John 6:24-35 "He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." (v. 33)

John 6:27   “. . . the food that perishes.” 

The crowds were seeking Jesus because they had witnessed his miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, and they wanted to see more and to eat more. Jesus reproved them because they were seeking him for the wrong reason. So he said, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:27)

Of course, Jesus understood that we need food and drink. He understood very well the importance of friendship and family and work. He valued good health. Many of the miracles of Jesus were healing of the sick; Jesus taught values that would make for good relationships and productive lives. Jesus understood the desire for longevity. He raised the dead. Still, he said, “Do not labor for the food that perishes . . .” Finally, everything perishes; everything in this life slips away from us. We are mortal.

The good news, the gospel, is the message that Jesus has come to bring us eternal life. Indeed, the nature of this gift is such that when we seek God’s gift, God’s kingdom, God’s will, then, all the other things in life are added to us in their proper proportion. When we eat the bread of heaven, that is, when we receive Jesus into our lives we can enjoy the life we have now because we see this life as a hint of the wonders yet to come.

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to say that “ . . . we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Paradoxically, those of us who are able to think more about heaven are, also, more able to enjoy this mortal life. When we come to Jesus we receive abundant life now. We receive a taste of heaven which makes every good gift in this life a pointer to God’s love, and every sorrow becomes an affliction that will pass with us into a glory beyond all comparison.

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Branch. Recently I was in a meeting with a group of church leaders who were interviewing me as a potential interim pastor. One member of the group is a banker and she inadvertently referred to the church as a branch. She quickly corrected herself and explained that her job took her to a different branch in her bank’s network everyday. Actually, I liked her reference to the church as a branch. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” (John 15:5)  The image became even more poignant for me as we later joined together in worship. The first song we sang was the last song I had sung 7,500 miles away with another church a week earlier. Same song, same faith, just a different branch. 

A Reflection on John 3:14-22 with Some Personal Additions - - "Release from Condemnation"

John 3:17 “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn . . .” (NIV)

I grew up going to Sunday school and Vacation Bible School, so at an early age I learned John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV)  Whenever I read the story of Jesus and Nicodemus I am drawn inevitably to this verse as the climax of their encounter. But not everyone is.

Some years ago a young man came to me for baptism. He had made a profession of faith elsewhere and now wanted to join the church. As we talked about his faith we reviewed John chapter three. For him it was a first reading. I expected him to focus on verse 16 as I always had, but he was touched by verse 17 and the good news that God and Christian faith were not about condemnation.

Of course, the passage does teach that condemnation exists, but this condemnation we bring on ourselves as we turn away from God. The clear message of John 3 as my young friend realized and helped me to see in a new way is that God does not want to condemn but to save. We condemn ourselves, and alone we cannot lift the weight of our mortality and moral failure.

Paul, the greatest theologian of the church, struggled with his morals. He failed. He felt condemned. One can almost hear his plaintive cry in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am!” (NIV) Paul asked the fundamental question: “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (24) His moral failure combined with the realization of his mortality brought down a weight of condemnation that he understood himself to deserve.

In words that ring even more loudly than his words of anguish Paul wrote that there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1, NIV) God’s presence in Christ and the message of the cross and the good news of the resurrection and the promise of Christ’s return, all combine to assure us that our sins are lifted off of us. Eternal life will replace mortality, and all will be made right in Christ. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17 NIV). That is the message of the church.

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Moral Philosophy. Judy finds great articles and sends them on to me. Here is one she found through our friend Laurie McNeil about a growing distinction that educators are drawing between fact and opinion. The article appears in the New York Times; it was written by Justin P. McBrayer, an associate professor of philosophy at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. The subject is "Why Our Children Don't Think There are Moral Facts."

Grandchildren. Sweetie Pie (age 5) and I are writing a book together about one of the adventures of Freddie and Fiona. We make up the story together, but she does the illustrations alone. Judy has told us that it should be published; Sweetie Pie asked what “published” meant, and Judy told her that we could sell the book. Her reply, “I don’t want to sell it. I want to keep it!” (So do I! And honestly, it’s not ready for prime time--not by far, but writing it is great fun for Sweetie Pie and me.)