“Seeing the Signs”

(John 6:1-15) 

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.  A large crowd kept following, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.  Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples.  Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.  When he looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, “Six months wages (two hundred denarii) would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.  But what are they among so many people?”  Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.”  Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.  Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated, so also the fish, as much as they wanted.  When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”  So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.  When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” 

When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

            You have heard the scripture text, this feeding story from the Gospel of John.  You might be interested to know that the feeding story is the only miracle story that appears in all four Gospels.  And some of it should sound familiar because last week I preached on Mark’s version of this very story. 

As always, Gospel writer John has a different approach to telling a tale.  Now, I want to take a moment to point out some of the differences between Mark’s and John’s versions.  Mark makes a point of telling us that Jesus and the disciples were eager to find a place where they could be alone. 

Instead, John’s emphasis is on the large crowd and Jesus’ practical approach to looking after them.  In John’s story, Jesus takes the lead in asking the disciples how they were going to feed the crowd.  His direct question was, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”  This is very similar to what the disciples asked Jesus in Mark’s version.  But, as John often does, he tells us what Jesus is thinking, hence we find out that Jesus already knew what he was going to do.

One feature that stands out for me in John’s Gospel is how important it is for the crowd to “see the signs.”  First the crowd followed Jesus because they had seen the signs of his healing the sick.  That was reported at the beginning of the story.  Then we see the sign that he had performed in feeding that huge crowd of people.  We’re told the people saw that sign and they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”  So, you may have noticed that this is a sign to Jesus that the people wanted him to be king, so at the end of the story we hear that, because of this, Jesus went back up into the mountains.

            Well, back to the seeing signs.  Another way in which we are to pay attention to this theme of seeing is to notice how Jesus, looking down from the mountain, saw the huge crowd coming toward him.  In this story Jesus is in charge of the whole situation.  He questions his disciples about how in the world they were going to feed all these people, but Jesus knew all along that he, through the sign of his miracle, would form them into a community by “seeing them” and by the gracious giving of himself and the gift of food.

            Now, on one level, it is clear that the people are hungry.  Jesus could “see” that there was a physical need, but implied in the report of their hunger is the spiritual need from which all us humans suffer.  We are hungry for meaning in our lives.  We are searching to have power because we have lost touch with the source of power, that is, God. 

            I’m sure you have seen and heard some of the symptoms of this vacuum in 21^st century America: the unbelievable statistics of heroin and fentanyl overdoses (which, of course, is only the tip of the addiction iceberg), the epidemic of obesity in our nation, our desperate need for honorable people to serve in positions of power in our country (and, then, when we find people who are reasonably trustworthy, the ways in which we sabotage their service).  This vacuum of meaning also shows in our insatiable appetite for celebrities to entertain us with their dysfunctional lives….  These examples indicate to me just how out of touch we are with our own need for meaning in our lives.

            The list goes on and on as we attempt to find something to believe in, something that gives meaning to our lives.  I get so weary of hearing people say they believe in this or they believe in that or they don’t believe in the other thing.  We hear, “I believe in America,” or “I don’t believe in evolution,” or “I believe in same gender marriage,” or “I don’t believe in capital punishment,” or “I don’t believe in Church.”

            The thing is I don’t believe in any of that.  I believe in God.  And my pathway has me believing in the God who reveals Godself in Jesus, who, in places like the Gospel of John, shows signs of God.  We see God feeding the people in all ways, saving them in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, teaching them about the Bread of Life, or showing what Living Water is, or in the healing of the sick.  But, even in John’s Gospel, there is no single way to experience God’s presence in Jesus.  We are offered God’s presence in so many ways. 

            In today’s lesson, that way is through Jesus feeding us.  Imagine, there you are, sitting out on the grassy field, in need of sustenance, and you are shown God’s love and grace through the miraculous multiplication of the meagre offering of 5 loaves and two fish. 

            And, in this way, God’s community is formed, not because of a certain leader or the correct words or the right belief, but because God chose to reveal Godself in Jesus’ giving of himself.  We receive the gift as we are in Jesus’ presence, in the presence of God.

            One beautiful way of believing, receiving, being in God’s presence, is receiving communion.  Communion would have been a great way of illustrating what I’ve been talking about because this is a text about experiencing God’s presence, about receiving God’s love, about basking in God’s grace—all this through Jesus’ gift of himself.  We’ll be celebrating communion next week, so it’s coming! 

            …We Christians argue and tussle over what proper belief in Jesus is.  Instead of arguing or slapping the Bible in front of each other, let us go back to the grassy meadow; let us sit down and receive God’s love and grace through Jesus’ gift.

            …And so, we, in a way, receive God’s love and grace when we fellowship together in the kitchen and the Community Room.  I know this is important to you because so many of you stay when you are able.  It’s not communion exactly but it is a way to celebrate our oneness and to notice one more way of experiencing God’s means of grace.  It’s a chance to see each other and acknowledge God’s presence. 

When we first began attending worship at Peninsula in 2013 during Derek’s time as your pastor, I knew that you had begun celebrating the Eucharist each Sunday, and so, I have a confession to make, unbelievable as it may seem, I was kind of dreading communion each week.  But, I have to admit to you, it was more than fine.  To stand in a circle as a sign of our oneness, and receive God’s love in Jesus’ giving of himself is a wonderful way of being renewed.

            …However we choose to celebrate our oneness, our agreement in how God’s love is shown is sacred.  Whether it be in our usual worship service, through the singing and praying and preaching; or when we gather, as we did on Thursday for the Staycation mission; or when we make sure our children feel the love of God through us; or when we listened to our missionaries last week talking about their deep commitment to sharing the love of Christ; or when we are in conversation with one another; or when we serve by keeping our church and grounds lovely and inviting; or when we are inspired to support not just our local church but the worldwide church.  Our missionaries, Lulu and Rich, reminded us that when we pay our apportionments to the General Church we are supporting their wonderful ministry and that of all the other United Methodist missionaries.  We also celebrate our oneness and the signs of being Christians by opening our doors to those in need; or by supporting programs that reach out to those who are struggling.  These are all ways for us to be Christ’s church, to be signs that others can see, to be inspirations in a cold and lonely world, to show our children what it means to be Christians in the very best sense of the word.  We do not want to be a closed group that just takes care of its own, but, rather, we want to stand with our arms open wide, ready to meet the world’s needs in whatever way we are able, caring not for whether we’ll run out of money, energy or resources but, instead, in trusting God that we can be the signs that others may see—and that we can see the signs for ourselves so we will always be watching for Christ in our world.  When did we see you, Jesus? We ask.  He replies, “When you have cared for the least of these, you have cared for me.”  That’s the sign.  Amen.