Hearing Complaining, the Lord sends Bread: 1 August, 2021

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John 6:24-35

This story has a good beginning. People are so drawn to Jesus that they cannot get enough of him. It would be easy to go off on a sidetrack here asking why that doesn’t seem to be so today. We could take a different tack and talk about how Jesus still seems to have that power over people today. Maybe we could be enticed to think about our own personal pursuit of Jesus. Maybe we should stick with the story a little longer before deciding what point to make of it.

You see, when they find Jesus in Capernaum there is a twist to the story. I may be wrong, but Jesus sounds annoyed with the folks who find him. “You know why you’ve come?” he asks. ‘‘I’ll tell you: you came because you saw me do wonders and because I fed you.’’ To paraphrase John, I think what Jesus goes on to say is something like, “I’m kind of disappointed. I would hope you’d come for something more substantial than a good show and dinner.”

Jesus tries to help them raise their sights, to look for that more substantial something. But they are stuck. “If we are to believe in you,” they say, “give us a sign. After all, Moses gave our ancestors manna.” Can’t you imagine Jesus shaking his head with a kind of sad disbelief?

“Moses? Moses didn’t give anything,” he says. “God gave the bread. God is always the one giving the true bread of heaven that gives life to the world.” How do they respond to this bit of info? “Okay. Give us this bread.” It is almost as if they are stuck on the idea of being fed.

I suspect Jesus confounds them further when he says, “Okay. Here you are: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.” If we read ahead in this Gospel, we know the people get annoyed with Jesus for speaking of himself this way. However, we can save that for another day. For today, perhaps we can wonder what Jesus wants us to think about when he describes himself as “the bread of life.” –– Jerry L. Haber

Ephesians 4:1-16

Paul calls on Christians to live completely different lives from others. With all due respect to the efficacy of certain multistep programs geared at personal self-improvement, do Christians have the option of moving gradually toward the life to which we are directed by Christ, or is the duty of the Christian to immediately, fully, and completely walk in the way of the Savior? –– Daniel Lund III

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15

The Israelites’ experience in the desert represented an ordeal followed by multiple blessings from God. It appears that a characteristic of our God is that God never permits any ordeal to occur to the followers, which is not also designed by God to be turned to advantage. Are we sensitive as Christians to trials and tribulations in our lives serving as a precursor to God’s compassion and munificence toward us? –– Daniel Lund III

Jerry L. Harber, a United Methodist minister, retired from ministry in 2012 after 35 years serving in numerous congregations, campus minister (University of Tennessee at Martin), faculty member (Memphis Theological Seminary), and couples counselor.

Daniel Lund, III, is a lawyer who holds an MA in theological studies from Duke Divinity School.

Homily Service 42, no. 3 (2009): 100-110.