Seven Signs (4) Wilderness bread. John 6. 1-15.

The Passover was getting closer.  Jesus was up in Galilee, in the North Country again. A huge crowd had seen and heard of the healings he had done, and were reading the signs, and following him, out into the countryside; over the sea of Galilee (where he planned to have some retreat time with his disciples) and up the mountain that the began to climb to get away. These poor Galileans, farmhands and fisher folk, people of the soil, used to scraping a living, would have easily identified with the Passover story of liberation for a downtrodden nation. Some of the crowd may have been thinking, "It's just like the first Passover - out in the desert, up the mountain, like with Moses..." There's that sense of connecting with history, and of anticipation to see God at work in the way he did in history; maybe we can be part of it!

As the day goes on, it became obvious that people were getting hungry.  Mark tells us that the disciples came to Jesus and suggested that he send the crowd home.  In John's version it looks as if Jesus started the conversation: "Where are we to get bread for this crowd?"  Once again, I don't believe John messed around with the story.  He gives us different bits of the jigsaw from Mark and the others.  The total picture is that, the disciples first suggested that Jesus send the crowd home; then Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat, but threw in the question to Philip (maybe because he was from the local area) "Where are we to buy bread?"  In other words "You know the area - where are the shops?"


Jesus knew it would cost a year's wages for a labourer to feed that crowd: 5000 men plus women and kids. He also knew what he was going to do. But he was testing Philip. What is he and the other disciples made of? What are their priorities? How will they respond to the challenge?  Are they going to care more about the hungry crowd or about their own comfort? Are they going to bottle out of the challenge or are they going to face it with faith?

Jesus had the miracle lined up, ready to go.  He knew what he was going to do, and what and whom he was going to use.  But the big question is one of character: indeed, in this whole business of dealing with supernatural signs, Godly Character is vital: and godly character includes questions about our motives and our faith.

Jesus tests their priorities and motives. Is it all about "me"?  Self-motivation takes a variety of forms.  Sometimes, like the disciples, it's about our quiet, our spiritual boost, our rights, our traditions, and our time. Sometimes it's about our comfort, our convenience, our security. It is about keeping the effort to the minimum. It's about feeling entitled. We feel entitled to be looked after; we don't want to put ourselves out. Anything that involves being uncomfortable, taking risk, altering our plans or using or resources, is a problem.  "Send them away, Jesus; we don't want to be bothered.  It's all going to cost too much."

For others, self-motivation is about visibility: about being the most important, being in charge.  The question is always "what's in it for me?" The person who thinks like this may be keen to get busy with something - a new project, a new challenge - so long as I am in charge, so long as people acknowledge the contribution I am making.  So long as I benefit from this.  These are the people who will go out and feed the five thousand, but they want the crowd to make them king afterwards.  That's exactly what Jesus took pains to avoid: as soon as the miracle was done, and realizing how people were feeling about him, he took himself off up the mountain by himself.

Faith, courage, perseverance, a positive attitude to difficulties, is also part of character. The circumstances look impossible.  We have a crowd, we have no food, and we have no money.   No; wait a minute; here's someone with a "piece" ...  Andrew comes back and says, very honestly, "here is one lad (maybe a young slave on a day off rather than a child) with five loaves and two fishes"  Five tattie scones and two wee bits of pickled fish to give them some flavour. It was a poor lunch even for one!  No wonder Andrew says "What are they among a crowd this size?"  The resources look so small as to be almost laughable.  The best plan would be to give up: disperse the crowd; let it be their problem where they get something to eat.  It takes character to maintain a sense of hope, optimism, anticipation, faith, in the face of small resources.  It takes courage and faith to break chapattis and fish into twelve portions: it takes courage and faith to pick up one of these portions - less than half a scone with a wee scart of fish paste on - and hand them around. At least, it takes faith, until you see that every time you break a bit off there is a bit the same size left.

But it is godly Character, the motivation of love, the optimism of positive, forward looking hope, the deliberate exercise of faith, that releases God's resources and brings about a generous and extravagant miracle.  There were twelve basketfuls of leftovers after everyone had eaten enough.

So the poor, hungry, hard-bitten Galileans saw the sign: outrageous Compassionate generosity; a miraculous, charismatic gift, released by Godly character.  And at Passover time, this sign, wilderness bread, revealed who Jesus is.  It moved people along the journey.  Some were saying,  "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world."  That referred directly back to when Moses was nearing the end of his life's work, and he told the Israelites that God would send "another prophet like himself", only greater.  (Deut 18. 15) There in the countryside, as Passover drew near, some who had eaten the wilderness bread recognized Jesus as that other Moses, the one who was to come. And after this Passover sign Jesus himself went on to say, "I am the bread of life."  (John 6. 35)  "I am the Passover Bread: I am the Passover lamb, who takes away the sin of the world."

That's what signs are for.  They are to demonstrate something, not about us but about Jesus. They are to show the Father's love.  In our world, and in or lives, there are struggles. There are still people in our society and in other parts of the world, for whom life is a struggle for the basics.   Some of us are just scraping through. Some of us feel we need liberation in lots of ways

Bruce Milne says Jesus "still surveys the needy world with compassion, just as he surveys the micro-world of our personal needs. He is not without plans. He 'already has in mind what he will do' in our time and generation, and just as surely with the tangled threads of our personal present and future."  Jesus still wants to show the father's love: to give the signs through Godly character, generous compassion and charismatic gifts.  And we can be part of that.

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury 1942-44 said "The need of the world is not too great for our resources if it is the Lord who directs these resources."


© Gilmour Lilly July 2012

John 4:46-54 Seven signs (2) Signs and faith.

Jesus is back in Cana of Galilee, the place where the turned water into wine (as John helpfully reminds us!)  He's been away in Jerusalem, where he has driven all the traders out for the temple - and worked a number of miracles that john doesn't bother to list) and then returned through Samaria. John tells us about an individual encounter in each place: in Jerusalem it's Nicodemus, and in Samaria it's a woman who's had a colourful past who had come to draw water from the well.  With both of them, the same themes emerge: Jesus is the life-giver, and his life can be received through faith.

So that's the background to this "second" sign.  Now Jesus is back, he's a bit of a celebrity.  It's a bit like Andy Murray coming home to Dunblane with the Wimbledon men's trophy, or the Pars coming home to Dunfermline victorious from Hampden. (I don't know which of these is more likely!)  He's the local lad who has made a good impression in the big city.  People are proud of him, crowding around him, hearing rumours of what he has done, some have seen what he had done.  And one man travels the twenty miles or so from Capernaum.  He's a Royal official, probably working for Herod Antipas. He comes to Jesus to ask him to heal his son who is at death's door.  That took faith. His place while his son was dangerously ill was at the boy's bedside, or supporting his wife. Maybe, like a lot of men, he felt he would rather be doing something, anything to help. So instead of sending a servant, ho dashes off to Cana to get Jesus.  There is an element of faith whenever someone calls out to God for help in a difficult situation.

Jesus' response seems a wee bit prickly. But he's not actually criticising the official; he is talking more generally: "You people won't believe unless you see miracles."  He's challenging something in the culture. There was an appetite for the spectacular. It varied from the attitude of Herod himself who was so pleased when Pilate sent Jesus over to him (Luke 23. 8), because he wanted to see a miracle from him; through to those who said "Come down from the cross and we will believe in you."  (Mark 15. 32). There are still the same things today. There are those who will just gawp at healings and lap up stories of answered prayers, but it's only a matter of curiosity.  Thes don't actually engage with what is happening.  There are still those who take the attitude that if God will "prove himself" to them they will believe.  And there are still those who will explain away a miracle.  What's interesting is that Jesus knows all that. He won't ever let himself be just the genie we can call up when we need him, who says, "Your wish is my command."  But that doesn't mean he's not going to help.

The official isn't put off. Faith is persistent. "Sir (literally, Lord), come down before my bairn dies!"  His motive isn't curiosity, it's simply compassion. And that resonates with the heart of Jesus himself.  He answers "Away home. Your son has revived.  He's going to be OK." That was it.  No laying on of hands; no oil; no prayer.  Just "Away home: your son has revived. !" It is compassion that moves him.  The motive for any healing or prayer ministry is not "proving something" but showing the Father's love.

And the official believes it will be as Jesus says, and goes home.  He doesn't need to insist on Jesus coming down with him. He doesn't cajole or whine. He takes Jesus at his word and goes home to find out what has happened.  That's another expression of faith: being able to obey what Jesus says.

And while he heads down towards the lake, he meets his servants, breathless with the good news that he boy has indeed revived, turned the corner.  And the moment the fever left was the exact moment when Jesus spoke to the official.  This was no coincidence. This was a clear healing miracle.  A clear love-gift from Jesus to the official, his wee boy and his family.  In response to that, the official "believed" - and so did all his household.  That word again.  The sign does what it is sent out to do.  It demonstrates that Jesus is the life-giver; it shows the love of a heavenly Father.  And faith grows.  The official and his household believe. This isn't just the faith that comes hoping for a healing, or even the faith that persists in asking; it isn't even the faith that is prepared to take Jesus at his word and go home.  This is a conversion; it is the kind of faith that makes a person committed to Jesus.

The official believes, with all his household. You will find once or twice in Acts, the same expression: it happened with Cornelius and "all his household". The Holy Spirit just got them.  It happened in Philippi with a business woman called Lydia who was baptised, with all her household; then it happened with the Jailer at Philippi.  Then it happened in Corinth where Crispus, the leader of the synagogue believed, with his entire household.  So when the official believes, the circle of influence widens.  Wife, children, slaves, soldiers attached to this VIP's household, became followers of Jesus.  They were not just the people Jesus had been walking closely with.  They were at the very least not the respectable Jews of the synagogue. If they were Herod's people, they were rich, careless about the law, and compromised with the Romans. Maybe they weren't Jews at all.  They were - like the Samaritans - to some extent outsiders.

That's what we want, right?  All sorts of people, a rainbow of race and politics, class and culture, gender and age. We want to bring the prodigals and outsiders to believe in Jesus and commit to Him.  Part of how we do that is through "signs" - ways of demonstrating that Jesus is the life giver and the one who loves all people. That happens through gifts, generosity and godliness, through charismata, compassion, and character.

As a Church we are "Learning to show the Father's love".   But it's tempting to shy away from demonstration. We're afraid of sensation-seekers and freeloaders who are only here for what they can get. We don't want to encourage shallow, sensationalist and selfish versions of faith.  We've seen that Jesus had the same concerns.  But he was motivated by love, and in love he did the sign.  Sure, Jesus said "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed" but he never said anything against those who come to faith through what they see.

So let's not be halted by an immature or incomplete faith. Faith can develop and grow.  As we show the father's love, we are motivated by love, and we introduce people to Jesus, the life giver. We will be able to help people along that faith journey to get to know Jesus.

And let's not be afraid of demonstration, of signs, of the miraculous.  As long as we are motivated by compassion and love, and seeking to point to Jesus the life-giver, our "signs" - charismata, compassion and character - will draw all sorts of people to Jesus.

It would be tempting to stop there.  But to stop there would leave it a s a matter of what we think.  We need to take it to what we do.  we need more than open-ness to the idea of demonstration Father's love. We need to pursue the practise of showing the Father;'s love, to press in to let God shape the signs in gifts, generosity and godliness.  And to do that we need to develop our faith and to pray, to call out to God; have the faith to ask. Have the faith to pray with perseverance and passion, have the faith to do what Jesus says; have the faith to commit, for life!


© Gilmour Lilly July 2012