Living water

Ephesians 4:1-16 & John 6:24-35

Do you remember what the woman at the well said to Jesus when He described his gift to her?

"Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water" (John 4:1-42).

Here in Capernaum is a different location but the crowd are saying the same thing. "Sir…give us this bread…and give it to us always"…bread and water are two potent symbols of God's wisdom and blessing in Judaism…they are now distributed by Jesus…the true gift of God. Jesus presses the logic of his case as He says to them "I am of life", Jesus is "living bread", as once before he offered "living water".

As the people yearned for the heavenly bread and as the rabbis reinterpreted this bread to mean the wisdom or life sustaining presence of God…so now Jesus is that precious gift.

In chapter 4…Jesus’ water banishes thirst now in chapter 6:35b Jesus’ bread banishes hunger…but see what happens next Jesus expresses his disappointment with the crowd.

It is the second visit to Capernaum…and just as with the first Jesus expresses his disappointment with the crowd.

Is the crowd is twisting Jesus mission as in verse 15…or are they demanding more evidence as in verse 30…they are not willing to come to Jesus and confess their thirst in verse 35…Jesus says their first step must be one of belief…but they refuse to take it…incredible…it is not a leap into darkness because they've had the opportunity to see… "You have seen me" Jesus in action…and so the decision is a wilful refusal to act on what God has set before them.

Jesus will go on to speak confidently about the success of his work…and the fulfilment of his mission…the crowd may be confused… some refuse to believe…but this will not frustrate him…because the success of Jesus efforts depends entirely on God the Father…who is at work in him and Jesus entire mission is to conform His life to the will of the Father…the one who sent him…who has gone before Him…and sovereignly calling people to come to Him is God the Father.

The darkness of the world is so severe…God alone must penetrate it in order to free people…so they can see Jesus clearly.

Jesus will not lose a single one of those who have come to him…it is the Father's will that everyone will look upon the Son… believe…and have eternal life.

When Jesus says that He is "the bread of life" it is more than the synagogue rulers can bear…one thing to say that we have faith in God…be fed by him…quite another thing for Jesus to say that He is the source of that meal…the object of believing vision.

The grumbling which follows is reminiscent of the "murmuring" of the Israelites against Moses in the desert and although it completes yet one more Passover theme…the crowd misunderstands Jesus just as people and crowds have misunderstood him in most of the interactions since chapter 2.

The unenlightened eye sees merely a man…the son of Jewish parents (42)… coming from a commonplace Jewish family.

Jesus doesn't defend himself against their complaint instead he returns to the problem of their spiritual blindness…the idea of Jesus divine origin and decent revealed to us readers in chapter 1 is impossible for the crowd to understand unless God in some way shines His light into their darkness…God must move the inner heart of the person before he or she can see the things of God…and this takes place on God's initiative (5:37).

When Jesus discloses his identity as this heavenly bread, it scandalised his audience (41)…now he will scandalise them again for this bread must be eaten…it is a singular event…a decision to believe…and appropriate the gift of eternal life.

When Jesus says he is the bread of life that descends…bread that must be consumed… bread that will be given in sacrificed flesh…the meaning of this leaves everyone in a state of shock!

Even His closest followers admit that the sayings are hard…some begin falling away in disbelief…mixed into these responses and assurances from Jesus that only God can supply the sort of faith…and vision that will enable a person to grasp such things.

Jesus knows who will believe…knows as well that it is God who is sovereignly at work… opening hearts and eyes to see these deeper things.

Surely John wants us to reflect on our human capacity for comprehending (understanding) the true meaning of what has happened when God was at work in Christ.

These things are beyond our reach…at best we are called to do no less than Peter… to stand where there is life despite the fact we may not understand the question asked is "To whom shall we go" (68)…the answer is that eternal life can be found nowhere else but here in Jesus.

If it is God alone who gives divine insight into the meaning of his Son. Then what does this mean for the average Christian experience?

If distortion and fear accompany our best efforts to understand the deeper things of God…then what is the human role in evangelism…or teaching in the mission of the church?

If God unlocks the human heart…how do I participate…how do I encourage this divine work?

John raises tantalising questions throughout this chapter…but does not provide obvious answers.

But it does make us think.

How am I fed by God…how can I find bread that lasts forever…how can I discover spiritual nurture…how can I discover God in a way that will not diminish/fade before my next meal?

The obvious answer is that we should find this in Jesus…but it is not so easy as we navigate the minefields of religious forms twisted… distorted and manipulated for people's own ends.

Even Christians reach a point of exhaustion when the traditional forms of religious experience become tired…and they need to feel the winds of God today…setting their sail, pointing their boat out into the deep where the mysterious things of God may be found.

In the end being fed by God is beyond our natural comprehension…utterly mysterious…evoking feelings of fear and confusion…in some cases anger. These are divine things…heavenly realities that lie beyond our abilities…and we shouldn't complain or grumble about them.

It is God alone who can supply a divine insight…our task is simply to stand… receive…engage…to be open to the work of the Spirit as He permits us glimpses into realities too deep for us.

The prophet Micah sums it up what God requires of us in chapter 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice…to love kindness…and to walk humbly with your God?"

Holy Communion today should be a delight not an impediment as we seek a deeper experience with Him.

We talk of decluttering houses…why not decluttering your religious history and begin again to hear God's voice speaking words of affection and assurance into your life…seek a pure and pristine/a fresh walk with Jesus…He is the bread of life.

Like the pursuit of happiness…the more we run after it with strategies…and plans…the more it seems to flee…being fed by God requires a conversion/a change of thinking…the discovery that God is eager to give life and renewal to anyone who can listen in simplicity and piety/humbleness.

Although John doesn't provide simplistic answers to the question of the divine life…he does make one comment…while religious forms might be useful…they dare not replace the immediacy of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ…and the sacrament itself which we will partake of shortly is simply a vehicle to communicate divine life to the worshipper. Used rightly when Christ is identified…and the Spirit is experienced in all His glory and power.

Neither Jerusalem nor Samaria can provide the appropriate form of worship because worship is to be done in Spirit and truth…not simply a life of confession and obedience…but a life of encounter.

We see that the apostle provides a critique of sacramental worship that has lost any connection with the life-giving Lord present in the church through the Spirit…I believe He would have us use the sacraments correctly…so that they become true vehicles of encounter…and not fossilised instruments of religiosity.

And along with the apostle Peter we must always be willing to relinquish our position… to hold our assumptions loosely…and to say in faith…"Lord…to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." And hear these words of our Lord "I AM the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread, they will live forever. And the bread which I shall give is my flesh…given for the life of the world."

Let us pray.