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John 6:5-15

Rev. Marlaena Cochran, M.Div.

My Mom and I are also longtime friends of Shepherd's Heart and each time I am with that gathering of people, God invites me to look around to see the humanity in the crowd as well as their belovedness before God. And if I'm honest, I initially go as one who serves. I go as a disciple. And yet somewhere in the middle of our worship, I begin to see myself in my humanity and the hungers I carry within. And it turns out that I am also just one of the crowd. And together, all of us there are coming to have our needs met by the body of Christ. We are invited to rest in the presence of Jesus for a moment and to remember that through Jesus' body and blood, God is with us. And we also fill our bellies with good food until we are satisfied, at least for that day.

I invite you to hold this scene in your heart as we come to our Scripture text this morning. And in this Scripture, I invite you to notice where are you in this story? Our scripture comes from John chapter six, verses five through 15. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, it would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for one to have a bite. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother spoke up. Here is a boy with five small barley cloves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many? Jesus said, have the people sit down. There was plenty of grass in that place. And they sat down, about 5,000 men were there. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted.  He did the same with the fish. And when they all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, surely this is the prophet who has come into the world. And Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.  This is the Word of the Lord.

So, this morning, I'd like for us to look at this story in a few different ways. To look at it in this way and then turn it a little bit and look at it in this way and then turn it one more time and look at it in this way. For there are three different stories that Jesus is embodying in this one story. In the first story, Jesus looks up and sees a large crowd coming towards him. This crowd has been following him for some time, attracted by the miracles they have seen him do among the sick.  Some in the crowd may be seeking hope and healing. Others may be curious. And intrigued. Whoever they are and whatever expectations they are carrying, Jesus sees all these people, the men, women, and children. And he sees their need. Who are the crowds that are coming to Jesus today? What are they seeking from Jesus? What do they need? I know in my life, and particularly my former work as a hospice chaplain, I saw people who were suffering and mourning. People who were struggling with sickness and disease. People who were questioning and wondering, where are you God? Why, oh God? And then lately in my life, I've also seen people who are coming to Jesus, who are rejoicing and giving thanks. Who are looking back over a season of their lives, and who are grateful for God's presence with them.

For God leading and guiding them to a particular milestone in their life maybe. My youngest nephew, Eli, graduated from high school yesterday. And his family was giving thanks and praising God for God sustaining Eli through his life, and particularly through the death of his father about five years ago.

So, who are the crowds who you see coming to Jesus? What are they crying out for? What do they need? Can you picture a crowd in your mind? Looking again at the crowd, Jesus motions for the people to sit down. To find rest in the fields of green grass. Rest physically, emotionally, and mentally. And I think the gospel writer is very intentional to remind us of the words of the beloved Psalm, Psalm 23. When they are invited to rest in the green grass, they can hear the words, the Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. So even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil. For you are with me, your rod and your staff. They comfort me. What might this look like for the crowd that you are imagining in your mind? To receive an invitation from Jesus to find rest.

Jesus also sees their hunger and accepts the offering of a small child. And Jesus takes the five loaves and the two fish, gives thanks to God in heaven, and then hands them out to all who are seated. I mean, imagine for a moment sitting on the grass and watching all of this unfold. We may have thoughts and feelings like the disciples, like how can this small amount feed all these people? And then yet, you see that everyone around you is receiving enough. And they are satisfied. It again reminds me of the words of Psalm 23 at the end. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. And you anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. God does provide. God does see our need.

I invite you for a moment to just take a moment and say a prayer for the crowd that you have been picturing in your mind at this time. So looking again at this story in another way, Jesus knows that the Passover festival is near. And so after Jesus withdraws to the mountain at the end of the story, the gospel writer tells us that the crowd eventually catches up with Jesus. And they say to him, Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. The manna in the wilderness is a sign of God's providential care. And it's what we pray for in the phrase of the Lord's Prayer, which we prayed earlier when we say, Give us this day our daily bread. This is a prayer that acknowledges that our daily dependence is on God. We pray, God, give us what we need for this day.

So, what do you need today? What are you hunkering for in your life? Give us this day our daily bread is also a prayer that invites us to present our needs to God and then to trust in God's response. To trust in God's response by receiving whatever God gives to us. This prayer also helps us discover our true needs. Have you ever had a time in your life where you have prayed earnestly for something? Only to find out that over time, your prayers were kind of sifted through God's care and you received what you really needed instead. God maybe didn't give you what you initially asked for, but God gave you something different. And you were able to see, ah, that's actually what I really needed.

So, Jesus responds to the crowd, and he says to them, why? 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. And they said to him, sir, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. What are you really hungry for this day? I invite you to pause for a moment and to pray for what you need today.

And then looking again at this story in a third and final way. The Passover festival is near, and the gospel writer wants us to see, wants us to see Jesus as the miraculous giver of bread. The crowd is remembering God's providential care and God's mighty act of deliverance and relief from suffering, and so Jesus takes the bread. He blesses it, breaks it, and gives it himself. And this is a foreshadowing of Jesus' broken body bringing relief and hope. Not only to suffering people, but also to the whole suffering world. And this is a reality that we remember when we come to the table together. Jesus will later tell the crowd, but if you do not eat my flesh and drink my blood, if you do eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will have eternal life. And I will raise you to life on the last day. My flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. If you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you are one with me, and I am one with you.

This is the great mystery that we celebrate in the Lord's Supper. We are one with Jesus, and one with the body of Christ, the church. When we gather around the table, we not only experience communion with God through Jesus Christ, but we also experience communion with all those who are in the body of Christ. All those who are gathering today, and all those who have come before us, and all those who will come after us. In the great mystery of the Holy Spirit binding together the church, we all are one. And we are all interconnected, and we all come in the fullness of our humanity, and with all the hungers that we carry inside.

And maybe there are also other gatherings around the table that come to mind. Gatherings that call us into community with one another. Gatherings which include conversations about work and family, but also gatherings that include conversations about how we're really doing, where we share our thoughts and our feelings, our doubts and our questions, our celebrations and our concerns with one another. Gatherings that are filled with friends, acquaintances, and even strangers at times. But people who are all hungering for something real in their lives. And I think this is so needed in our world today. Gatherings that unite us, that invite us into relationship, and that invite us to be real with one another. In some of my pastoral care readings, I came across this poem by English poet David White, and he wrote this. This is not the age of information. Forget the news and the radio and the blurred screen. This is the time of loaves and fishes. People are hungering, and one good word is breath for a thousand. People are hungering, and one good word is bread for a thousand. People are hungering, people are longing, people so need to be in relationship. Where they give and receive a good word. Where they give and receive the good news. So what good word do you have to give this morning? What word has God maybe placed upon your heart that you want to share with those around you? A word of encouragement, a word of comfort, a word of thanksgiving, and what good word do we have as the church to offer the world that is around us? What good word do you have as a church to offer this neighborhood of choreographers?

In this story, Jesus is telling three different stories. The story of a crowd coming to Jesus, and Jesus seeing their need. The story of God giving us this day, our daily bread. And the story of communion, being with God and God's people, and having a good word for the world and one another. As I was reflecting on these words this week, I was thinking about you as a congregation. And as Pat said, this is the last time that I will be with you.

And what a joy and privilege it has been over this last year, year and a half, to be with you once or twice a month, and especially walk with you in this season of transition in your lives. And I'm so blessed to see how God has provided for you. How God has seen you coming to God in prayer, seeking wisdom and discernment. How God has provided for you in so many ways, and how God is with you. I know your new Pastor, Rebecca, we know each other from seminary, and a few other places. And I think this is just a good word for you and for her in this season. That God has brought you together. And I look forward to seeing what God will do in you, and with you, and through you, in this new season you will have as a community of faith. So abundant blessings to you.

And so, having shared all that, let us see what the Spirit is stirring in our hearts this day, as we close in prayer, and prepare our hearts to receive the sacraments of communion. So let us pray. God, we do thank you for the good word that you have shared with us this morning. The good word of Jesus. Of Jesus seeing our need. Of your daily provision in our lives. And your invitation to be with. To be with you, and to be with each other, and all of those who are in your people, in communion. God, as we prepare our hearts to receive communion this day, may we hear Jesus' words, I am the bread of life.

And God, may Jesus, through his Spirit, speak to us this day. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.