“Signs and Wonders”  (John 6:24-35)

I wonder if this experience is a common one?  (it is, at least in my house.)  It’s about 9 o’clock in the evening. The news has ended long ago, dinner is finished.  But still, I sometimes will get up from whatever I am doing and wander into the kitchen.  Then I will open the refrigerator, look inside, and stand there for a few moments.

My wife, Monica will look up from her book and she’ll say, “Are you hungry for something?” I don’t know. “Didn’t you eat enough at supper?” I did. (at least, the scale tells me so.) “What do you want? she’ll ask.  I’m not sure; maybe it’s in here.  Was I looking for a late-night snack?  Some of Sue’s delicious jam on piece of bread? A late-night ice cream cone? Or would a glass of Milo do the trick?   It’s difficult to say. I think I’m hungry, but it isn’t always for food.

“Well, if you don’t know what you want, don’t stand there with the refrigerator door open.” OK, fair enough. But still, I stand there for another minute or two.  Do you ever do that?  It is a good question, what was I looking for?

Turning to our story, I can understand why some people went “looking” for Jesus. The day before, he fed them an astonishing  hillside picnic. The menu was simple – barley bread and fresh fish – but it was more than people expected, more food than they had ever seen in one place, more abundance than anybody believed possible that day.  It truly was a God driven miracle, and it started with a little boy willing to unveil his lunchbox and offering to share. Nobody actually knows how everybody got fed, but there was no question about there being leftovers-baskets of leftovers!  And, there was no question that without Jesus that miraculous meal would not have happened.   Jesus was at the center of it all.  

I’d like to take a moment to remember what Jesus did on the hillside because I think it helps answer what people all over may be looking for the day after and to this day.  Remember when he asked, “what have you got to feed all these people”?  and the little boy offers his lunch.

Notice what Jesus does. He took it, blessed it, broke it, gave it.  These are the same verbs from the table at the Last Supper: took, blessed, broke, gave. They define his mission to the world and they still define his mission to the world – through us.

He took the bread. (five little loaves) It is not enough. It’s never enough. Yet it is the community collection, the resources that came together, the gathered offering meant to benefit everybody else. Suddenly – what one person possessed is no longer private, no longer hoarded, no longer kept while others do without. Jesus took it, because it was they offered.

He blessed it. That is, he sanctified what they offered as an offering to God. Jesus probably used the Good Jewish Prayer lifted before every big meal: . “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” It is God who is blessed, blessed and affirmed, as the Source of all our food. We say Grace, we offer gratitude to God at our tables, for food does not originate from us.

Then he broke it. Broke it and offered to God, it cannot stay the way it was. It cannot remain untouched or unchanged.  Like every gift from God, the bread is to be utilized.  The bread is broken to acknowledge that we are broken. We are broken by the world’s pain, the world’s starvation. And we are broken open to do something about it.

Then Jesus gave it away.   Giving is generosity. Generosity is grace in action. It is offered freely, without restriction. What Jesus receives from us is processed through him. What he blesses and breaks is given away.  There are things we have that can be given away with love and trust that they will go further than we can imagine.  We open our hand and give because Jesus gives, because it is the very nature of God to give.

If there is any miracle in this Bible story this morning, it is not that Jesus once did a magic trick in a land faraway. No, the miracle is that God keeps giving. The generosity is all around us, waiting for us to participate. In Jesus Christ, God takes, blesses, breaks, and gives. In the end, there is – and there always shall be – plenty for everyone.

It’s true: there really is enough for everybody. What we must work on is the distribution plan. That’s why Jesus keeps saying to us, “You give them something to eat.” He could have agreed with the twelve and sent everybody back to their towns and scramble for the next meal, but he didn’t do that. He could have could have snapped his fingers and created free food forever for everybody, but he didn’t do that, either. No, instead he gave a glimpse of how God is at work in the world, when bread is collected, blessed, broken, and shared, and all of us take part and there is little distinction between giving and receiving. It is all a part of system of grace.

So on the hillside they had a taste, they caught a glimpse, and the next day they go looking for Jesus.  So we may ask, are they looking for “something to eat” or are they looking for something else? Yes to both! They don’t exactly know what they want, but they are looking for it, looking for something, looking for him. And in this light, they are like just about everybody else in the Gospel of John.

Jesus looked at the hopeful crowds and said, “You chase after me because you ate a lot of bread.” He sees through the surface layer of their seeking. Yesterday’s bread soon goes stale and moldy. The Real Bread, the bread from heaven, is the bread that stays fresh every day.  

The trick, of course, is seeing such heavenly generosity, or at least trusting it if we don’t see it right now. That may be the most elusive pursuit of faith, but once again, it is the essence of what faith is all about. We trust God enough to pursue God. Jesus says, “The work of God is for us to believe.” If I might attempt to translate, that means it is God who desires that we have a life of depth and well-being. It is God who takes responsibility for the miracle to create belief and trust in our hearts. As we chase after God, it is God who ultimately finds us.    

May we remember that. Trust that. If doubts plague us or if other shiny objects distract us, my suggestion is that we pay attention to our own deep spiritual hunger. Listen to the deepest yearnings of your heart.  Look for the Real Bread. Seek after what is life-giving, not merely for you, but for others. Spiritual hunger is a spiritual gift, because it can propel us more deeply into the God who is the Source and Destination of our lives. Be a good steward of your deepest longing.   Today as we gather around the feast table of Christ,  may we find what we are looking for.  Here at the table is a sign of God’s miraculous grace that will find us and feed us.  may it cause us to wonder once more.  Amen.