Part 1: Basic Bread [Proper 12B]

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

John 6:1-21

Part 1: Basic Bread

This story starts rather simply.  It will become increasingly complex, but at the first it is simple.  It is a feeding story.  In it people will eat.  They will eat basic bread.  They will eat basic fish.  They will have full bellies.  Jesus meets a basic human need.

For five weeks, this being the first, we will live in this sixth chapter of John's Gospel.  We will trace the movement of the narrative.  We will witness this basic miracle become a theological mystery.  We will watch as those who want to make Jesus their king all walk away – confused, angry, disgusted.  This simple feeding story will become increasingly complex – when the food is no longer barley but Jesus' own body.  But for now though the story starts rather simply.

The people followed Jesus because of the signs that he was doing for the sick.  That is how our Gospel story begins.  That is the why – why the crowds were there.  They were there for free health care or for a really, really good show.  Jesus did cool things.  And television was not yet invented.  And that is why they were there.  They did not understand who Jesus was – which will become exceedingly clear over these five weeks – but at least he was interesting.  And so as long as he was entertaining, the crowd was following.

Jesus, however, must have been too entertaining because the people ran out of food.  I guess they did not expect the tour to last so long.  And now Jesus and his disciples find themselves surrounded by about five thousand hungry souls, well, actually five thousand hungry bodies.  The soul piece, of course, will be more complicated.

Jesus poses this problem to his disciples – how to feed all these hungry people – and asks them to respond with a solution.  And of course, thinking very simply about the basic issue, the disciples decide that there is no solution to the problem.  The need is too great; their resources: too small.

But this is John's Gospel and in John's Gospel, Jesus always has everything under control.  If Mark's Gospel emphasizes Jesus' human nature, John's Gospel definitely leans heavily on Jesus' divinity.  And so we see in the Gospel reading that Jesus knows the answer before he even poses the question.  The answer is: with Jesus there is always enough. 

Twelve baskets of left-overs later, the disciples and crowds know the answer too.  This was much more than anyone expected.  This was much more than the crowds even dared hope.  With five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus fed five thousand people – and produced twelve baskets of surplus.  No longer did they see him as a top-notch local magician.  This changed everything.  He was productive.

Jesus should be the king, they thought.  Their king.  They would vote for the loaves-and-fishes guy.  The crowd was excited – full and frenzied.  Imaginations were running wild.  Fantasies were taking over.  Light bulbs were going off.  Five thousand people with the same great idea: let's force Jesus to be our king.  Jesus' approval ratings were never higher.  And they never will be again; over the next few weeks we will watch them plummet.  

What was it about bread and fish?  Jesus had already been healing the sick.  That is an impressive feat as well.  The healings brought them out to see him; the healings attracted the crowds.  But they did not initially come to make him their king; they came to watch; they came for the show.  But now that they've been fed, things are different. 

I think that perhaps for the first time, the people realize just how valuable Jesus can be.  As their king, he would be a tremendous asset.  Jesus could be really good for the economy; he could spur economic growth with his amazing food production.  Those in the crowd, a Jewish crowd, they remember the old story of Joseph from Genesis.  In that story, Joseph controlled the food; and the one who has the food, has the say, has the power.

Many of you probably shop at Costco.  If you do, you might know that you can buy, on costco.com, a one-year emergency supply of food for a family of four for just $3800.  In the event of a natural disaster or a zombie apocalypse, you and your family would have enough canned, freeze-dried, and dehydrated food to get you through an entire year.  At only $ .12 per serving it is a bargain – or it would be if it were not currently sold out.[1]

Some of the food in that survival kit has a thirty-year shelf-life.  We have refrigerators and freezers.  We have Twinkies.  We have perfected the art of food preservation.  In Jesus' time they had salt and some archaic pickling fluids.  Most of the people to whom Jesus spoke and ministered lived day-to-day.  They did not have pantries full of canned goods.  Likely they were living off of the land, struggling to provide enough food for their families, praying to God for their daily bread.  If Jesus were able to turn their little into abundance that would transform lives, households; it would transform the nation.  Maybe that kind of king could even free them from the power of the Roman Empire.  The king with the food would be the king with the power.  Their king.

They didn't understand – didn't understand Jesus or why he did what he did.  Their view was too simple, too shortsighted.  Yes, Jesus fed them.  He fed them food because they were hungry and Jesus cares about that.  But it was also much deeper and more complex; Jesus fed them bread for their bodies so that they might understand that he was the bread for their souls.  And that was hard for them to see.

We always want Jesus to succeed.  We want people to like him and celebrate him and put him on the cover of magazines.  We want Jesus to be our popular friend.  We still want him to be the heroic king.  But Jesus keeps escaping.  He forces us to look at him through his cross and passion.  He is not some get-rich-quick scheme.  His kingdom is not built on an abundance of bread.  He dodges the throne; and carries the cross. 

Bread fades.  It turns to dust eventually.  The bread Jesus made for those five thousand people satisfied the crowds' hunger - but only for a little while.  They would be hungry again.  That's why they needed to box Jesus up in a royal palace; that's why they needed to strap him into a throne.  They would need more bread.  They would never be satisfied.

If we come to the altar seeking bread, seeking a quick bite to eat, we'll experience the same recurring hunger.  That little host is not much of a meal.  It looks small; it looks simple.  But there is more to it.  We just have to look deeper.  Jesus feeds our bodies so that we might understand that he is the bread for our souls.  The true gift that Jesus gives us is not the bread; Jesus gives himself.  And that's the answer to our deepest hunger, the hunger deep in our souls: we need Jesus.  Jesus is always enough.

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[1]   http://www.costco.com/32%2c500-Total-Servings-Ultimate-4-Person-1-Year-Food-Storage-By-Nutristore%E2%84%A2.product.100147376.html