Engaging with the Lifeline

by Megan Means

(Based on John 6:56-69)

Today is another Sunday looking at Jesus’s proclaiming to be the Bread of Life. Last week we heard of Jesus revealing that he is the “living bread”: a revelation that causes more misunderstanding than joy, and generates lots of moaning and arguing. I propose today that we move into gnawing and munching and stumbling in this conclusion.
Is gnawing and munching is the best way to approach and eat this statement today? This kind of eating tries to get as much as possible out of the meal. It’s a time when politeness may go out the window as we tear the meal apart, eat with our fingers, suck up all the flavour and goodness and then lick the plate.
How will we each choose to engage with and digest Jesus as the Bread of Life today?

The larger group of disciples had now been put in a position where they had to make a choice. They complained, they were offended, they disengaged. They found this particular teaching too problematic and too difficult. They had been fed, taught, healed and loved by Jesus; but it was not enough to enable them to engage with this statement that he is the ‘Bread of Life’.

It seems logical to assume that the larger group of disciples comprised those who believed, those who wanted to believe, those who used to believe, and those who were trying to believe.

I know that sometimes it’s disheartening when I lose the support of friends that I thought I had alongside me in a common cause. But, then again, it has been I myself that has withdrawn my support in some cases … as I no longer agreed with the focus or desired outcome, or the politics, or the people who were being excluded.

This is similar to what I have heard has happened in many larger parishes after Covid. Disciples have not returned. They are just not coming any more. For some reason these disciples have made a choice that Jesus is no longer the priority, as the Bread of Life in their lives, at the moment. Of course, anyone is free to withdraw and change their choice at any time, as God’s love is a freeing love.
John writes that Jesus is not fazed, and reveals that Jesus knew this may happen. Jesus is not concerned about numbers but more about revealing his role, which is about proclaiming and serving the kingdom of God and standing firm. Therefore, Jesus asked the twelve disciples directly, “Do you, also, want to go away?” There’s something very vulnerable and poignant in this question, to disciples who are now waiting, watching, wondering and maybe worrying.

I would like to think that Jesus asks the question compassionately and with understanding, although – would he have in the synagogue setting?
What emphasis? “Do you, also, want to go away?” or “Do you also want to go away?” 

Maybe this question makes us feel uncomfortable; and/or maybe it makes us feel comfortable? The truth here may be the realisation that we are a mixture of disciples. Disciples who believe, who want to believe, who used to believe, who are trying to believe … and that’s ok in my understanding because for me, it is more about engaging with the lifeline. The Lifeline.

Peter engaged and responded to Jesus with a searching question of his own. He answers from the perspective of his own belief, his courage, and his faith. In today’s terms he is probably clarifying his developing theology, which is always a work in progress – like all preacher’s cope with – and here Peter is considering, What are the alternatives? He sees Jesus’s teachings as sometimes quite involved, hard to understand in fisherman terms, but he sees that they do have life in them. And if Jesus is truly who he says he is, why would I choose death, when life is right there in Jesus’s words, in his body, and in the strange way he is talking about being the bread of life, that he is asking us to eat? Peter’s conclusion proclaims that Jesus is Life itself, and to whom else would he go?
I wonder if Peter’s thinking represents all or maybe just some of the twelve disciples?

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” This statement gives much cause for gnawing and munching and stumbling about.

Over the last four weeks, throughout this chapter of John, Jesus has repeated the phrase that he is Bread of Life, the living bread. He keeps on coming back to it, circling around with familiar questions and observations and always returning to it as his central statement. Jesus is proclaiming that, as the Bread of Life, he is an essential on the dinner plate for spiritual sustenance and growth, just as bread is for physical nourishment.

To fill up the plate more – last week a preacher at Te Atatū shared this helpful analogy: “When one is practising or learning a piece of music, one has to really focus and pay total attention to every note and the progression of notes, the tempo, the volume, the phrasing. It is all-encompassing and timeless. One has to munch and gnaw on the music with attention. And when it comes together, after wrestling and repetition, it is extremely fulfilling and joyful. Life-giving, in fact. But then – and this is the eternal part – I understand it could be better. Better with more time, more engagement, more communion with the piano and the score and the playing.”

One could use following a cooking recipe for a meal, too, as an example.
I think these examples might be similar to what Scripture is teaching us about the depth of the statement that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Teaching us as members of this faith community, as a group of worshippers, who may be nibbling or munching food with our fingers or gnawing on the bones or licking the plate clean.

What is life-giving and life-fulfilling is actually to be engaged with the Lifeline. Jesus is the Bread of Life.

The Wisdom of God

by Barry Pollard

(Based on John 6:51-58; I Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14; Ps 111)

While God’s word usually brings joy, these readings seemed more self-focussed. My devotional at the moment is about wisdom, and I could discern the readings all had something to say about wisdom! I wouldn’t have to struggle to thread them together to make a coherent whole!

However, Proverbs 16:1 says “We can make our plans, but the Lord gives the right answer”, and it turned out that my initial plan for this reflection was off the mark; I had to resort to divine input!

As I said, I have been wisdom-focussed for the past six weeks as the Reverend Doctor Selwyn Hughes has led me through the Book of Proverbs. This is the book that I consulted during the Covid lockdowns as I sought to send uplifting Scripture to the family each day in an attempt to give them a different point of reference. Aimed mainly at the grandees, there was always something that I could find that I thought would resonate with them. Proverbs, after all, is thirty chapters, and contains a total of 915 proverbs, give or take, depending on the translation and how individual proverbs have been grouped or divided; a truly magnificent collection of sayings and wise advice that we would all benefit from reading on a regular basis.

Our reading from First Kings told us how Solomon came to be so wise. But, I have to say, the selection we heard today is the sanitised version. The reading begins in Chapter 2 with three verses that tell us that Solomon succeeded his father and his kingdom was firmly established. It then resumes some way through Chapter 3. Between the two excerpts, perhaps to ensure his kingdom stays firmly established, Solomon displays behaviour that is cut-throat and power-seeking! Following his father David’s advice, he disposes of old enemies, anyone who can adversely affect his tenure on the throne, and refuses his mother Bathsheba’s request to let his older brother marry the young lass who was employed to look after King David in his old age, instead having him and his supporters killed too! This to me does not sound like the great wise man we have come to know.
Or is it?

You see, despite this murderous interlude, Solomon’s life turns around when he has a dream in which God asks him the big question: “What do you want?”
Can you imagine the magnitude of that question? God is asking! How would you respond?
Well, Solomon answered, “Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong.” He asked for wisdom! And he was granted it! And he got not only wisdom, but riches, fame and long life to boot. It could be argued that Solomon was wise simply because he asked for wisdom!

Solomon’s father David gets most credit for the Book of Psalms. We know that David’s past was one of great ups and downs (Goliath and Bathsheba are in-your-face examples). But David always longed to be right with God and was humble enough to admit to his wrongs and seek God’s forgiveness. He was in awe of God.
So today’s psalm of praise is important in providing a context for what Solomon likely picked up from his father. Each element of praise is like an argument being constructed. The crowning glory is summed up in the last verse: “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise Him forever!”

Praise Him forever indeed!

Some people interpret the term “fear” negatively. I used to. These days I have come to understand that it more accurately means ‘giving God undivided attention’. Giving God our undivided attention is the foundation of wisdom. Following his way will make us wiser.

Despite the startling interlude between our 1 Kings excerpts, we have to assume that Solomon benefitted from his father’s input and example. David was at times, after all, humble, was aware of his limitations, was aware of God’s grace, and was able to give God his undivided attention. I think he was wise.

How then can we relate this narrative to the Gospel we heard today?
John has Jesus revealing that he is the ‘living bread’, the centre of our belief. A revelation that causes more misunderstanding than joy! It generates lots of moaning and arguing.

You will recall the Scripture about how God’s ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts. It is a very succinct way of reminding us that we are not in God’s league. The moaning and arguing crowd couldn’t grasp what Jesus was telling them. It was beyond their comprehension. Those listening were confused. How could they eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus? That was cannibalism.
And I would be wondering how much do we need to eat and drink, and what happens when it all runs out?

Well, let’s find comfort in the realm of ‘mysteries’.
My good friend AI had this to say about mysteries: “A Christian mystery generally refers to a profound, often supernatural, truth or aspect of faith that surpasses human understanding but is revealed through divine revelation. These mysteries are central to Christian theology and spirituality and include concepts that are believed to be beyond the full grasp of human reason but are accepted by faith.”
Things we cannot really grasp can be regarded as mysteries.

Some key Christian mysteries are the Trinity (that there is one God in three persons), the Incarnation (that Jesus was fully divine and fully human), the Eucharist (that Jesus is fully present in the bread and wine), the Resurrection (that Jesus overcame death to give us eternal life) and the Atonement (that Jesus reconciled us with God). We proclaim our belief in them regularly when we affirm our faith. Things I don’t fully understand, when my reasoning has run out, I put into the realm of mystery and move on.
And I’m happy with that!

I have explained before that when I came back to faith I was enabled to make 180 degree turns in several areas of my life, almost straight away. My tongue became tangled when I tried to curse and swear. I started to see good in others rather than bad. I was able to put hurts of the past behind me (I was learning to forgive). Things generally took on deeper meaning. I started to think less about me and more about you. All of this was a mystery! I didn’t fully understand any of it but it has had a very positive impact on my life. In the words of Billy Preston (one-time pianist with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones), I reckon “that’s the way God planned it”. He went to work and I benefitted. I don’t know how but I am so grateful.

First Corinthians explains that God’s wisdom is so great that the wisdom of the wise and the intelligence of the intelligent are no match. In fact, God makes the wisdom of the world look foolish. Some obvious examples of that worldly wisdom could be the internet – conceived to empower and enlighten the world but overwhelmed with pornography and scams; antibiotics designed to overcome disease used to such excess that they’re promoting superbugs; painkilling drugs turned into mind-numbing thrills; military-grade weapons made available to not much more than children; and the list goes on.

I’m not saying everything we do is useless or ineffective. There is much good to be found in man’s wisdom. Almost everything I can think of started from a desire to make things better, more productive, longer lived, more efficient, cheaper and happier. The problem is more found in the end-user. Short term gain, maximum profit, social status and the like impact the good, rendering the new good idea another ‘problem in the making’.

How do we discern, then, whether our thoughts, words and deeds are going to be wisely carried out? What yardstick could we use to make judgments?

The other day I came across this practical definition of wisdom by Joyce Meyer: she says wisdom is simply the proper use of knowledge. This being lived out as doing now what we’ll be happy with later on in life. She says, “Learning to live out Godly wisdom is a daily process in which we’re all learning and growing, and a process that any of us, regardless of our past choices, can begin today. If we do as God instructs us each day, then our tomorrows will be pleasing to Him and pleasant for us.”
This is a great way to analyse what is going on around us and to guide what we do.

Back to the Gospel.
You may realise that everything in the Old Testament points ultimately to Jesus. The Book of Proverbs, the repository of much scriptural wisdom, points to Jesus. This is confirmed in First Corinthians 1, verse 24, which says, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” What this is telling us is Jesus is wisdom. If we are to acquire and possess true and lasting wisdom it can only be found in the life and teachings of Christ.
I hear the Gospel telling us that Jesus is so important to our lives that we are doomed without Him. To be Christ-followers we have to believe and we have to do.
Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” And He emphasised it by adding, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.” The act of eating his flesh and drinking his blood confirms our place with Jesus.

Recall that when Jesus was trying to explain all this to the crowd there was argument. While the Bible doesn’t directly forbid cannibalism, it does contain various passages that are interpreted as condemning it. Those listening were confused. How could they eat his flesh and drink his blood?

Luckily, we have discerned that Jesus was not speaking literally. He was revealing the mystery of holy communion. By partaking of this holy meal we are asserting our faith in Jesus, we are accepting that our eternity is only accessed through Him. At the least it serves to remind us of who he is, and who we are. And personally it always reminds me how blessed I am.

[Holy Spirit moment: “What is true in the physical world is true in the spiritual world.” We need spiritual food (Jesus) just like we need breakfast!]

Jesus is the wisdom of God. He calls us to communion in the eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine. We come to the banquet as special guests. Special, not for who or what we are or have been. but because he has issued the invitation to us. Jesus is the wisdom of God. His life and his word are the examples we need to follow. These examples are what will help us to make decisions now regarding our thoughts, words and deeds that God and we will be happy with later on in life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 say: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Let that be our takeaway this morning. If we are in communion with the Lord, partaking of all that he has to give, we are better prepared for life and eternity than if we rely on own efforts.

James (in verses 17-18 of his Chapter 3) gives a wonderful summary of God’s wisdom:
Wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favouritism and is always sincere.  And [he who is a peacemaker] will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

A wonderful summary of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God.

The Weaver

I’m putting this up for those who haven’t heard it before, and for those who have. It’s worth a read. It’s worth multi-reads. It delivers an especially helpful perspective to anyone facing doubt, confusion, challenge – anyone just wondering where life all fits together.

The poem was written by Grant Colfax Tullar (1869 – 1950). At least, that’s what Wikipedia claims, although I see it has also been credited to Benjamin Franklin and Corrie ten Boom. The latter certainly didn’t write it, but she used it in her books and presentations and, if you know anything about ten Boom, you’ll appreciate why. Anyway, my money is on Tullar, who, Wikipedia says, was an American minister, composer, and hymn writer, whose “most famous [work] is the poem The Weaver“.

Whoever wrote it, it’s going to be difficult for me to get their permission; but I’m sure copyright won’t mind if I present it here. Be encouraged, even if you’ve already drunk of it before.

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colours
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skilful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.

Thank you, Mr Tullar.

Bread of Heaven

by Sharon Marr

(Based on John 6:24-35, and the just released report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care)

Every three years, the lectionary invites us — or forces us! — to spend five long weeks in John’s Gospel, contemplating Jesus’s self-description as “the bread of life,” or “the bread which comes down from heaven”.  It’s a daunting business, to stay with one metaphor for so long.  After all, bread is bread, right?  What earthly thing could be more basic and simple? Actually, in our house that’s not quite true, because as far as our family is concerned nothing compares with Grandad Albie’s homemade bread.  In fact we can usually count on the neighbourhood whanau joining us for lunch during the holidays. 

However,  as far as its spiritual implications go, we know that Jesus fed the multitudes with bread, we believe he’s mysteriously present at the communion table, and we generally agree that Christians should donate to food banks or volunteer in soup kitchens.  What else is there to understand?
Nothing.
Because understanding is not the issue. 

Growing up, I was taught that being a Christian meant understanding and believing the right things.  To accept Jesus was to affirm a set of doctrines about who Jesus is and what he accomplished through his death and resurrection.  To enter into orthodox faith was to agree that certain theological thoughts about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the human condition, the Bible, and the Church, were true. 

But for me, many years ago now, I found that I was being so overwhelmed by words and doctrines that the Jesus I had come to love as a child was disappearing down the road and I was mourning that I wasn’t there beside him holding his hand any longer.
The blessing for me came in the shape of a lovely woman visiting from Vanuatu who looked into my heart, without any words, then said – go back to the faith of your childhood. 

We need to listen to Jesus, who tells us very carefully and continuously in the readings we’re lingering over at this time to Believe in me, Learn from me, or even Follow me.  We notice he doesn’t bother with Understand me.  He says something far more intimate and provocative when he calls himself our bread.  He says, I am the bread of life; come to me and never be hungry or thirsty again. 
What’s really at stake in this strange invitation is whether or not to move past religion … and into relationship.  Past thought … and into communion.  Past self-sufficiency and … into radical, whole-life dependence on a God we can taste, but never control.  Jesus invites the crowds to recognize the hungers beneath their hungers.  Of course they’re hungry for literal bread; they’re poor, food is scarce, and they need to feed themselves and their families.  There’s nothing wrong or ‘unspiritual’ about their physical hunger — remember, Jesus tends to their bodily needs first, without reservation or pre-conditions.  But he doesn’t stop there.  Instead, he asks the crowds to probe the deeper soul hungers that drive them restlessly into his presence — hungers that only the “bread of heaven” can satisfy.

What are those underlying hungers?  Answering for myself, here’s my list:  a hunger for meaning and purpose.  A longing for connection, communion, and love.  A desire to know and to be known, deeply and authentically.   A hunger for joy, and for engagement with the world in all its complexity, mystery and beauty.  And an ongoing need for healing, wholeness and fullness of life.

That’s my list right now.  What’s yours?

And so importantly at this time, what hunger would our Abuse Survivors (highlighted in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care) want satisfied? A hunger to be heard? A hunger for justice, a hunger to be believed, a hunger for wrongs to be put right, a hunger for apology and words of regret, a hunger for wholeness and healing … mostly, I sense, a deep cry from these abused hearts of a hunger to see change: no more, no more, no more!

Of course, it’s one thing to name our hungers, but quite another to trust that Jesus will satisfy them; especially if you were one of over 200,000 men, women and children who believed they were in a place that would love, help, cure, educate and nurture them only to find that – whilst the love of Jesus may have been preached – the bread they received in the name of God was in fact as worthless as dust, a rod for their back. Their experience instead brought a sense of worthlessness, brokenness and, in some cases, death.

We as a country are in a time of mourning, or should be, for our failure to provide a safe, caring and nurturing environment for all those who have a right to expect and to receive such care.  It is a nationwide shame.  At least fifty children have been killed since Oranga Tamariki was created – and half of them had a record with the agency before they died. According to UNICEF, New Zealand has one of the worst rates of child abuse in the developed world. The level of abuse is the fifth-highest in the OECD, with an average of one child being killed every five weeks and 150,000 cases reported every year by Oranga Tamariki.   On average 50,000 women and children are referred to Women’s Refuge each year, and staff answer 71 crisis calls each day. And, as more than 67 per cent of family violence goes unreported, the figures do not show the full severity of the situation.  What can we do?

We can listen.  We can be active in our listening and be prepared to seek help when someone is in danger. We may not be able to help ourselves but we can bring it to the attention of someone who can.  The worst thing we can do is … nothing! 

There are many different kinds of abuse and many helplines are available. (There is a large list at the back of the church.) If you think someone is in immediate danger of being harmed or may harm themselves, call the Police.
We can support financially some of the (helpline and support) groups.  We can pray for them all.  Dear Family, it is right for us to mourn, to grieve with those who have lost so much.  And it is well and truly time for change.  Jesus came to change.  Will we be changed? We know that the words Jesus brings are the bread of life. But we must remember they are words we live by, not words we use to make others live the way we feel they should.  The bread of life Jesus brings fulfils all hunger, and so fed by the one who God sent, our belief overflows as love and becomes the Word in action – His will, His actions, not ours.  May we absorb this bread.  Then share it.
May its nourishment flood us through and through until we are changed and, like Jesus, become life-saving bread for the whole world.