section of it one part at a time, we're picking out a particular theme. Like 90% of what's in John, this is a theme that we won't find spelled out in any other gospel – but it's still a really important one for us to grasp. Apart from anything else, it makes clear Jesus' own answers to the more polite version of that question: “Who are you?”
Of course these are answers to that question being taken seriously. It does need to be taken that way too. It comes up time and again, in all 4 gospels, in the mouths of any number of different people who had encountered Jesus. More than that, the Bible says that one day we will each have to answer it for ourselves. Eternity hinges not just on what we say in response to the question about who Jesus, but on what we truly believe. Is he the unique Son of God, who died and rose again for us? In the language of this passage, is Jesus the one who can feed us with the sort bread that will sustain life for ever? Or is he not? What do you say?
We don't have to answer that right now – though hopefully many of us could do so. The plan is to take some time to look at the answers to this question that we find in John. Amongst other things, this series will help us to hear what Jesus has to say about himself. This is one of the many features that John is famous for – how Jesus made 7 key claims about who he is. Of course those were usually phrased in the language of first-Century Palestine. None of them take too much unpacking to make just as much sense today, though. Bread certainly doesn't; or is it just in my house that the only question is how many loaves to buy?!
Before we get to this claim of Jesus in more detail, it may help to look back briefly. We spent the first part of this year on what became our Lent book, The Purpose Driven Life. We said at the end that we'll carry on living on purpose, for God. So, just to be clear, this new series links into our life-purpose of being Created to become like Christ. Its purpose is to help us to understand more fully who Jesus is, and then how we can become more like him ourselves. To state the obvious, of course there are ways we can't, and won't, ever become like him. In those places we can understand better who he is, though, and what he came to do; and how to tell others that.
So there's our purpose, to keep in mind along with John's. To all of which there is one more important introductory point to add. It relates to the nature of the theme that we have picked out for this series. These are known as the “I AM” sayings of Jesus, because that's how they each begin. Jesus said: “I AM ... the bread of life” being today's specific topic. That may not sound like much of an issue in such a me-shaped society. We're used to people talking about themselves: “I ... ; I am ... ; I will ...” – we all do it, lots! But there was something very significant about Jesus applying that phrase in particular to himself, in the way that he did, at the time, and in the place that he did.
We need to realise that for any Jew, then or now, this was significant in a deeply offensive, blasphemous way. “I AM” was the name of God as He had revealed it to Moses. For Jesus – or anyone else – to take it for themselves in this way, in that culture, was to be saying that they were God; and that never goes down well! The trouble in this instance was that this large crowd, including the religious leaders, had followed Jesus to find out more about what had just happened. Of course his words, said here three times, “I AM the bread of life”, hadn't come out of the blue. Chapter 6 opens with the familiar story, of Jesus, up a mountain in the middle of nowhere, feeding a crowd of at least 5 000, with hardly any food.
It's the only miracle story that all 4 gospel have in common, and the detail in them is almost identical. But it's not the kind of thing that we expect from those claiming to be God. So it's no surprise that those who had witnessed it started to ask who Jesus is, then! There's plenty to the conversation that then ensued – which we were never going to have time for today. In fact we don't even have time now for a proper look at the edited highlights of that conversation. But I'm sure that you have already got enough to take away with you to ponder further through the rest of this week. That's the kind of thing that John inspires in many people, wanting to go and look from a few other angles at the issues that he raises!
I'm sure too that you haven't missed the main point of this amazing claim. Jesus is saying that what he does, here by feeding all these people, isn't the main point – much less the end of the matter. Him then saying, “I AM the bread of life”, extends his purpose so much broader, and deeper. Bread here is more than 'just' the staple food that keeps us alive day by day. The Hebrew people had that too, bread from heaven that kept them alive in the desert. But this is more than that: when it comes from Jesus, this is the kind of food that is able to feed us so that we won't ever die.
John intends us to see that this is God, Jesus, speaking eternal life into being – in the same way that He spoke, and made the world! As this passage ends, Jesus was crystal clear about exactly what that would mean for him. This bread, that gives those who believe in him eternal life, is his body, which he will give for that exact purpose. This has been God's plan since before the world was made. It's a plan that Father and the Son work together with the Spirit to bring about, and to make real in life-changing ways – for whoever accepts it.
This is the first “I AM” saying in John. But we couldn't pick a better starting place for this series if we tried. What is to follow will pick up so much of what we have begun to see today. Jesus is the source of life, and the one who keeps it going eternally. His words have power to change reality in ways that we can scarcely believe. These are words, and deeds that can change our reality – now and for ever. Isn't it worth taking time to find answers to who he is, and what that means, then? Let's pray ...
posted by Parish Administrator at 1:25 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home