July 29 & Aug. 2 - Pentecost + 9

Jesus Really Satisfies
John 6:24-35 /Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Pentecost + 9, July 29 & August 2, 2009

If the Israelites in Exodus story
& the crowd following Jesus in John had a theme song,
it'd be Rolling Stones – Satisfaction

as in,

“I can't get no...”

Israelites – slaves who have been set free;
1.5 months into their journey
Already have seen God do miraculous things

led them out of Egypt w/o a battle -
walked through the Red Sea on dry land
once in wilderness, bitter water made sweet so they could drink it
led to an oasis with springs of water & palm trees

And yet they complain –

Remember how we ate our fill in Egypt?
Remember how good it was back then?
You brought us out here to starve!

People in John too,
crowd that's been following Jesus around
Have seen Jesus do “signs” for the sick
Just ate their fill out in the wilderness
from the meager offering of 5 loaves & 2 fish –
got all that they wanted
Despite the amazing things they have seen & experienced,
they want more!

Don't trust that what they have will last either
Israelites don't believe
that God will continue to provide manna,
so try to hoard more than they need
Jesus' followers say,
“Give us this bread always” -
we don't want to have to keep coming back for it

They can't get no satisfaction..

We can't get no satisfaction either –
and we've tried,
and we've tried,
and we've tried,
and we've tried -

We wander through our lives, always looking for more
Like when you get a craving for something,
but don't know what you want
Our lives are like that...
Always on the lookout for that next
latest & greatest thing that will fill us up,
physically, emotionally, spiritually

Have so much stuff
We rent storage buildings
Every year our stage gets filled
by people cleaning out their houses
(& every year, they find they have more to get rid of!)
A friend on Facebook – going through 25 years worth of stuff saved

We're looking for satisfaction,
for the security that we think stuff provides!

But at the end of the day, it really doesn't satisfy;


Jesus comes & says,
you're looking for the wrong things
You're coming after me b/c I fed you bread,
but you missed the point
None of this food will last –
the bread & the fish will be eaten or rot

The Israelites couldn't hold on to the extra manna

But there is a food that will last for eternal life
And the Son of Man will give it to you –
free of charge!
Just as God gave food to the Israelites in the wilderness
every day for 40 years!
Without fail, God provided the food and the water
that they needed to survive

God never stops providing the people what they need
That's why God gives Jesus,
the true bread who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world!

Jesus is the bread of life
Bread, the most basic, staple food,
every culture has it in some form
Represents what is most essential for life
We hunger & thirst after so much that doesn't satisfy,
but Jesus says,
“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

He is the most basic & essential thing we need.
When we come to him, & follow him, he changes us.
We start to look for satisfaction in different ways,
through different things
Don't need to find our security through hoarding things,
working for the food that will perish,
but find ourselves free to share,
trusting that God will provide for our need,
though not for our greed

Jesus gives himself to us as the bread of life,
bread that gives life to the world
We feast on this bread of life and are filled
(Perhaps we could say,
"Packed with Jesus,
communion really satisfies!")

We are fed
so that we may join Christ's miracle of feeding
- sharing our food so all may be fed

Come eat the bread of life, drink the cup of salvation
And then join in feeding those who still hunger & thirst in so many ways
Amen.