“Faith as a Verb” – Sermon on Aug 5, 2012
August 5, 2012
Scripture: John 6: 24-35
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”
Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Sermon: Faith as a Verb
Rev. Doreen Oughton
My, what a puzzling passage. It picks up at the end of last week’s scripture, after Jesus has fed over 5000 people, has walked on water, has evaded the ones who wanted to force kingship on him. The crowd has followed him across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, and we have this back and forth discussion. For a long time, I imagined Jesus’ tone here to be exasperated, maybe critical. He challenges the motives of those following him, saying they are just coming after him because he’s filled their bellies and they want to stay full. If he doesn’t keep providing the bread himself, can he at least tell them how they themselves can perform such works? But as I have gotten older, or maybe it is as I have developed a stronger relationship with Jesus, I don’t hear a scolding tone anymore. I’ve been listening to a book on tape – To Kill a Mockingbird – and there are many passages where the father, Atticus Finch is trying to help his children understand a complex idea. He might simplify terms, but he doesn’t talk down to them. He is never angry with them for their questions, and tries to move them to deeper understanding, maintaining patient acceptance of where they are and expectation that they can and will stretch in their understanding, if not right then, than later, when they are able. And through all of it is this incredible, deep love for the children. That is how I hear Jesus in this passage.
His answers don’t match their questions because he knows those answers won’t get them any further in understanding the most important things. They treat him like a magician and they want to learn the tricks – “how did you get here so fast? How did you produce all those loaves and fishes?” But Jesus lets them know there is no magic to it. And he wants for them so much more than what magic could produce – more than bellies full of bread, though he certainly wants them to have enough to eat. He wants more for them than the ability to cross the sea without a boat. He wants for them to live in the Beloved Community, he wants them to have the kindom of God break through within, among and between them. And that is not magic.
The scripture tells us that Jesus tells them that the work of God is belief in him, Jesus, whom God has sent. In many ways, the term belief is not quite right. The Greek word used, pisteuein – is a verb that means “faith.” In English, that is not how we use the word faith. Faith is a noun to us, it is something we have, not something we do. But in Greek, faith is something you do. The word pisteuete is paired with the word eis. Pisteuete eis means to faith into. So Jesus says not “believe in me,” but “faith into me.” It is a phrase that gospel writer John uses 26 times, so it is an important concept to John, something important to communicate to the community he is writing to. To “faith into” is not about accepting certain truths about Jesus, but more about trusting Jesus, about orienting oneself to him. It is not – “believe I am the son of God,” but “come to me, follow me, trust in me.” After all, the demons “believed in” Jesus, but they weren’t doing the work of God. The demons, no matter what they believed, did not faith into Jesus. They did not turn themselves over to him, and that is what Jesus wanted of the crowd. It is what Jesus wants of us.
And as is so often the case with Jesus, there is a reciprocity and mutuality in his desire. He wants us to give ourselves to him, but he also wants to give himself to us. He compares himself to bread, Bread from Heaven, Bread of Life. He is the provision from God that is to be consumed and assimilated. First we take in his words and his teachings. We listen and read and learn, taking him into our minds. We are moved by his actions, his healing, his sacrifice, his reaching out to the forgotten and mistreated, and we take him into our hearts. But Jesus wants to give himself to use even more deeply. He wants to be taken into our very bodies, into our whole selves. He wants for us nourishment on every level, including the most basic and the most profound, full bellies and complete and eternal joy in the kindom.
Again I want to say that I do not believe Jesus was critical or judgmental about the people who followed him looking for bread. After all, it brought them to him. It stirred their hunger for more, even if they didn’t know just what they were hungry for. I believe we need to have this same attitude to anyone who comes to this church looking for something. Maybe someone is looking for a place for a wedding or funeral, maybe a place to make friends, or get some help with hungry bellies, cold homes, or electric bills. Maybe someone loves the music, and another likes the Sunday school program for the kids, or the Christmas pageant. Whatever it is that calls to them, I hope we can model ourselves on Jesus, accepting their wish, satisfying it where possible, and inviting them to more. I hope we can be the kind of church that faiths into Jesus, that turns ourselves over to him, that takes him in as completely as we are able so that we go forth into the world as his hands and feet and arms and voice, never again hungry or thirsty. May it be so.
