Hugh Perry

Readings

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

The lectionary gives us snippets of a growing and continuing power struggle within the royal household and within the nation.  Such struggles are not uncommon among feudal monarchies, wealthy families and corporations and indeed democracies. Although the violence is more subtle or hidden in the contemporary world.  The consequences of David’s lifestyle began to work themselves out and violence erupts among the king’s children. Absalom conspires to kill his brother Amnon, because he raped their sister, and eventually Absalom is led into open revolt against his father David.  The carnage of the resulting civil war eventually puts Bathsheba’s son nearer to the throne.

John 6:35, 41-51

This section begins with verse 35 from last week’s reading to remind us of Jesus’ claim that he is ‘the bread of life’ and to clarify, for us, that we are still dealing with John’s communion theology begun with the feeding of the five thousand.

Jesus’ sermon continues to build his theology using rebuttal from the crowd as a prompt for Jesus to continue his argument, first by pointing out that God directs people to Jesus.  The connection between the manna in the wilderness and Jesus feeding of the five thousand is made along with the idea that eating sustains the body, scripture feeds the soul and generous hospitality in remembrance of Jesus acts as support for those who have been called by God.

Sermon

The two examples of scripture we read this morning give a contrast between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God.

Furthermore, the Second Samuel reading is very significant at this time when there is once again brutal fighting between people who see themselves as children of Abraham.  In that context I recently saw a comment from a Jewish scholar who said that her reading in the original of the Hebrew Text did not promise the land to the escaped slaves.  The scholar claimed that the Hebrew Text told the fleeing slaves that if they followed the ethical laws that God had given them they could live in the land with the other people who lived there.

That aligns with a comment I read when reading about Jewish Refugees from World War Two.  A wise old grandfather was asked how the Jews could be God’s Chosen People when there were so many other people in the world. His reply was that they were not chosen to be the only people, they were chosen to be an example to all people.

Throughout history people have felt more secure if they are living among people who are like them.  However, even my addiction to crime novels tells me that isn’t true and my memory of reading Shakespeare confirms that fact.  More specifically Rev Dr Margaret Mayman told me that when she did her PhD thesis, she discovered that 70% of the murders in the Unites States were committed within intimate relationships.

I have suggested that figure to people who work in Aotearoa rescuing women from violent relationships and they say our figures are about the same.

What we read in our news reports focuses on young people robbing dairies, boy racers or gangs intimidating ordinary citizens.  We like reading those reports because those crimes are committed by people who are ‘other.’  They are stories that sell advertising without frightening readers with uncomfortable truths.  But all those authors from Agatha Christie to Ann Cleeves are correct, people harm each other in families and get into deadly disputes about inheritance.

As Maurice Andrew says in the in The Old Testament in Aotearoa New Zealand ‘The Old Testament is Realistic’.

Yet even in amongst the deadly struggles of David’s family there is recognition that humans live best in community.  However, fear drives them to first seek the community of their relatives, then to rule that community and eventually to rule others.

Our Gospel reading, like all gospel readings, invites us to an alternative view of community.  Living together in a community based on love, trust and empathy.  A community that welcomes strangers and a community Jesus called ‘The Kingdom of God.’

In spite of some scary trends in major democracies around the world we are still not ruled by an absolute monarch like King David.  King Charles the third is a constitutional monarch.  So, we might understand Jesus hopes better if we referred to ‘the divine realm, heavenly domain’ or something similar.  Jesus was talking about a way of organising human society.  A corporation rather than a corporation.  A community organised by spiritual principles of empathy and cooperation rather that human fear or the domination of the many by the powerful few.

The episode we read begins with the feeding of the five thousand where a small boy’s five loaves are somehow shared among five thousand people.  This could be understood as a challenge to the commodity market through cooperation and sharing.  A potluck picnic or even the promotion of the type of farming I see more and more on Country Calendar where the producer of food sells their produce to neighbours rather than to large export companies.

But John is much more interested in telling his readers about what he believes about Jesus rather that promoting green agriculture and the reduction of food miles.

So, John’s Jesus gives us a long and complicated sermon about the identity of Christ and the theology of the Eucharist.

Unlike the other three gospels John does not have a last supper episode.  But as we carefully follow this section through from the feeding event it becomes clear that this was indeed John’s communion episode.

Because of this episode we can imagine the followers of Jesus coming together to share the memory of Jesus and all bringing food to share.  Furthermore, one of the resurrection episodes has Jesus sharing barbecued fish with his disciples.

Following the story of the fishing episode where Jesus’ guidance yields an unprecedented catch of fish we read:

‘Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord.  Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. (John 21:12,13)

That is a very similar approach to what he did at the feeding of the five thousand and it is very much a communion service distribution.  On that occasion however it was a meeting with the Risen Christ which is what we symbolise in a communion service.

In today’s passage the compiler of the lectionary reminds us of the previous episodes that are significant to today’s passage by beginning with verse thirty-five.

‘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’. (John 6; 35)

That is an extremely significant statement if we agree that struggles for wealth and power are inspired by the fear of want.

By living in the divine realm, the fear of want is eliminated by the empathy and love that we find in Jesus.

In partaking in communion, we remind ourselves that Jesus is the bread of life.  Not bread we eat, not Jesus’ flesh, but the essence of who Jesus was.  Jesus’ ethics of love, cooperation and sharing.  The true values that made Jesus unique.  It is those values that we are challenged to take into ourselves, so we too become Christlike.

Jesus’ metaphor of being the bread of life that comes down from heaven focuses the reader away from physical bread to the spiritual nourishment that helps folk become the sort of people that transform the world of power games into the divine realm.

Bread gives us carbohydrates that fuel our bodies but to gain the benefit of living in a human community our mind needs spiritual food.  As Christians we find that food, that bread, in Jesus Christ.  The closing verse this morning has Jesus say, ‘Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of this world is my flesh.’ (John 6:51)   In remembering Jesus and the gospel teachings the ‘flesh’ is understood as the embodiment of ‘Christ’ held in the Hebrew scripture and the Gospel narrative.  Food that feeds the soul.

Moving on from the claim that Jesus is the bread of life this passage builds on the theological understanding of Jesus by introducing the rebuttal of the crowd that know Jesus’ father and mother therefore can’t believe he come down from heaven.

However we understand heaven, it is a useful way of referring to a divine, rather than purely human influence in peoples’ lives.  But the most significant theological statement in this passage is the idea that no one can come to Jesus unless drawn by God.  (John 6: 44)

God directs people to Jesus.  That is an important message for evangelists and anyone intent on promoting church growth.  In this time of church decline growth strategies seem vital so that there is a future church.  An organisation to teach the faith, encourage individual spiritual growth, and find more people to carry out collectively those activities of healing and hope that we cannot achieve individually.

However, there are unfortunate temptations in a focus on numerical growth.

The prosperity gospel and the abuse of power certainly comes to mind.  The prosperity gospel suggests that by giving service and money to God individuals will be rewarded according to their gifts.  Apart from its similarity to the direct marketing promise that offers ‘health wealth and happiness but only if you respond now’ the crucifixion well and truly rebuts that thought. The report into abuse in state and faith-based care highlights the corruption of authority that is very similar to what we read about in the books of Samuel.

As individual Christians, and as a church, we must go about the works of Christ, healing the sick, offering hope and open hospitality and transforming individuals.  There is no promise of church growth only the fear of embarrassment and the possibility of crucifixion.

The alternative carries the risk of exploiting the vulnerable and even friendship evangelism carries that risk.

The Gospels call us to live our faith so that the Risen Christ is made real to us and in us.  We must not divert ourselves from that calling to try and persuade people to join the church.  Once we start persuading people, we run the risk of persuading them to all sorts of things. We are simply instructed by this passage to accept the true bread of Christ that sustains our soul with a vision of a better world than we have known.

Nourished by such vision, such a body of Christ, we are called to step into our world on a mission of transformation.  We do so in the faith that God will call others to join us.  Our actions will make Christ known.  As we go in mission into our world our faith tells us that God will call people to the tasks the divine wisdom has assigned them to.

A successful mission church will offer hospitality to hundreds of people in multiple ways but only a few will join.  Those few people have and always will be the people Christ has called.

Moved by mission to be Christ in the community with no strings attached some people will feel the call of Christ on their lives.  Such people will feed their spiritual growth on the Christ bread, the embodiment of ‘Christ’ held in the Hebrew scripture and the Gospel narrative.

The church of the future well be made up of those whom God has called. As the church of the present, we are called to feed ourselves on the very essence of Christ and be Christlike to others.