August 11, 2024 ☩ Proper 14

This morning, I’d like to open with putting my ‘teacher’ hat on.

For the last few weeks, we have really been focused upon John’s Gospel.  Today, I’d like to take a broader look at the high Christology of John and how John conveys Jesus’ divinity.  There are many avenues to approach this theme, though for now, I’d like to focus upon the seven ‘signs’ of John’s Gospel.  (Note that “sign” is John’s word for “miracle,” yet this particular word usage indicates less of a questioning of whether it COULD happen and more a wondering if it DID happen.]

Here are the seven signs of John’s Gospel, many of which we have already heard recently:

The first sign (chapter 2): The changing of water into wine at Cana.  Here physical substance changes form.  If we apply this to Jesus, he too, was changed from strictly a divine spirit into the physical form of Jesus of Nazareth.  Further, Jesus, being one with God has control over the created world.

The second sign (chapter 4): Jesus heals the official’s son.  He did so without being physically present.  Jesus simply tells the royal official to ‘go’ because his son will live.  Jesus is paired to the Divine Word of God from Genesis.  When God spoke, things came to be.  Jesus’ Word is the Word of God; and, as such, Jesus spoke and the boy lived.  Jesus, as a son of God, will also live (a foreshadowing of the resurrection).

The third sign (chapter 5): The lame man was healed by the pool on the Sabbath.  Jesus claims to be the Lord of the Sabbath – therefore claiming one-ness with God since God set forth such a day.  Earthly customs do not restrict Jesus’ (or God’s) grace and compassion.

The fourth sign (chapter 6): Jesus feeds the 5000.  Jesus makes clear that those who are hungry will be fed.  There is no limit to Jesus’ ability to nourish and sustain, even multitudes.  His Word is the most important ‘food’ though which is identified later in chapter 6, when Jesus says “I am the bread of life.”

The fifth sign (chapter 6): Jesus walks on water.  Amidst a storm, Jesus strolls across the surface of the water and thus is not bounded by the laws of nature.  This can only be if he is greater than nature and one with God.  Many important events took place on, through, or near water, such as the Hebrews passing through the Red Sea to freedom.  Living as one with God grants Jesus a freedom and a peace though he lives as one of us – human.

The sixth sign (chapter 9): A man born blind receives his sight.  After many indicators that people do not understand Jesus, we come across this sign which seems to place blindness as a metaphor for understanding.  Even those who are not born into faith or without understanding of who God is, can come to suddenly believe or know God in their lives.  How one begins is not a failing, but becomes another avenue or pathway for God’s grace and inspiration to shine forth.  Jesus and God can provide understanding in the blink of an eye.

The seventh sign: The raising of Lazarus.  Jesus is life and overcomes death.  Jesus is God.

From all these signs found in John’s Gospel, we see how John conveys the Divine power and grace of God through Jesus, but not just as an intermediary – rather as a whole.  This is a high Christology to associate Jesus so deeply with heavenly things is what theologians call an ontological understanding of Jesus – that his very being is Divine.  From this sense of heavenly powers in this Gospel, it can be very easy to focus our eyes upon the spiritual and shun the physical world.  I’d encourage you to recognize the necessity and importance of the physical world in and through all of these signs. 

The physical applications only experienced through the tangible world are what enables these signs to create the parallels to the spiritual realm in order to induce a deeper understanding.  Thus, the physical holds a special part in conveying understanding and experiencing God’s grace.

Today, after our service during coffee hour, Emilia has graciously organized our Sunday Sundaes.  We will cherish the delight of tasty desserts, albeit at this mid-morning hour.  We know the power food has in our physical delight and even sustenance.  Whether we work or play outside in the heat and crave a cold glass of water or a meal to restore our tired and dehydrated bodies, we know and feel what it means to be nourished.  But the nourishment is temporary.  And when it comes to desserts, the joy is temporary too. 

I enjoy ice cream, even some of the fancy brands.  However, the expense often deters me – and knowing too much just isn’t healthy for me too.  So, one day, when I was grocery shopping, I was walking down the freezer aisle and almost opened the doorway to heaven (that’s the door behind which one can find the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream).  I really wanted to be satisfied by savoring my favorite flavor.  Suddenly, I realized, that as soon as I finish the container, I am just going to want more.  It was an insatiable desire.  If I ate too much ice cream, I might feel sick.  Yet, as soon as that feeling passes, I’ll desire it once again. 

I cannot stand here and claim I won the war, but I do win more battles than not carrying that memory with me.  Jesus fed the multitudes – 5000 (and quite possibly just the headcount of the men).  He walks on water to comfort his apostles in a storm on their voyage across the Sea of Galilee.  Meanwhile the crowds follow and find Jesus shortly thereafter.  Jesus knew they were hungry.  He uses that physical feeling to highlight something important.  He acknowledges their hunger and makes them aware that food, bread and fish, only satisfies them briefly, then they need more.

Jesus claims to be a sort of sustenance that does not run out.  This is only possible if Jesus is God.  Jesus is creating a juxtaposition from when manna sustained the Israelites in the wilderness while being led by Moses.  And, the Jews who do not understand or believe Jesus try to justify Jesus’ humanity because they know his father and mother on earth.

Jesus continues that “whoever eats of the living bread will live forever” because if we partake and allow Jesus to sustain our basic needs, then the Lord of Life will be so deeply a part of who we are.  If the Lord of Life is in us, physically and spiritually, we share in His life.  There is a joy, a sense of purpose, and of belonging when we accept Jesus into the very fiber of our being.

This is the wondrous reality before us each time we partake in the Holy Eucharist.  We recognize the physical elements of bread and wine so that we may remember we are ingesting something that is necessary for survival.  It is a food, but more than a food, because it is the Real Presence of Christ.  While ice cream (among foods) might help our bodies to survive, Christ’s presence surely enables our spirits to thrive.

Participation in the Eucharist has always been a powerful Sacrament in my life.  Despite the many years in which I have received this Holy Food, it never ceases to inspire, renew, and sustain me in so many ways.  I pray each of us can experience the fullness of satisfaction in the Eucharist as we connect the physical and spiritual realities.  Amen.