THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
OF
ST. JUDE’S
TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
AUGUST 16, 2009
TITLE: “WE HAVE NO CHOICE”
TEXT: ST. JOHN 6:24-35
PREACHING TEXT: ST. JOHN 6:35
JESUS THE BREAD OF LIFE
Some people don’t want to worship the one true God. Some people want to worship false
gods. And, whether you realize it or not, you’ve got to do one or the other.
Some people don’t want to grow old. Some people don’t want to die. You’ve got to do
one or the other.
“We are creating a lot of false idols. It troubles me about our society,” Wrote the TV
Network journalist Ted Koppel not long ago. “There have been cultures,” he said, “and
perhaps there still are somewhere in the world, in which philosophers and poets and great
teachers are the stars of our civilization. Look at who the stars of our civilization are.”
With some exceptions, of course, the true stars, the true greats of our civilization, don’t
get much notoriety. I’m talking about those people whom Jesus identified as ‘servants’.
“anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who
wants to be first among you must be your slave.” He said to His Disciples [Mk. 10:4344].
When we take a good look at what’s happening in our society and culture, it is easy to see
that “servant-hood” is not our number one qualification for stardom. What is it then, that
qualifies today’s idols for stardom? For a one word answer, try “Money” or “Bread” as it
has come into common use as a synonym for money. And, as we reflect on today’s Text,
isn’t it supremely ironic to hear Jesus saying, “I am the bread of Life” [St. John 6:35].
“No servant can be the slave of two masters” Jesus said. He will either hate the first and
love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. “You cannot be
the slave of both God and money” Jesus is telling us this loud and clear.
Some people want to worship the one true God.
Some people want to worship money.
You cannot do both. You’ve got to do one or the other.
A man of modest means was visiting an old friend who lived lavishly …
The visitor refused to be impressed by the tennis courts, the stables, the swimming pools,
the Jacuzzis, and all other forms of luxury in his friend’s estate. As they toured the
grounds, the owner pointed to a magnificent elm growing just outside the library window.
“That big tree stood for fifty years on top of the hill,” he boasted, “But at great expense I
had it moved down to this spot so that, on pleasant mornings, I can sit and read in its
shade.” The visitor replied: “That just goes to show that God could do if He had the
money.”
Well, God may not have the money, but He has an over-abundance of ‘bread’. God may
not have the money, but He has given us the ‘Bread of Life,’ “he who comes to Me will
never be hungry; he who believes in Me will never thirst
Anyone who takes these words seriously is well on the way toward possessing the key to
the mystery of life itself. We hunger and thirst for some word of our own
worthwhileness. We hunger and thirst for deeper insights into who we are, what we are
doing here, where we are heading, if anywhere. We hunger and thirst for the appearance
of a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel of life, pain and ultimately death. We hunger
and thirst for means of unlocking the door to the mystery of the “WHY?” of it all. And
in today’s Gospel Text, Jesus offers the key. “Known only to saints and to children,” as
someone has said. And the key IS: “I NEED JESUS!”
We have come here today to remind ourselves that Christ our Bread is present to us,
moment-by-moment, to give us spiritual nourishment. Not just in crisis situations but
moment-by-moment Christ is offering us the nourishment we need to sustain our sense of
purpose and our sense of meaning and our sense of worthwhileness, and our Hope that
our lives are going someplace. We have come here to Celebrate this Good News.
First we celebrate Christ our Bread as our own personal, priceless gift from God. Second,
we celebrate Christ our Bread s the most valuable gift we can share with others. If you
care about your husband, your wife, your children, your parents, the people you work
with, the people whose lives you will touch this coming week, there are many things you
can and probably will do for them. But nothing can help them as much as this Bread of
Life which is yours to share with them on all levels of life: physical,….emotional,…
spiritual.
The symptoms of a sick society are all around for us to see. No need for me to belabor the
obvious. But have any of you heard the TV automobile commercial that includes this
sales pitch: “If you are thinking of crime, our car makes a great getaway car?” We may
laugh, but it isn’t funny anymore. It’s a sick line that someone who gets paid to think
about these things decided would fit well into the mood of our society and, moreover,
that would sell cars, and make you know what? more money of course.
What the world needs now, from us, is Christ our Bread. It needs the integrity of His
Presence. If we feel it and know it, then it is not ours to hoard, but to share with the world
around you. We can’t talk about Christ our Bread and then go out on Monday morning
and live the kind of empty, destructive life everyone else is living. We’ve got to reveal
the integrity of His Presence in the way we live. We must be seen as a people who will
never knowingly do anything that will diminish another’s life.
We must be seen as a people who will use everything...our talents, our skills, our
appetites, even our money .. to enhance life, and only life.
I need Jesus! Your need Jesus! and the whole wide world out there needs Jesus! that is to
say, the whole wide world out there needs us!
Some of us Church-goers are trying our very best to obey Jesus’ command to share the
bread of Life. Some of us Church-goers don’t seem to be trying at all.
As a Christian Person, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?
AMEN.