BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY
There are many different translations of the Bible and – although each one may offer a slightly altered rendition of certain words – they all tend to basically agree on the important things. In the year 1631, however, the Kings Printing House in London was authorized to reprint the King James Version of the Bible. They provided a slightly different translation of the seventh commandment. Instead of printing, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” they printed, “Thou shalt commit adultery.”
This was considered quite scandalous at the time. Head Printer Robert Barker was fined three hundred pounds. That would be about four hundred and fifty dollars, and while that may not seem like much to us, four hundred years ago…I suspect it was a bit more significant. In any case, after the error was discovered, the roughly one thousand Bibles that had already been printed were tracked down and destroyed. Eleven copies survived. One is on display at The Living Word National Bible Museum in Branson, Missouri. I’ll bet you didn’t even know there was a Living Word National Bible Museum in Branson, Missouri! Another can be purchased online, if the price is right. As of the 5th of August, I see that the going rate was $99,500.00. How much would you be willing to pay to have your baser instincts justified biblically?
Generally speaking, however, most of our translations of the Bible are in agreement on the important things. For example, we all have four gospels in the New Testament of our Bibles, do we not? They are: the gospel according to Matthew, the gospel according to Mark, the gospel according to Luke, and the gospel according to John. Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels because they – in essence – provide a “synopsis” of Jesus’ life. Not so with the gospel according to John. The gospel according to John reads more like an extended statement of faith. Thus, in a nutshell, we could say that the synoptic gospels tell us what Jesus did, while the gospel of John attempts to tell us what Jesus means. Are you with me? Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us what Jesus did, while the gospel of John tries to tell us what Jesus means.
Now immediately preceding the passage I read from the gospel according to John is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand with but five loaves of bread and two fish. That is the only miracle story recorded in all four gospels. After Jesus fed the five thousand, the synoptic gospels go off in a different direction. The gospel of John, however, proceeds to tell us how the people reacted.
Jesus fed five thousand people with but five loaves of bread and two fish. It was a miracle that greatly impressed these people. In fact, it impressed them so much that they didn’t even go home that night. They camped out on the hillside where they had been fed. When morning came, they set out in search of Jesus themselves. When they were unable to find him on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, they crossed the sea in boats and found him in a town called Capernaum. The first thing they said to Jesus was, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
Now, unbeknownst to them, Jesus had walked across the Sea of Galilee, but that’s another story. Jesus had impressed these people so much that they went to great lengths to find him. So when they found him, they said, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”
Jesus did not even bother to answer their question. Instead, he got right to the heart of the matter as to why they were looking for him in the first place. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you: you seek me – not because you saw signs – but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” In other words, “You’re not looking for signs of the coming kingdom of God. You only want another free meal.”
Jesus’ words to his peers seem a little bit harsh, do they not? Perhaps they are harsh words for us to hear in this day and age, as well. For example, we come to church – more or less on a regular basis – in search of Jesus as well, do we not? But why do we come? Why do we come to church? Are we looking for signs of the coming kingdom of God? Or are we – like the people of Jesus’ day – only looking for another free meal? Put another way: Are we really looking for Jesus, or are we only looking for what Jesus can do for us? Let me explain.
I had a friend quite a number of years ago who was raised in the Presbyterian Church. Yet once he reached adulthood, he joined the Methodist Church. Why did he join the Methodist Church when he’d been raised a Presbyterian? Was the Methodist preacher better? Was the Methodist music more contemporary? Was he struggling with the theological concepts of Arminianism versus the Reformed faith? No, he joined the Methodist Church because it was the biggest church in town.
You see, he owned a furniture store downtown, so – if he was a member of the biggest church in town – he felt it would increase his customer base. I am not making this up; he told me that him-self. My friend came to church in search of something. Yet perhaps he came not looking for signs of the coming kingdom of God, but rather, he came because he was looking for that free meal. Perhaps he came not looking for Jesus so much as he was looking for what Jesus could do for him.
As is sometimes the case with us, so it was with the people who crossed the Sea of Galilee in search of Jesus. They weren’t looking for Jesus so much as they were looking for what Jesus could do for them. So Jesus, in essence, told them that they were wrong. He said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” In other words, don’t try to build up treasures on earth, but rather, try to build up treasures in heaven. You see, the distinction here is really quite clear. When we are in search of what Jesus can do for us, our goal tends to lean toward building up treasures for ourselves. Yet when we are really in search of Jesus Christ, our goal tends to lean toward building up treasures in heaven. Do you see the difference? One has the aim of building our personal kingdoms, while the other has the aim of building the kingdom of God. Which one do you suppose Christ had in mind?
Ah, but we can’t help but be a little bit selfish, can we? After all, what’s the point of building up the kingdom of God if there’s nothing in it for us? Bombarded as we are by buy now, pay later schemes, our “wants” quickly come to be perceived as “needs.” And we’ve always been led to believe that Jesus provides for our needs, have we not? So how do we come to look for Jesus…instead of what Jesus can do for us?
I think it begins by looking at what Jesus has done for us. Consider what Jesus says in verse 35. “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” In other words, Jesus is the bread of eternal life. Those who partake of him are the blessed recipients of life everlasting. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what Jesus has done for us. Our response should be one of gratitude, rather than constantly searching for something else Jesus can do for us.
Later in this passage, Jesus indicates that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. He was making reference to the sacrament of communion, of course, but it was a concept that utterly appalled those who heard him. John clearly indicates that this became a dividing line for Christ’s followers. As he notes in a later verse, “After this, many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.”
Why did many of Jesus’ followers draw back and no longer go about with him? Was it because they were appalled at Jesus’ graphic description of the sacrament of communion? Or was it perhaps because they began to realize that Jesus had nothing to offer them but himself? Personally, I think the latter is true.
People quit following Jesus because he would not do for them what they wanted him to do. Perhaps that’s true for us today, as well. For example, the churches that tend to be booming these days are the churches that give people what they want. We call it the Prosperity Gospel. The churches that are struggling these days are the churches that teach Christians that they have a role to play in the coming kingdom of God. Put another way, they ask: Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God? I know that’s not necessarily what we want to hear…but it does have to do with our response to what Jesus Christ has already done for us.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus is talking about eternal life. Those who have a part of him are the blessed recipients of eternal life. Still, we tend to reply, “What about the present life? As the bread of life, can Jesus sustain us in the here and now as well?”
Rabbi Harold Kushner has written a book entitled, When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough. That’s a pertinent title for the Baby Boomer generation…and perhaps for Baby Busters and Gen Xers and Millennial Kids, as well. Acquisition becomes the key as we spend our lives keeping up with the Joneses – as we try to earn enough money to have everything our hearts desire. Then what happens? We end up feeling empty inside…because all we’ve ever wanted – somehow – isn’t enough. As Saint Augustine put it some sixteen hundred years ago, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.”
This is where Jesus Christ – as the bread of life – can truly sustain us. He provides bread for the journey…this journey we call life. By taking part in the life of Christ, we find that peace and contentment we so desperately seek. Yet how do we take part in the life of Christ? How do we get our fill of bread for the journey? Honestly, I think we get our fill of bread for the journey when we stop and take inventory of our lives so far. Think for a moment about what you have …instead of what you lack. Have you got your health? Have you got a loving family? Have you got a source of income? Is there food on your table? Are you surrounded by caring friends? The list goes on and on. The point is this: If you can say “yes” to any or all of the aforementioned questions, then you indeed know that God is in your life. You have received bread for the journey so far. Why, then, would you ever think…that it might run out? Amen.
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