Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 Psalm 78:22-28 Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life…
This week, the news from the UK has been terrifying and horrific. On Monday, 3 children were murdered, and another 7 people injured when a 17-year-old boy walked into a dance class, with a knife, and stabbed those attending, and those who rushed to protect them. Alice aged 9, Bebe aged 6 and Elsie aged 7, were killed in the attack. Others are in a critical condition in hospital.
Immediately the neighbourhood gathered in peaceful vigil for those children and their families. Local churches opened and people lit candles in prayer. Children began making friendship bracelets as a symbol of hope. And then misinformation began circulating across communities – the one with the knife is Muslim, his family are here illegally, they said – and hatred, fear and retribution began springing up. This looked like riots in London and Liverpool and Sunderland and Hartlepool – places not even near where the attack had happened. And police were attacked, bricks were thrown, shops were looted, cars were burned and violence and vandalism took over.
It is difficult to see how one act led to this chilling series of responses. Police, politicians and residents wonder how peace might ever be restored. And we find ourselves asking, what caused these extreme reactions and how might we heal those wounds at the source to prevent it from happening again? And that reminds me of the wisdom of Archbishop Desmond Tutu who is attributed as saying, ‘There comes a point where we need to stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in’.
I couldn’t ignore the stories of Alice and Bebe and Elsie this week. But they also tell us something more profound about this morning’s gospel reading. Because it seems that in that Jesus is saying if we only focus on the here and now, we fail to see how we got here. And if we only focus on how we feel in this situation we are simply pulling people out of the stream. If we only focus on the next meal we might fail to see the solution to hunger. We might fail to see the invitation to what really is life.
You are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves, Jesus says. But that’s not it; look for me because of what that means. Follow me because I can feed you forever, not because I give you a bit of bread and fish. You are downstream and hungry – come upstream to me, and find the source of true sustenance, find the living bread. Eat of the Christ.
I am the bread of life, Jesus says. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. Don’t settle for a morsel of food; feast on me and you will be fed forever. That’s the promise of Christ.
And the hungry ones who are chasing after Jesus don’t get it – they refer to the feeding miracle of the day before – actual bread and physical fish, and the feeding miracles of their ancestors in the wilderness – the manna in the wilderness – and because they are hungry today, they focus on that and miss the true offer of Christ.
We follow the Christ who says, ‘come to me and you will never be hungry; believe in me and you will never be thirsty’. Don’t settle for being pulled out of the stream with a little crumb of bread that will feed you for a day. Come upstream and be fed in your entirety; body, mind, and spirit. I have so much more for you. Simply believe.
We are living in a time where the world is hurting.
People are hungry – literally starving – 700 million people are living in extreme poverty. Wars are raging – 1 in 5 children live in active conflict zones, and that number is growing. People are homeless, even in our own town. Even in our own families. We need to make decisions on how we will help.
As I have reflected on this I have thought about the amazing work of Just Manna, our charity here, and the community that gathers around our monthly meals here. We are meeting the immediate needs of those around us. We know that is our purpose. We know we can’t solve the issues that bring people to us – we can’t stop hunger and poverty and isolation and loneliness, but we can do what we can. We can meet the need for today. And that is so valuable. That is part of the call of God. And it is great that we hear that call and respond.
And there is an additional call – because as Jesus is, so we are challenged to become – and the additional call is to go upstream and see why people are falling into the stream of injustice and poverty and we are called too to stop the systems that push them in.
In this morning’s passage, Jesus is saying ‘come to me and I will feed you and make sure you aren’t hungry again’. And in our mass, we replicate that promise – come, just as you are, hands out and hungry, and receive a welcome and a solution to the situations that got you here.
We don’t know how to heal the cause of the world’s problems, we don’t know how to stop people from wandering into a dance class with a knife and commit hideous crimes of violence, but we believe in the one who offers life and deep transformational change. And our belief in Christ might lead us to dare to believe that the food we receive here is truly him and as he truly enters us we might receive the sustenance to care more practically for this world. Even upstream. Even at the source.
As you come to this table today, I urge you to come with the expectancy that you might be filled with the living bread. Come in hope that you might be filled with all you need to bring balm to this hurting world. Come and eat and drink as food for your pilgrimage to travel upstream to meet the living Christ who is caring for those who need it most and who is waiting there for us to join Him.
Eat this living bread in memory of Alice, Bebe and Elsie, and all who have died in acts of violence this week. May they rest in peace and rise in glory, amen.
Holy Adventures 