A Sermon Delivered by The Rev. John D. Painter at Centenary United Methodist Church Metuchen, New Jersey August 2, 2009

Text: John 6:24-35
So 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 wilder-ness; 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.” —John 6:24-35, NRSV
Are you crazy for cheese curls? Passionate about popcorn? Nuts about nuts?
Apparently, what you snack on may say a lot about who you are.

Alan Hirsch is the neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. (I suspect most of you—like me—didn’t even know there is a Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation!) Dr. Hirsch had 800 volunteers take personality tests and then asked them to name their favorite snack foods. The results, reported in the journal Al-ternative Medicine back in May 2007, were astounding. People who share a personality type choose the same snack 95 percent of the time. You can see those results at the end of this Mes-sage. Check it out and see what your favorite snack has to say about your personality. (Mine’s popcorn, by the way.)

While making this kind of link might sound like a stretch, Hirsch says it makes perfect sense—biologically. “Food preferences reside in the olfactory lobe,” he says, “the same part of the brain where the personality resides.”

In other words, you are what you munch.

Over the last couple of weeks, Jesus has run into some serious snack lovers. As John re-lates the story, a large crowd is following Jesus because of the signs that he’s doing for the sick (John 6:2). Then he feeds this crowd of more than 5,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish. Shortly after he withdraws to a mountain because, “they were about to come and take him by force to make him king” (John 6:15).

That evening, the disciples set out for the town of Capernaum by boat, and Jesus catches up with them by walking on the water. The next day, the crowd follows him to Capernaum, and Jesus says, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but be-cause you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26).
In other words, “You have the munchies.”

But Jesus warns them, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that en-dures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27). The barley loaves that Jesus used to feed the 5,000 are “food that perishes,” and he tells the people that they shouldn’t focus their enthusiasm on this kind of bread. Instead, they should work for the food that endures for eternal life.

In a nutshell—or one whole loaf—this verse captures the reason that Jesus has such mixed feelings about performing amazing miracles. Any loaves that he multiplies are going to be eaten, and then the people will still be hungry the next day. Any water that he turns into wine is going to be consumed, and then the wedding guests will still want more. Any paralytic that he heals is going to become old and then become physically challenged again. Any dead child that he raises to new life is going to grow up and grow old and then die of natural causes.

Miracles are tricky because they make a big impression at the moment and then disap-pear. They don’t last forever.

Jesus doesn’t want us to feast on a steady diet of miracles because these amazing works don’t provide complete nutrition in themselves. They’re the cheese curls, popcorn and potato chips of Christian living—a tasty snack for someone who already has faith, but not a life-changing meal for a nonbeliever.

No collection of miracles, all by itself, is going to turn anyone into a disciple of Jesus.
This is why Jesus turns the attention of the enthusiastic crowd from miraculous munchies to “the food that endures for eternal life.” Work for this food, says Jesus, the food “which the Son of Man will give you.” Then the hungry people ask, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” And Jesus answers, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:27-29).

This is the work of God—that you believe in Jesus, whom God has sent.
Believe in Jesus. The bread of God (John 6:33). The bread of life (John 6:35). The living bread (John 6:51). The body of Christ. That’s good eating.

The problem is, sometimes Jesus can be difficult to swallow. We may choke on his hard sayings and tough teachings. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).
Jesus’ words can stick in our throats, no doubt about it.

He would be so much easier to digest if he said, “Love your friends, do good to those who like you, bless those who compliment you, pray for those who help you.” Yes, if Jesus said these things, he would be feeding us spiritual candy bars, doughnuts and french fries—food that isn’t bad in moderation but can hurt us if we overeat it.
And Jesus certainly doesn’t let us snack on the tasty morsels of sin that are always sitting so deliciously in front of us. He won’t let us say, “Well, I’ll taste a little revenge, just this once,” or “I’ll have a helping of unfaithfulness, but just a spoonful,” or “I’ll have some of that irresisti-ble gossip-mongering, just a mouthful, but no more.”

To all of this, Jesus says, “No. Put down that spoon and walk away.” In an ethical and moral Christian life, some of this stuff we want to feast on is just bad for us. It will harm us or even kill us. And Jesus knows it.

Jesus wants to feed us the good stuff, the food that endures for eternal life.
I’m the bread of God, says Jesus. The good stuff. Part of a perfectly balanced spiritual diet that gives new and everlasting life. Yes, the law was given through Moses, just like the manna that was given to the people of Israel in the wilderness. But now grace and truth are com-ing through Jesus Christ, the bread of God.

Slowly, slowly, the lights begin to come on. The people are starting to get it, so they say, “Sir, give us this bread always” (John 6:34).

We shouldn’t be surprised at this. It’s always a challenge to improve eating habits—to turn away from spiritual junk food and turn toward the food that endures for eternal life. Jesus invites us to refocus our attention and see him as “the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32), the One who comes down from heaven to give life to the world. He also invites us to believe in him and trust him to fill us with his grace and his truth.

Last Sunday Pastor Terrilisa examined the relationship of seeing and believing. Seeing and believing are among the actions that enable us to connect with Jesus in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, when we come to the table to eat the meal that Christ has prepared. We see the bread that is broken for us, an outward and visible sign of Jesus’ inward, invisible grace. We be-lieve that Jesus is present with us, offering his grace and his truth, his forgiveness and his strength.

This is the good stuff. This is not snack food. This is the food that endures for eternal life.
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PRAYER
O God, we are hungry. We are hungry for attention. We are hungry for recognition. We are hungry for vengeance. We are hungry for love. We are hungry for experiences. We are hun-gry for life. But are we hungry for you? Do we hunger and thirst for your righteousness? Do we hunger for your presence? Do we hunger for your glory? Will we take you at your Word? O Great God, reveal yourself to us. Feed us with your bread of life [and cup of blessing], and teach us to hunger for you. Amen.
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In her Alternative Medicine article “Message in the munchies,” Lisa Turner says there’s meaning in the types of munchies we munch:
Tortilla chips: You’re a perfectionist. You’re successful and ambitious, and you like to plan ahead. You have a strong sense of social responsibility and abhor injustice.
Pretzels: You’re the life of the party. You love novelty and can quickly become bored with rou-tine. You tend to start new projects before completing existing ones.
Cheese curls: You have a high sense of morals and ethics, and you insist on treating everyone fairly. You might seem uptight, but you’re highly organized and methodical.
Popcorn: You’re a take-charge type but with a modest, low-key demeanor. Confident but re-served, you would make a large charitable donation without telling anyone.
Nuts: You’re even-tempered, easy to get along with and highly empathetic. Your easygoing, co-operative nature contributes to success at home and at work.
Potato chips: You’re achievement-oriented, successful and competitive. You’re a natural leader but can be easily irritated with inconveniences such as long lines and traffic jams.
Crackers: You’re contemplative, thoughtful and often a loner. You prefer private time and shy away from confrontation and arguments; you can’t stand to hurt another person’s feelings.
Meat snacks (such as beef jerky): You’re gregarious and generous, and you tend to be loyal to a fault.
[Turner, Lisa. “Message in the Munchies.” Excerpted from Alternative Medicine, May 2007,
in Utne, September-October 2007, p. 82. Cited in Homiletics (July-August 2009), p. 43.]