​The Message

We are faced with the task of decision-making all day, every day.

Often, the decisions we need to make are small or seemingly insignificant – choosing what outfit to wear for the day, which shoes are best going to meet my needs today, will coffee or tea get me off to a better start, should I have a bran muffin or yogurt for breakfast – the list goes on and on.

And of course, sometimes the decisions we are faced with are much harder, and some could take days, weeks, months, or even years.

Something like a high school student choosing what universities to apply to, or deciding with your spouse whether or not to replace that old rusted vehicle (and then, what to replace it with), or deciding whether or not to downsize and move into a smaller house.

Sometimes, these decisions can loom over our heads and cloud our judgement about other things.

And then, there are times when we have to wake up every day and choose to commit our lives to something – a change in habits, a partner, a healthier lifestyle, or even our faith.

Some of you who participated in the Going Deeper studies previously were at the session where I showed a clip of Craig Ferguson, a late night talk show host, talking about his struggles with addiction to alcohol.

I won’t show the clip here because it’s a bit “not suitable for church,” but he makes a point that I thought was valuable to share, both in the context of that discussion, but also in the context of today’s scripture passage.

He shared the story of how he realized he had a drinking problem and needed help, and as is often the case in these situations, he had hit absolute rock bottom.

He shared what was very likely a very embarrassing story that probably made him feel quite a bit of shame.

But, in sharing that story, he was able to relate to everyone who has been in similar situations.

And he concluded his story by sharing that he’d now been sober for many years, but he still had to wake up every single day and recommit to sobriety.

He would find himself thinking, even so many years later, that maybe he could have just one drink.

But every day, he had to remind himself that he could not allow that to happen.

He had to renew his commitment to sobriety over and over again, every single day, probably for the rest of his life.
And, he admitted that wasn’t always easy.

And decisions like that – decisions that could forever alter our lives – are never easy.

Similarly, I have gone through many periods in my life where I have been trying to lose weight and maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.

And it is never easy.

I know, logically, that in order to create long-term, sustained change, I have to wake up every day and choose to stay on track.

And yet, I have repeatedly fallen off track many times throughout my life.

Even though I know what needs to happen - even though I know I have to reduce or eliminate unhealthy food in my house and I have to stick to an exercise plan and I have to eat out less, etc – I often find that it is just easier said than done.

I am sure there are other situations that are relatable – for example, if you are partnered, you have to wake up every day and choose your partner over and over again, even when life has gotten difficult or things are rocky between you.

I think most of us have experienced something like this in our lifetimes, and many of us have something that we need to recommit to every day.

So, now that we can hopefully think of a relatable experience, it may be easier to put ourselves into the shoes of the disciples and the followers of Jesus.

Jesus has just put his followers and his core disciples at a crossroads.

Last week, we read the passage just before today’s in which Jesus told the group that was following him that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood abides in him, and he in the person.

That is a really difficult concept to stomach, especially if it’s the first time you’ve heard it!

And, it appears many of his followers took this literally and couldn’t understand how eating the flesh of Jesus would bring them closer to God.

I can understand their concern!

Of course, we understand today that Jesus meant this to be symbolic.

Nonetheless, we heard Jesus’ followers in today’s passage complaining “this is too hard for anyone to understand.”

In other words, they’re saying this is too difficult, and they are at a point where they need to decide whether or not to keep following Jesus.

Like some of the other examples I gave earlier, making the choice for God and all that God offers is not easy, and it isn’t a choice that’s made only once.

Choosing God doesn’t just happen in one single moment, in one day, or for one month or one year. Choosing God is a lifetime commitment.

It is an important reminder that faith is not easy.

Jesus tells the people that to believe in him, to trust in him, means they must “abide” in him.

They must stay, even though it is a hard path to follow and many lose their way.

Even some of those followers who were among the first choose to turn away at this point.

This just shows us that making the choice for God isn’t something we can do once, when it seems fun and easy to follow this guy named Jesus around.

We must choose to follow God, and follow Jesus, every single day our whole life long.

We must abide.

Anything worthwhile requires abiding.

Quitting drinking or smoking, losing weight, maintaining a healthier lifestyle, committing to an educational program or career path, training for an athletic event – it all requires commitment – abiding.

And, like I have done several times, no matter how committed we are, many of us will make mistakes or get off track.
Sometimes, our failures cannot be overcome.

However, when it comes to faith, making a mistake or making a wrong choice is not the end of the story.

John’s Gospel and this passage reminds us that we always have a choice.

We can choose to look up at Jesus, or we can turn away.

We can choose to accept or reject the challenge and the promise of the cross and what Peter calls the “words of eternal life” that are always calling to us.

Making the choice to follow Jesus is not always easy, and is not a decision we make once and never think about again.
It is an ongoing, daily decision we must make.

And, as I conclude today’s message, I leave you with some questions for pondering.

What might our lives look like if we claimed the promise of the cross every single day?

What if we were no longer afraid of difficult teachings?

What if we were no longer afraid of people who think or act differently than us?

Would we treat other people with more dignity and grace?

Might we allow others to change us for the better?

May we, together, commit to abiding in Jesus, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, for our entire lives.

Amen.

Let us pray:
​
God of patience, we come before you today in gratitude for your love and care. We ask that you help us to continue to choose to abide in you, day after day for the rest of our lives. Even though sometimes life can be difficult and we can lose our way, we ask that you help us choose to turn to you - to turn to the promise of the cross and trust in your guidance and help. All of this we pray today in your name. Amen.

​Young at Heart Message
 
Today I chose to preach on Proverbs rather than the Gospel because I think today’s passage from Proverbs offers us some wonderful insights.
 
The passage is essentially a personification of Lady Wisdom.
 
She invites the young and the foolish to eat and drink at her table so they might gain understanding and live better lives.
 
This method of teaching wisdom to young people seems highly effective!
 
I was young once – believe me, I know how effective a free meal can be at getting the young to be a captive audience so that a message can be conveyed.
 
Now of course, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. But for the sake of this passage, I would argue it is a good thing.
 
The entire aim of the wisdom literature in the Bible – of which Proverbs is the quintessential example – is to teach [young] people how to live with wisdom and integrity, and how to live the “good life” in the best sense of that term.
 
But of course, the way we tend to think of “the good life” today is very different than what the writers of wisdom literature viewed as the good life.
 
I don’t know if any of you remember these, but Maserati used to have an ad that looked like this:

​The implication of course is that the key to an extraordinary life is owning a luxury vehicle.
 
This notion that owning nice things, having money, or “keeping up with the Joneses” is the way we measure and achieve having a “good life” is a cultural phenomenon that has plagued humanity for a very long time.
 
And yet, most of us don’t question it, really. We strive to earn more, save more, buy nicer things, own nicer homes, own nicer cars, take expensive vacations… the list goes on and on.
 
And, when people can’t achieve these things, they fall into the trap of longing for a life they simply cannot support.
 
People go into debt trying to keep up with cultural expectations that having more and better things is the key to the good life.
 
While this might seem a ridiculous way to live, we are subconsciously receiving messages regularly that tell us that this way of living is the only way to truly have a good life.
 
So even if we know intuitively that this isn’t true, it is hard not to succumb to the cultural implications that not having the nicest things makes us some kind of failure as human beings.
 
Our worth, of course, doesn’t stem at all from the things we own, the money we have, the way we look, the people we know, or any other arbitrary thing we use to measure status in society.
 
And yet, it is hard for us to break out of that way of thinking.
 
I’ll give you a quick example.
 
I feel like I live a fairly modest lifestyle.
 
Of course, I wish I had more money – I long to save more, I wouldn’t mind replacing some of the things I own, I might like to buy new furniture, etc.
 
But, when I think back to the years I spent in university and shortly after graduating, I made next to nothing.
 
I was close enough to the poverty level that I considered applying for assistance, though I think I was just over the limit so likely wouldn’t have been accepted anyway.
 
But I survived (even though, looking back, I have no idea how I survived)!
 
I would have been thrilled to make the income I make today!
 
And yet, today, I still long for more.
 
It almost seems that the more we earn, the more we long for more.
 
When I was barely getting by all those years ago, I just wanted things to be a little easier.
 
I didn’t want to be rich necessarily, but I wanted to be a little better off so that I didn’t have to worry as much about money.
 
Of course, I’ve since learned that it doesn’t matter how much you make – you always long for more.
 
The Message
 
So, is this desire to have more than we currently have actually allowing us to live a good life?
 
Is this culture of “keeping up with the Joneses” actually providing a good life?
 
Or do we end up always striving for more?
 
When we finally reach the next level – the level at which we think we will be happy – do we stop striving, or do we then want to get to the next level?
 
Lady Wisdom would sigh and say “hey, set aside this life of immaturity and always longing for more. Instead, join me at my table, rest, and walk in the way of insight.”
 
The writers of the wisdom texts could appreciate material prosperity, but they did not consider it life’s ultimate goal.
 
Instead, they urged their readers to live lives of virtue, integrity, honesty, hard work, and faithfulness.
 
There was a sense that they knew that when we get to the end, none of the “stuff” is going to matter anyway.
 
What will matter is how we lived, not what we achieved or what stuff we owned when we reach the finish line.
 
Living a life of virtue may not seem extraordinary in the way the Maserati ad would imply our lives need to be in order to be extraordinary.
 
However, a life of integrity, honesty, self-control, and faithfulness is extraordinary in the best sense of the word.
 
The person who puts into practice the teachings of the wisdom sages may become an example of a way of being in the world that is neither flashy nor attention-seeking, but is in fact noteworthy and, in its own way, quite remarkable.
 
People with such wisdom possess qualities that draw others to them in ways that material prosperity simply can’t.
 
The feast that Lady Wisdom invites us to is an invitation to a life of virtue and integrity, honesty and generosity.
 
By contrast, just a few verses further in this chapter, Folly issues an invitation to her own feast.
 
She uses the same exact words that Wisdom uses: “You who are simple, turn in here!”
 
Folly’s invitation is tempting to the young, the naïve, and those who are more concerned about material wealth and prosperity.
 
But, those who might be tempted aren’t aware that Folly’s feast consists of stolen water and the bread of secrecy.
 
Those who choose to accept Folly’s invitation aren’t aware they are “in the depths of Sheol” – in other words, they are on the path toward death.
 
Of course, Proverbs and the wisdom writers tend to speak in ways that seem a bit cryptic, admittedly.
 
What we can understand from this passage is that Wisdom’s feast is always available to us, and she will always call out to us to “walk in the way of insight.”
 
Even if we have occasionally been tempted by Folly’s feast, we can always accept Wisdom’s invitation.
 
What does that look like in a world where Folly’s invitation is accepted by more of us than we care to admit?
 
Well, it could look different for everyone, but perhaps it’s a meal together as a family or a small group of friends.
 
Perhaps it’s reading a book instead of watching a movie.
 
Perhaps it’s giving to a charity instead of buying that new outfit or a new car.
 
Maybe it’s telling someone you love them if it’s been too long.
 
Wisdom’s invitation is a call to be self-aware.
 
It is an opportunity to look at our lives and acknowledge the ways in which we have been living based on cultural influences rather than by Wisdom’s virtue.
 
She is not suggesting that we entirely set aside worldly comforts, necessarily.
 
She is simply suggesting that we aren’t living lives in which our sole purpose is to accumulate wealth, status, and “things.”
 
Whatever shape Wisdom’s feast takes in your life and in the lives of the people you love, may her feast be satisfying in the way that only real food and real bread can be.
 
May it nurture your soul and bear fruit in your life so that others might be sustained by that fruit.
 
And, may it teach you wisdom as you seek to walk in the way of Christian discipleship.
 
Amen.
 
Let us pray:
 
God of compassion, help us to see the ways in which our lives are good, and help us to break the cycle of always longing for more. Help us to live lives of virtue, and to share ourselves with others in ways that honour our own gifts, and the needs of other people. Help us to open our eyes to the good life as You would have our lives be, rather than as society might dictate for us. Grant to us Your grace and mercy in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

​Young at Heart Message
 
This morning, we’re going to do a little “thought experiment” related to anger.
 
I won’t ask you to say anything this time, but I’m going to lay out a couple scenarios and, when I ask you a few questions, I’ll ask you to just raise your hand in response.
 
Here is the first scenario:
 
Imagine that you are driving along the highway.
 
Someone driving faster than you approaches from behind. They move over into the left lane to pass you.
 
But then, after they’ve passed you and moved back over into the right lane, they slow down by 20 kph.
 
This ticks you off – what was the point of passing you just to move back over into the right lane and slow down?
 
You feel angry, and you feel like this person deserves to know how angry you are.
 
So, you now pass them, and then immediately move over in front of them and tap your brakes.
 
That should show them!
 
You open your window and flip them the bird as well for good measure.
 
Raise your hand if you think you’re justified in your anger over this situation. Maybe you don’t agree with the response, but are you justified in being angry?
 
OK, now let’s put ourselves into the shoes of the other driver for a moment.
 
You are driving along the highway. The speed limit is 110 kph.
 
You approach, in the right lane, a person who is cruising along at 100 kph.
 
You have your cruise control set, and there’s no one in the left lane, so you move over to pass the person.
 
You pass them, and then you move over into the right lane after a respectable distance.
 
However, you see an upcoming speed reduction sign.
 
The speed limit has been reduced to 80 kph, so you slow down to accommodate the new speed.
 
All the sudden, the person that you passed a moment ago flies past you in the left lane, moves abruptly over in front of you into your lane, and taps their brakes, forcing you to slow down abruptly.
 
Then you see their arm fly out their window and flip you the bird.
 
Raise your hand if you feel angry about this scenario.
 
Thinking back to the first driver, raise your hand if your feelings have changed about whether or not you were justified in your anger.
 
Now raise your hand if you think the second driver is justified in their anger.
 
Now, imagine the first driver – the one who cut you off and slowed way down to get back at you – had a sign on their back window that said this:

​Raise your hand if this changes how you feel about their response.
 
OK, raise your hand now if this sign changes how you feel about their response:

Would you feel different about the first driver’s response if you found out that they had just received the news of the death of a close family member?
 
Lastly, would you feel any different about the first driver if you learned that they were Christian?
 
As I was researching for today’s sermon, I watched a few different Tedx Talks with people talking about anger.
 
What I learned was varied depending on the speaker, but one of the things that seemed to be consistent was that anger (whether justified or perceived) and how we cope with it very much depends on the mood we are in or the state of our mental and emotional health at the time.
 
And this makes complete sense to me, because most days I can brush off minor inconveniences.
 
BUT, on days when I’m already in a bad mood, every. Little. Thing. Can irritate me.
 
It also seems that things like stubbing your toe, banging your funny bone, or getting your belt loop stuck on something and pulling you backwards only happen when you’re already in a bad mood.
 
At least, we only notice them or get frustrated or angry about them when we are already in a bad mood.
​
The Message
 
Now, I will admit that it took me longer than usual to figure out how I wanted to handle today’s sermon, because it does feel as though, as a pastor, I shouldn’t admit that I get angry – and sometimes, I get angry about little things that really don’t matter.
 
But then I realized – why not? Anger happens to everyone. If you are human, you have the capacity to feel anger.
 
Now, that said, we also have the capacity to cope with anger and manage our anger, and most of us are reasonably good at it.
 
However, sometimes, managing anger or coping with anger can be more difficult than other times.
 
And, sometimes, we are so hurt and angered by a situation that we really struggle to get over it.
 
Perhaps we end up cutting someone out of our lives, or we end up letting that anger linger in the background for a very, very long time.
 
And, sometimes, our ability to cope with our anger ends up affecting the people around us. It can also end up affecting us negatively – perhaps by preventing us from opening ourselves up to others, or by simply causing us a lot of stress or anxiety over time.
 
Anger is a normal human emotion, and it serves a healthy purpose.
 
It tells us when someone has disrespected our boundaries.
 
It helps us recognize when we might need to distance ourselves from someone or something.
 
It might help us realize that we need a new job, or that we need to get out of a relationship.
 
So, when we are able to cope and manage our anger well, anger can serve us.
 
So why does Paul talk to the Ephesians about anger?
 
He starts by saying something that I think is incredibly important to understand:
 
He says, “We are part of the same body.”
 
This is a blatant reminder that we are all, first and foremost, human beings.
 
Regardless of where we come from, what our background is, what language we speak, or what we look like – we are all humans.
 
And, in the case of the Ephesians he’s writing to, they are all Christ-followers.
 
It sounds to me as though perhaps the Ephesians were struggling a bit with anger, or other hurtful behaviours or responses to one another.
 
So, this reminder that they are all part of the same body, I imagine, almost immediately caused the Ephesians to look around sheepishly at their neighbours and feel a little pang of guilt.
 
Now, the fact that they are all part of one body and that they are all Christ-followers doesn’t change the fact that they aren’t treating each other the way they are expected to.
 
Just like learning that the fact that the first driver in our thought experiment is a Christian doesn’t really change how we feel about the actions they took.
 
The reality is, we might even judge them a bit more harshly because their behaviour didn’t seem very Christian in the moment.
 
This is what Paul is trying to convey:
 
“Hey, you Epehsians! You claim to be Christians, but your behaviour doesn’t seem very Christ-like.”
 
So, he offers them a few reminders.
 
Tell one another the truth.
 
Also, don’t get so angry that you sin.
 
In other words, maybe don’t get so angry that you retaliate against someone else.
 
The scenario with the two drivers actually happened to me a while ago.
 
I was driver number 2, and while perhaps I wasn’t totally innocent in the scenario, I suspect that the other driver didn’t realize (or perhaps didn’t care) that the speed limit dropped.
 
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, if they didn’t realize the speed limit dropped, then it probably did seem like I was just slowing down to be unkind or a pain.
 
It may have seemed like I did it on purpose.
 
But, the other driver is really the one who was in the wrong, whether they knew it or perceived it that way or not.
 
I am confident that they felt justified in their anger.
 
And I am also confident that their anger was real - they really felt it inside of themselves.
 
And yet, they didn’t have the full picture.
 
It is possible that Paul can see a fuller picture than the Ephesians can – they might be too close to their situation to be able to see clearly.
 
So, maybe they need the reminder to take a step back and “stop being bitter and angry and mad at others.”
 
We all need that reminder from time to time.
 
But we also need the reminder to forgive others and give them the benefit of the doubt.
 
Especially because it just might be the case that we don’t have the full picture either.
 
Paul’s final words to the Ephesians reminds them to “let love be [their] guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.”
 
If we let love be our guide, do you think we would do something like cut someone off and flip them the bird while we drive?
 
If we let love be our guide, might we give others the benefit of the doubt, or at least be able to put ourselves in their shoes and *try* to understand their perspective?
 
We may not always agree, but if we are clouded by anger, it will be very difficult to see a situation from anything other than the very place we sit, which might not be the best vantage point to see the full picture.
 
Anger is an important emotion. I don’t think Paul is discounting that.
 
But I do think he is trying to give the Ephesians, and us, some guidance on how to better manage anger so that we don’t harm others as we work through it.
 
I don’t think he’s necessarily saying we should not address an issue if someone has done something to us to make us angry.
 
But I do think that he’s trying to tell us that instead of responding with a knee-jerk reaction, we should take a step back, if and when we can, to evaluate the situation and see it from the other person’s perspective.
 
Then, we can share our anger in a healthy way rather than in a way that simply retaliates on the other person.
 
Taking a minute to collect ourselves may prevent further damage to our relationships with others.
 
So, let us remember Paul’s words the next time feelings of anger bubble up in us, and, at the very least, try to take a moment before we respond.
 
In Paul’s words: “Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. Let love be your guide.”
 
Amen.
 
Let us pray:
 
Bread of life, you taught us to put away bitterness and anger, and with tenderhearted kindness to share the fruit of our labor with the needy. Strengthen us by your grace, that in communion with you, we may forgive one another and live in love as Christ loved us. Amen.

Young at Heart Message
 
Let’s start today’s message by trying to put ourselves into the story we are hearing today.
 
Let’s imagine for a moment that we are part of the crowd that is following Jesus around.
 
Yesterday, we witnessed a miracle.
 
There wasn’t enough food, and yet somehow, we were all fed.
 
We are used to going hungry more often than we would like.
 
Illness, hunger, and unsanitary living conditions lead to some level of misery for most of us, at least some of the time.
 
Life in this age can be a burden at times.
 
Shelter, food, safety, and security can be a struggle for many of us.
 
Life is uncertain in so many ways, and most of us are looking for miracles or solutions to these daily burdens that plague our lives.
 
Yesterday, we all sat together and watched as this man, Jesus, turned a few loaves of bread and two small fish into enough food for all of us.
 
We ate well for the first time in a long time, and the best part was that we didn’t have to do the work of gathering or preparing the meal.
 
Anyone who can provide food in such a way should absolutely be our king.
 
And yet, when we expressed our desire for this man, Jesus, to be our king, he left us and declined to accept this honour.
 
Perhaps he was just being humble and modest. A man like that who can work such miracles is probably a humble man at heart.
 
So today, we searched long and hard and we found him again!
 
He was able to feed us yesterday, but who knows what else he can do!
 
What would you want to ask Jesus if you were part of this crowd who searched so hard to find him?
…
What would you want Jesus to know about how you live and what your needs are?
…
 
How do you feel about meeting Jesus again today?
…
I image that this crowd feels a mixture of wonder, excitement, anticipation, and hope as they encounter Jesus again.
 
They ask him a seemingly innocent question: “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
 
But instead of giving them an answer they might expect, Jesus seems to chastise them.
 
He says, more or less, “You worked all night to find me because I represent a free lunch. You never read the signs; you missed the point completely.”
 
Putting ourselves back into the crowd for a moment, how does it feel to have Jesus call us out for having “insufficient reasons” for trying to find him again?
…
 
The Message
 
I imagine that the people in the crowd were confused and perhaps even angry at Jesus’ response, at least initially.
 
They felt like they were doing the right thing, not only for themselves, but also for someone who had clear leadership skills and, they assumed, should be honoured that they wanted him to be their king.
 
The question they asked him implies that they know something about Jesus, but they desire to know so much more.
 
Their question is not limited to time and place. Rather, it’s a question about ultimate origins.
 
They want to know where he came from and how he became a miracle worker.
 
So Jesus’ response to their seemingly innocent question feels rather harsh.
 
Although the people have been searching for him all night long, and even crossed the lake to find him, Jesus detects an ulterior motive and calls their bluff (even if they don’t know it’s a bluff).
 
Most of us are afraid to be this forthright.
 
How many of us have had friends, family members, or acquaintances ask us for something or do something with seemingly good intentions, but we know they have a different agenda all together?
 
And yet, it is rare that we call people out so bluntly.
 
Many of us, myself included, will even allow the person to take advantage of us or work their agenda knowing that’s what they are doing because that’s easier than calling them on it.
 
But Jesus does something that is ultimately more meaningful and useful to the crowd than simply going along with their misguided agenda would have been.
 
He essentially tells that that he knows why they’ve come to find him.
 
“You came after me because of what happened yesterday when it was time to eat. You ate your fill, and now you’ve come to see if you can get more out of me today. You aren’t really interested in knowing who I am. Your question is a façade to cover your true intentions.”
 
Ouch.
 
More or less what he is saying is that they have come looking for him for what I would say is “insufficient reasons.”
 
I hesitate to say “for the wrong reasons” because they are just doing what instinct, cultural norms and expectations, and their own survival skills tell them they should do.
 
They aren’t trying to do the wrong thing here.
 
But their reasons are insufficient, and Jesus is pressing them to go deeper than their surface-level agenda.
 
And this shouldn’t really be surprising to us today.
 
People have, throughout history, chosen “insufficient reasons” to follow Jesus.
 
The cause of Christ has been exploited in myriad ways over the course of history to either hurt people, or to further people’s political or personal agendas that have nothing to do with Christ.
 
But Jesus isn’t having it, and if he were here today, I imagine his response would be very similar, or perhaps he would have even more harsh words for us today.
 
He abhors such crass opportunism.
 
In this case, he doesn’t even answer the question they ask him, but instead he moves the conversation in a new direction.
 
“The bread you’re after,” he tells them, “will not last. Yesterday you assuaged your hunger. You ate the bread and now you’re hungry again. There is food that perishes and there is food that lasts. God the Father has marked me to provide you the food that endures. So work for that food.”
 
In other words, your focus on things that are fleeting in this life will keep you on the hamster wheel. Jesus is inviting them (and us) to step off the hamster wheel into a new life. 
 
How do we do that?
 
Jesus tells the crowd that the answer is simple: “Believe in him whom he has sent.”
 
So easy! Right?
 
Well, the crowd doesn’t think so, and they ask him to prove it.
 
We heard a similar story from Exodus today as well – the very same story the crowd mentions as sufficient “proof.”
 
Jesus reminds them that Moses isn’t the one who provided the manna – that manna came from God.
 
Like most of the people in this crowd, each of us here is challenged by at least one personal “wilderness:” painful loss, physical suffering, financial woes, betrayal, bereavement, and more.
 
These are roads that we travel not by choice, but by necessity.
 
With the life-sustaining bread that Jesus offers, we are able to walk these roads.
 
It doesn’t mean it will be easy.
 
He doesn’t promise the crowd that all of their troubles will disappear.
 
He’s promising something deeper, something that will sustain us through the challenges and burdens of life – not something that will allow us to bypass those challenges completely.
 
Jesus is offering us an opportunity to see past whatever “insufficient reasons” we have for seeking him, and instead recognize that our own agenda needs to be set aside in order to truly be fed by the Bread of Life.
 
This is the Good News that the Gospel of John is trying to convey – it’s simultaneously a reality check that allows us to look at ourselves and our selfish motivations, and also set those aside so that we can come to Jesus with more intention and deeper meaning.
 
May we each take this opportunity to grow more deeply into our relationship with Christ and may we look beyond ourselves to the love and sustenance that Jesus provides through, for, and with God the Father. Amen.
 
Let us pray:
 
God, we sometimes have insufficient reasons for following you - sometimes we hope for answers, want you to do the hard work for us, or expect you to clear our path of obstacles or challenges without us having to do any of the hard work ourselves.
 
We sometimes forget to be grateful for those times when life gets difficult and you continue to love and support us through the challenges.
 
Thank you for loving us and guiding us, teaching us and being patient with us.
 
We know we don’t even have to ask, but we pray that you continue loving us and supporting us throughout our lives.
 
All of this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
 
Resources: 
~ Commentary from Christian Century titled “Wonder Bread: John 6:24-35” by Charles Hoffman (2006): https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2006-07/wonder-bread
 
~ Commentary from Working Preacher titled “Commentary on John 6:24-35” by Alicia D. Myers (2024): https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-18-2/commentary-on-john-61-21-7
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