Read John 6:24-35
Jesus had just worked a great miracle. Bread for thousands of people. The crowd ate well. They came back the next day, but Jesus and the disciples had not come back! They had gone ahead. Jesus didn’t want political people in the crowd pushing to make him king.
The crowd were really excited, though. They wanted more of Jesus. They went looking for him.
Jesus had more to give. But it wasn’t more bread for the belly. It was teaching. They had been fed with daily bread. Now they were learning about what more Jesus could bring.
We know what Jesus can bring. We are Christians. When we hear ‘bread of life’, we remember that Jesus gave his life for every believer. We know that Jesus gives the food beyond the belly, the kind that satisfies the spirit. If we come to Jesus, we need never be hungry or thirsty.
But we must come. And we must believe.
Was Jesus annoyed with the crowd? He told them that they came because they were after ordinary bread. They were turned on by the miracle, but he wasn’t annoyed. He used the opportunity. Everyone needs ordinary food, so he used that as a starting point. The bread was a sign of something greater. Jesus can meet our greater needs.
In COVID, we can choose to be negative. We can hide behind the rules, and make them bigger than they are. Or we can look at the rules, and ask, “How can we still be church under these conditions?” It’s important to follow the rules, but we mustn’t try to make them our gospel. That was the problem with the Pharisees.
We are blessed! The government has recognised the importance of emergency relief services like Foodbank. Our charity work can still continue. Charity volunteers are authorised workers under the government order.
When we help each other, we are following the second great commandment. Loving your neighbour is like loving God. There are strange limits on what we can do, but there are also ways of doing good and still keeping the rules. One lady wanted her daughters to deliver food parcels she had made. They thought they couldn’t, because they had no authority. To help their mum, they paid for an Uber driver to deliver the food. That’s smart; they followed the rules, and the love connection was made. Our charity may take them on as volunteers, with a letter that lets them drive and follow the rules. Everyone must be safe; they must wear masks outside and do what’s required. But if we think positively, we can do greater good.
We remembered last week that Paul wrote his most powerful letters while he was in lockdown – under house arrest.
This week, we saw how the crowd was worked by Jesus. Jesus went ahead. What did they do? Did they go home? No, they went ahead, too, looking for Jesus. And it took a while – he was on the other side. But they found him.
At this time, it may seem that Jesus is far away – that we are a long way from having communion together in our worship place. But we can take a cue from that crowd. Be positive! Go ahead! Take hold of what you’ve been given, and seek after Jesus! How wonderful that we had one Sunday at Wyatt Avenue, before the latest lockdown happened. We can claim that as a sign. But Jesus is out there on the other side. He’s gone before us. He wants us to be positive, and to find a way to be church in these times.
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