John chapter six is truly worthy of at least three Sundays. It begins with the feeding of the five thousand and unfolds into a profound discourse on Jesus, on the miracle manna provided in the wilderness, on the living bread come down from heaven which is Christ’s flesh for the life of the world. Through it all Jesus is offering the people of God what they do not seem to want and failing to give them what they desire. And so there is a lot of grumbling going on.
If Jesus can manufacture food out of nearly nothing, why are we working so hard to put bread on our tables? If God can do this, why doesn’t God just do it and take away the burden on us to provide for ourselves? It is the same failing of Eve in the Garden of Eden and it has been our failing ever since. We are sure we do not need Jesus as much as we need other things – bread, bread with dollar signs, health, rich experiences, an emergency pull cord, and a thousand other things that seem so urgent in the moment. To us it often seems like God is giving us what we do not want and withholding what we do want.
So there is a lot of grumbling going on... There was a lot of grumbling going on when Jesus fed them food for the belly and then was nowhere to be found when they were hungry again. There was a lot of grumbling going on by those who said Jesus words were nonsensical and could not possibly mean His flesh is bread. There is a whole lot of grumbling going on still to this day by people who think doctrine gets in the way and we should have the right to our own opinions about God and the things of God. There is a whole lot of grumbling going on when we heed the Lord’s Word and insist that those who commune actually share the same faith. There is a whole lot of grumbling going on by those who think a taste of bread and a sip of wine is hardly an answer to our need or to our prayers.
Jesus is blunt. The bread you spend so much money on and work so hard to fill your bellies with cannot prevent your death. Not even the miracle bread given to the Israelites in the wilderness could stave off the weakness of old age, the infirmity of illness, and the threat of death. They ate and they died. And so will you. As good as the food and things of this mortal life are, they cannot provide you with what you need even though they seem to be pretty good at satisfying your desire. Jesus does not promise to make your life better or you happier or to bring you success or make things easier. What He does promise is this. If you eat of the bread of His flesh, you will live forever.
Therein lies the rub. We are happy enough to get eternal life as long as it comes at the end of a rich, happy, and rewarding life now. But if we had to trade, most of us would rather be happy and satisfied today than pin our hopes on the eternal life to come. This is the grumble. We want other things more than we want what Jesus gives and we want what Jesus gives less than other things.
It is the reason that throughout the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod about 30% of those who claim to belong show up on Sunday morning. It is the reason that here at Grace half our people and our pews are empty every week. It is the reason why we love to be forgiven but hate to forgive. It is the reason why we think the little sins we do are not that big of a problem and the big sins others do are shameful. It is the reason why we always have money for what we want but find it hard to give to the Lord what He is due. It is the reason why church is boring and our phones occupy our every minute. It is the reason why a big church like Grace struggles to find people to give their time and energy to serve as officers over years and to volunteer for an hour. It is the reason why we know everything about our favorite actors, singers, or sports figures but very little about the big names in Scripture. You know it and I know it and Jesus knows it.
The miracle here is that our Lord is patient and kind, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Where another god would have packed up his mercy and found himself a people who would pay attention to it, our Lord keeps serving up the fruits of His redeeming work in the Word preached and the Eucharistic bread and wine eaten and drunk week after week after week. The miracle here is that He gave once and that He still gives us His flesh in this bread to fill us with life now and eternal life to come. The miracle is that He is not stingy with His grace but lavish to a fault with what He gives to us – even though we do not value it as we should. Our Lord forgives the same tired old sins we confess week after week after week. He stands like the waiting father with arms open every Sunday to welcome us prodigal sons and daughters home, set this feast in our presence, and put back on us the perfect robes of His righteousness that we have soiled over and over again.
As spouses and parents we are always placing limits on our love. Only the Lord loves without limit, giving to the unworthy and the undeserving the most precious gifts He can give – His flesh for our life and His blood to cleanse us from all our sins. We live with an embarrassment of riches from our Lord here every week.
We are called by the Spirit, gathered by the Spirit, enlightened and sanctified by the same Spirit. The Father has elected us to salvation and the Father sent forth the Spirit to bring the elect into His presence, here around the Word and Table of the Lord, and there in eternity. Our Lord will not leave us to bandaided bodies that cannot hide their frailty but will bestow upon us new and glorious bodies just like His when He raises us up on the last day. There will be no pharmacies or urgent care centers where He will bring us and we will leave behind here on earth all our memories of sin and its death, of pain and its sorrow, of despair and its fear. He will swallow up death forever. And everyone who looks in faith upon the Son will have this eternal life – not because they are good or worthy but solely because God will give us what we do not want and do not think we need and will work in our hearts to transform our desire so that we can be satisfied in Christ.
This is the mercy of God and His steadfast love for you. Do not grumble about what you think is wrong with your life or your family or your church. Marvel at the goodness of the Lord who continues to offer you what you fail to value as you should. If you are hungry and thirsty, He will give you the food and drink of eternity. This food satisfies not because of how much we eat or drink but because of what we eat and drink. Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed are those who take refuge in Him. Amen.
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