John 6.35, 41-51,
Ephesians 4.25-5.2, 1 Kings 19.4-8
Bread for Life
Paul’s letter to the
church in Ephesus was probably written during his time under house arrest in
Rome between approximately 60—62 AD. Whilst he wasn’t free to move it seems he was
allowed to work, receive visitors and send out letters.
I don’t know the answer to
this question but if we were to receive a letter to the church in Seal, aimed
at correcting and guiding us, what do you think would be the subject matter?
There’s no doubt that a lot of great things happen as a result of us coming
together as a church, but we also know that there’s always new things to work
on or things we could do better, maybe even things we should stop doing.
As a means of
communication letters still have a place today. Apart from novelty value which
separates them from emails and texts there’s a sense that greater warmth and
consideration goes into them and that the nature of sending a piece of paper
doesn’t expect an immediate response. After all we often don’t know the time of
delivery and can’t request a read receipt. The pace of a letter often feels
right to convey important things.
To receive a letter from
someone when forcibly separated, who is caring for their wellbeing when
imprisoned must have been humbling for the church members in Ephesus, and yet
reassuring.
If we received letters
telling us that Seal church gets a bit cold in the winter we’d probably think ‘and
what are we supposed to do about it’ so it makes sense that Paul writes about
matters he knows the people can change for the better.
Parts of Paul’s letters
will have been general in their teaching but part will also have been specific,
based upon information received from his sources. We would imagine that there
must have been some specific problem for Paul to write ‘thieves must give up
stealing’ as surely people already knew this to be wrong. The point is that God
given energy and skill is being misused and destroying trust in the community,
an obvious better use of energy would be to do an honest day’s work and then
share something earnt with those in greater need.
Having preached here
regularly for almost 17 years now I often sense that I’m saying the same basic
message over and again with little new to add, and this is almost certainly
true as we see the love of God in Christ manifest itself in so many ways. Yet,
hopefully much that we already know causes us to reflect in different contexts
and things we know to be true and good become more easily recognisable in
others.
The mutual support,
sharing of insights and doubts enables us to learn and move forward but there’s
also a time and place simply to say what we already know because it is good to
hear it articulated and sometimes just to act in a way we know to be right. Some
obvious things insult our intelligence such as a road sign in America which
said ‘Caution road may be wet when it rains’ but being told that we are loved
by God and that he wants us to love one another does need reinforcement as we
don’t seem like we are always responding to this. There’s a sense of some of
this in Paul’s letters. Sometimes something needs wholesale correction but
often it’s about nudging people back onto the right course, reminding them how
they should respond, minimising the words and actions that end up wasting time
which could have been spent on far better things.
In a general sense Paul
seems to be reminding the church body that they each belong to the other in that
they share a common purpose and belief and that this should be reflected in
their relationships and behaviour toward each other. One constant of a
Christian life is to try and keep heading in the right direction. I’m reminded
of this each time Anne asks godparents of those being baptised are you heading
in the right direction, basically are you looking for good and light? None of
us can ever live up to the standards we would like but as mature Christians it
is for us to think about and on occasion even lead as to what that direction is
rather than follow others unquestioningly. It’s for us to think whether we are
making easy, lazy or even selfish choices at times.
Paul’s shows us that
sound advice based upon an understanding of God doesn’t have to be complicated.
As someone once said ‘last night I ate at an authentic family restaurant, every
table had an argument going on.’ Paul knows that despite our best efforts we
will argue and get fed up with each other at times, his advice is not to let
these things fester, not to let the sun go down, without reflecting and seeking
to resolve these things. Otherwise this makes room for disputes to escalate and
plans for vengeance to be formed when God wants to see forgiveness and
reconciliation.
When we start to join all
these things together they offer potential for every one of us to give a
glimpse of God’s grace to others.
Our 1st Kings reading for today will mean most to anyone who has ever felt
that they have done all they can, that they are worn down, have reached the
point of despair and are unsure whether they can carry on. Elijah is at an
all-time low as he sits under a tree and asks God to let him die. He has
defeated the false prophets of Baal but has been running for his life after the
evil queen Jezebel ordered him to be killed.
God sends an angel to feed him bread baked on a stone and a jar of water,
making himself real in Elijah’s time of deepest need. I’ve known it myself and
others have told me of their sense that sometimes when we are at our saddest,
our lowest there can be a sense that God is suffering with us, the food
metaphor seems relevant again as he comes alongside and says ‘take, eat,’ it
doesn’t necessarily make everything well again but it may be just enough
sustenance at that time to continue on life’s journey when we felt like giving
up.
The theme of food and
feeding continues in John’s gospel where immediately before today’s reading we would
find the account of Jesus feeding 5000 people. So straight after this he is now
contrasting literal bread with spiritual nourishment for eternity, pointing out
that the same God that provided manna in the wilderness for the Jews ancestors
has made himself flesh in Jesus Christ.
Unsurprisingly this
doesn’t go down well with the Judeans complaining like their ancestors did in
the wilderness, refusing to accept what Jesus says because he is a known
quantity to them, nothing like a great Messiah that fits their agenda, just a
humble man whose family they know.
It’s
the first of Jesus ‘I am ‘sayings “I am the bread of life.” Jesus makes it
clear that he is offering eternal life with God as he contrasts bread that
sustains us daily though eventually we still die, with bread which if we accept
it, we will not die saying that ‘the bread that I will give for the life of the
world is my flesh.’
When
I was young I spent a couple of summers as a labourer and tea maker at the
Buckingham Palace Garden Parties. I’d unload thousands of cakes from the
lorries and make tea in huge vats which was then decanted into little silver
tea pots for the guests on the other side. Sometime later I was invited as a
guest and whilst I gratefully accepted I also knew that around 30,000 people
attended each year. When I bumped into someone I knew, whilst he didn’t quite
say it, I could tell that he wondered how someone like me had managed to secure
an invitation, as if it devalued his own. The fact is that a wide spectrum of
people attend such events so if anyone has a sense of privilege at being
invited they are in for a disappointment.
It’s
something we need to consider when we accept the bread of life. The invitation
has been thrown out to all and we know full well that Jesus wasn’t too choosy
who he ate with, dining with rich , poor, sinners and outcasts. There is no
first class lounge or executive dining area. No doubt Paul has some of this in
mind in his advice to the Ephesians, aimed at equipping church members to live
in community with people they might not otherwise choose, something they had
better get used to if they are serious about following Jesus.
Here’s
one last thought about something we do often. We understand that Jesus offers
us a life with him for eternity which we are already living, here, today, now, even
though we may have to remind ourselves sometimes. One such opportunity to do
this is as we share communion. It draws together our historical understanding
of Jesus with all he has done for us and at the same time, fuses it together
with the living presence of Christ crucified, the risen Christ. Christ from the
past, Christ for today and Christ for the future, brought together in living
bread.
Amen
Kevin
Bright12th August 2018
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