Sermon for July 26, 2009

                             Scripture:         John  6:1-21

         “Bread From Heaven”           Rev. Christopher Fazel

              Today we have miracle stories.  In this short section from the Gospel of John, we have at least three miracles.  The first is feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of barley bread and two fish.  Second is Jesus walking on water, and the third is an immediate arrival at their destination after Jesus gets into the boat.

              Now, here are just a few facts for you.  First, the feeding of the five thousand is found in all four gospels.  That’s kind of rare.  The gospel of John is quite different than the other three, but this story is in all four.  In Matthew and Mark, Jesus walks on water after the loaves and fishes story, just like in John.  However, the third miracle is different, in Matthew and Mark, the third miracle is that the storm stops.  There is no report of an immediate transport to their destination.  In Luke, there is no walking on water story at all.  Now, I don’t know whether those points of similarity and difference are interesting or helpful to you, but I like getting the big picture when I grapple with stuff like this.

              Because, I must confess, I find miracle stories hard to talk about.  And there are a number of reasons for that.  One reason is I think people have a hard time believing them.  And that’s not just a modern phenomenon.   From the very beginning, there have been voices who have said, “How can you buy this stuff?”  And then we get defenses from Christian writers like Tertullian who said, “It is absurd, so I believe it.”    But it’s always been hard. 

              I confess that I, personally, am more inclined (than perhaps others are) to accept as factual certain events that might be called miraculous.  I’m reminded that when Einstein said that gravity would bend light, the science community all laughed and said it went against natural law.  And then he proved it, so they rewrote natural law.  We’re now waking up to the fact that 96 percent of the mass in the universe is composed of something we never even knew existed.  What are the laws that govern this so called “dark matter?”  We don’t know.  I think we would all do well to try and maintain a little humility when confronted with the seemingly miraculous.  We don’t know everything yet.

              But you see, this very question of whether or not these things actually happened, illustrates another problem with miracle stories, which is simply, “So what?”   You see it’s never enough just to ask, “Did it really happen or not?”  The very purpose of scripture is to provide guidance and illumination and encouragement to us who read it.   So we have to ask, “So what?”  And it is the answering of that question that is the primary challenge.

              And so, what… do these stories say to you and to me about our lives, our pain, our confusion, our fears and our hopes?   Well, certainly, first and foremost, they assure us that there is a force in our lives that has the power -- to supply our need, to calm our turbulence, and to carry us home.  And for me, the story and image of Jesus calmly walking on stormy waters and reaching out to me with the assuring words, “Be not afraid, it is I.”, is far more effective in getting me in touch with those assurances than just hearing so many words from a preacher.  You see my point.  These stories and images have power in themselves, and that’s why they’re in our Bible.

              Beyond these assurances, these stories also, provide for us instruction.  In our story of the loaves and fishes, we learn that the power of supply is manifested through the spirit of sharing.   You know, one popular interpretation of this story is that as the disciples started sharing the five loaves and two fish, the rest of the crowd became inspired to share their own private store of food, and that’s how the 5,000 were fed.  For me, that’s a good interpretation, because it leads us to the same ideal – the ideal of sharing.  And I know from looking within and without that sharing is hard to do.  Somehow, our impulse to share is short-circuited by a deep fear that we may come up short – that we may someday suffer from lack and want.  And nobody wants that.

              What’s more, we look around and discover that want and lack seem to be growing conditions, in our community, in our country and in the world.  Not only do we see an increase in want and lack, but we see that they are accompanied with – indeed born out of an increase of violence and barbarity, of suspicion and hatred, of intolerance and fear.  We see these destructive forces increasing so much, that we find ourselves asking in the quiet moments, “Where will this end?  O where will it end?

              And I’m here to tell you, if you’re asking me, “I don’t know.”  I am the kind of Christian who insists that God has given each and all of us free will.  And much of what awaits us in the future grows out of the decisions made in the past and in the present.  I agree with Moses, when he says, “Behold, God has placed before you this day, life and death.  Choose life.” 

              But you and I know that our future does not depend upon our own decisions alone.  We live interdependently with the rest of the human race.  Free will operates both individually and collectively.   And it can be distressing indeed to witness the making of collective decisions that lead to destruction. 

              And when I hear the strident voices of recrimination and see the smug looks of self-righteous bigotry that are pressing into our world, my stomach starts to tighten. And it is then, that I hear myself cry out, “O Lord, help me, for I am sinking into fear and despair.”  And it is then that I am -- at times -- blessed to see -- in my mind’s eye -- the Lord, walking as on the dark waters of chaos, saying to me, “Fear not!  I am here.  I can and I will see you through the very worst that may threaten from the stormy deep.  I can and I will carry you through the storm, to the other shore -- to harbor and to home.”

              This is the good word of our gospel today – a word of assurance and instruction.  It is a gift -- to each of us -- from the God of all.   It is the bread of heaven.  It is the food of hope.  It is given to us to partake for ourselves and to share with others.  And in the sharing, it will grow, for so the Lord has shown and promised.  Thanks be to the God of all.  Let us pray.

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