Bead of Life
This sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year B 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time,
Readings:
Psalm Psalm
51:1-12
First
Reading:
2 Samuel 11:26 –
12:13
Second Reading:
Ephesian
4:1-16
Gospel:
John
6:24-35
What I want to
say:
I want to explore how this series of reading help us into the Eucharist
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Every 3 years we have this little interlude
from Mark while we walk our way through John 6 – Jesus says “I am bread of life”
terrible trap for young preachers
danger use all our great ideas on week
1
-
find have another
3 weeks to go (aue)
I’m not preaching for next 2 weeks so
here goes
2. History cf theology
what lectionary writers done is jump
out Mark after story Herod’s depraved meal and John baptiser’s death
-
followed by and
contrasted with feeding of 5000 men
-
meal of
generosity, compassion for those impoverished by those gathered with Herod
instead taken to Johns version of that
story
fine if gospels just stories of
history
-
swap and change
with little problem
-
not great if we
read them as books theology – which they are really
è John not contrasting two meals
-
John introducing
first of Jesus’ “I am” statements
this is first of 7 I Am statements
function as signposts to how John gospel
writer thinks we should understand Jesus
through Jesus – how understand God
father
John’s theology is hung over these 7
statements
3. The Story
Jesus feeds big bunch of people
leaves
crowd wake up in morning and see he
has left
so they go hunting for him in Capernaum
find him ask – “Rabbi, when did you
come here?”
loaded with meaning
not – which bus did you catch kind of
question
-
when we read it
like that Jesus response makes no sense
it is more a “who are you?” kind of
question
-response makes lot more sense with that
understanding
rest answer is in response to that “who
are you that you can feed us all?” kind of meaning
Jesus says – you are looking for me
and asking this question because I fed you
don’t work for the food that perishes but
“food of that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you”
little more conversation around that
until they ask
‘What sign are you going to give us
then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our
ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them
bread from heaven to eat.”
which given he has just fed them all
seems little rude
until remember 2 things
a.
these all
peasants – work each day either making bread or earning enough to buy bread
-
imagine what
being given bread each day would do for their economic situation – wow!
b.
one metaphors for
law of Moses is bread from heaven
-
this could be
implied in Jesus response
‘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.’
-
They said to him,
‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
-
Jesus said to
them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and
whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
4. These statements are signs – they are not the point!
important
but not the point
read
with rest gospel see how John is answering the big question – the one crowd ask
“who
is Jesus”
is
one through whom we know god
one
in whom we find life
life
based on God’s compassion and generosity
-
especially for
poor
life
based on justice
when
people anchor lives on this
then
creation renewed
humanity
restored
5. Eucharist
-
each week
reminded of this when we eat bread offered on table
-
we are also reminded
of meals Jesus offered to both 5000+ and 4000+
-
and all times
broke rule and ate with sinners,
o
outcasts
o
tax collectors
o
widows and
orphans
eat bread of life is to be immersed in
Gods way
to be fed with compassion, generosity,
justice, love of god
not for our sake
sake all we meet
all struggle with
all welcome at table
come knowing that doing so may change
your life
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