The Message, August 4, 2024: "A Longer Table," John 6:24-35

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
August 06, 2024

 

“A Longer Table”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
John 6:24-35

            I did not know it at the time, but apparently I must have lived a sheltered childhood. I say that because it was not until I was in high school that I learned that a certain sandwich called a “cheese steak” existed. We had a sub shop down the street from our house that made great subs. (Of course, out in Western Massachusetts we called them ‘grinders.’) Anyway, my world … at that time … included cold cut subs and Italian cold cut subs. That particular shop made HUGE subs on freshly baked bread. I had no complaints. My grinder life was good.

            Little did I know what I had been missing. My first cheese steak opened a whole new world of possibilities.

            When I went off to college, I worked in a sub shop that was downstairs from my apartment, Astro’s. My specialty was … can you guess … cheese steaks. I do not mean to brag on myself, but I made a really good cheese steak. People came from far and wide … Okay, that did not happen, but I was good.

            Many years later, I had the opportunity to take the youth group from my church on a mission trip to the holy land of cheese steaks … Philadelphia. And in a very selfish and admittedly self-serving way, I took the youth to South Philly to get steak subs. We went to that famous spot in which Geno’s and Pat’s, King of Steaks, sit catty corner across the street from one another. I told the youth that they could go to either one, their choice, but I was going to Pat’s. I did my research and learned that Pat’s used shaved steak and Geno’s used cubed steak. I was a master of the shaved steak sandwich.

            Has anyone ever made the trip to that corner of South Philly? Has anyone ever eaten at Pat’s, King of Steaks? If you have, you will know that Pat’s is like a certain soup restaurant from the comedy series, Seinfeld. They have very specific rules regarding how to place your orders, and they are posted all along the walls for you to read while you wait in line.

            The group that decided to join me at Pat’s, King of Steaks, waited in line. I had instructed them to read the instructions while they waited. When we got to the window, we placed our order, then one of the youth said, “Wait … I changed my mind.” “Noooooooo! You can’t change your mind! We are going to get sent back to the end of the line. Or worse … ‘No steak for you!’” My heart sank … then lifted … because the man behind the counter took pity on us. He must have known that the child was not from around there.

            The Pat’s and Geno’s customers received their meals and we all sat together eating our lunch. And at the end of the day, we were full and we were satisfied. (Except for the one vegetarian. But there is an excellent sub shop on South Street that makes a delicious roasted veggie sub.)

            The folks in our scripture lesson today were full … but they were not satisfied. They had followed Jesus and the disciples into the wilderness because they had seen Jesus perform many acts of power, many signs and wonders. There were over five thousand of them. And at the end of the day, the disciples asked Jesus how they could possibly feed that many people. It would take more than eight months pay to buy that much food. Fortunately, there was a boy in the crowd that had offered his handful of barley loaves and a couple of fish. Jesus took them, gave thanks for them, then gave the people all that they wanted. And after everyone had eaten, the disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. As I said last week, with Jesus there is always enough.

            After that event, Jesus had gone off to the mountain on his own because the people wanted to force him to be their king. Meanwhile, the disciples got into their boats and set off for Capernaum across the lake. During the night, when the disciples had traveled three or four miles, Jesus came to them across the water, and they immediately made it to the other shore.

            In the morning, the crowd woke up and realized that Jesus was no longer with them. They climbed into boats themselves and followed Jesus.

            Last week, I said that in the opening lines of this chapter as recorded by John, John hinted that the people had followed Jesus for the wrong reasons, with the wrong motivation. And in our passage this morning, we Jesus came right out and said it. “You have heard about the signs and wonders that I performed, you ate your fill of the bread and fish that I offered, and now you want more. You want more. But you did not come here looking for more of what truly matters. You did not come here looking for a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.” (Paraphrase is mine.)

            And the people said, “Oh sure we do, Jesus. We want that good stuff. We want that ‘food’ that never runs out. What do we have to do to get it? Is there a sign posted somewhere that give us very specific instructions or tasks to be completed?”

            And Jesus replied, “No. No tasks. No sign. Just believe. Believe in me. Trust in me. Follow me.”

            But apparently, the signs and wonders and feeding over five thousand people with five little loaves and two little fish was not enough for the people. They wanted more. They wanted an additional sign. “Prove it, Jesus. Moses gave our ancestors manna in the wilderness. What will you give us?”

            Sarcastic Jesus would have said, “Oh you mean something like the food that I just gave you yesterday?!” (Thankfully, Sarcastic Jesus is just a figment of my imagination.)

            Rabbi Jesus, Teacher Jesus, the Son of God Jesus answered instead. “It was not Moses that supplied you with the bread of heaven in the wilderness. That was God. It is the bread of God that comes down and give you … and gives the world … life.”

            “Yes, sir … yes, Jesus … that is the bread that we desire after all. Please give us that bread.”

            And Jesus said to them, “I AM that bread. I AM the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

            Just as he was to the people on the shore at Capernaum centuries ago, and just as he has always been, Jesus is our bread. With him we will never be hungry. Jesus was and is our cup. With him we will never be thirsty.

            Now, in our world today there is no shortage of people that always want more. A quick search online will result in numerous videos of people freaking out in restaurants because their sandwiches were not made correctly. (Never at Astro’s though.) People scream and yell and throw their food because there is too much catsup or not enough pickles.

            But it goes deeper than that. People get furious if they do not get what they believe that they deserve. People become enraged when they think that someone else is getting more or getting something better. We live in a world where many people live with a mindset that says, “Give it to me! That is mine!”

            When we “eat” the Bread of Life, when we are aligned with the Bread of Life, we realize that there is abundance in Jesus. When we believe in Jesus, when we follow His Way … God’s Way … we know that there is abundance in Kingdom Life. There is always enough.

            Those who always desire more, fold up the seats at the table and say, “Oh, this seat is taken. Sorry … no room for you.”

            Those who eat the Bread of Life will extend the table and pull up an extra chair and invite the other to have a seat.

            Jesus says, “Follow me. Believe in me. Love God with all of your heart, strength, soul and mind, and love your neighbors as yourselves. And if you do so, you will never be hungry, you will never be thirsty. There will always be blessings enough.”

            Jesus is the Bread of Life. That is the only bread that we need. Amen.

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