I was reading a story online the other day about Trisha Torrey. None of you have probably ever heard of her. I know I never had until I read the article about her experience with the doctor’s office. In June 2004 she found a golf ball size lump on her torso, so she went in to the doctor’s in order to get it checked out. A few weeks after some testing was done on the lump the results came back and the doctor told her that she had subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma. This was an extremely, extremely rare form of cancer. In fact later she would find out that only 100 cases had been reported in the last 10 years. She then began a regiment of doctor’s visits in order to examine and treat her until eventually it came to a point where her doctor told her it was time for chemo.
She really didn’t want to take chemo and also through her research had found that even with chemo this form of cancer remained terminal with no one having ever survived more than a few years after diagnosis. SHe hesitated with her decision and put it off for some time. Then one night when she was out with some friends she shared with them her problems. One of her friends had a doctor friend who was currently treating someone with this form of cancer and sense this was the other doctor’s first experience with this form of cancer she thought it would be good to get a second opinion. She immediately scheduled an appointment and met with this new doctor. After going over her results and performing his own tests this doctor found that she in fact did not have cancer at all, but rather had panniculitis, an inflammation of fat cells. Which is definitely not cancer, and definitely not terminal. In fact if she were to have followed the doctor’s orders and went through chemo, it had actually been shown that others who had been misdiagnosed with this form of cancer having gone through chemo, actually died from the chemo. Her misdiagnosis changed a very treatable ailment into a potentially life threatening treatment regimen. As we look out today I think that we see the world as a whole misdiagnosing the most basic problem this world has. We all realize that this world has a problem. There is poverty, there is pain, and there is mourning. None of these are right and it is in fact our responsibility to do something about them. We have the sick diagnosing the sick not realizing that they in fact all suffer from the same malady. We can all agree, whether in the church or outside of it, that many people in this world are lacking the most basic necessity of life. The difference comes in our classification of what the most basic necessity of life is. When we ask what is the most basic thing someone needs in order to survive we might say they need food, water and shelter. But in fact that in itself is a misdiagnosis. While people need food to last until the next day, food and other seeming basic needs do not in fact enable to survive and live. Turn with me to John 6:47-58;
John 6:47-58 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." 52 ¶ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
The misdiagnosis is found in the fact that the world does not know God. Remember last week how we talked about how we cannot know the things of the Father, we cannot see where he is working unless we first know him. Well this is why the world cannot recognize the need for something more than simply food and water. Food and water do not give live, they don’t even prolong it but rather they stall the effects of death. There is no life found in food and water. There is no life found in the basic necessities of this world. Everything that can be found in this world simply is an avenue to stave off the effects of death. The world, not knowing the father does not know eternity and does not know that there is something more than postponing death. Because they do not know there is something more than this life, they cannot diagnose the problem as having anything to do with anything other than this life. It is like in the village in Uganda. If you are sick it is called malaria, even though it is not necessarily malaria. I got a cold and they told me I had malaria. It isn’t their fault that they misdiagnosed me, but it is because they do not in many places know anything more than malaria. The world does not know anything more than this world and therefore the problem has to be something of this world. But this passage is not simply speaking to those handing out help, but to those seeking it. Our problem, our greatest need is not food and water, money and wealth, but it is the bread of life.
So Jesus steps out and says I am the bread of life. The most basic need you have in life is me. Jesus doesn’t simply put off death or make our time on this earth easier, but he brings real life that cannot be taken away. Why pursue and desire something that will simply fade away? Why not choose something that will endure forever. Backtracking a little bit to John 6:26-27, it reads;
John 6:26-27 26 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."
Jesus offers to us something eternal that can perish and never fade, but we can only receive it if we see past the temporary and realize the eternal. I think that is one of the most difficult parts of accepting belief in God for an educated, rational thinking generation. In order to believe in God and salvation we must believe in eternity and the possibility for eternal life. This is what we must communicate to the world. Not simply that there is a God who offers life, but that there is an eternity worth living for.
If we are not careful here though we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble, and falsely say that Christ is not concerned with the necessities of life in this world and he in fact only provides for the eternal and not for our immediate moment of need. Remember our past discussions and how Jesus in fact had a great heart for the poor and broken. Jesus went around healing the broken and providing for those who lacked. While Jesus brought life eternal, he also preached life immediate. We are reading the story backwards here. Do you know what Jesus was doing before he started talking about the bread of life? Jesus was providing for their immediate physical needs. Jesus was feeding the 5000. John 6:1-13 reads;
John 6:1-13 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.
Jesus saw the people coming. He had preached to them yet, but they were pursuing him. From a distance he sees them. He knows they must be hungry so Jesus seeks to provide for their immediate need right there and then. God is not simply concerned with the eternal to the point of being unconcerned with our immediate needs. Jesus is not simply the bread of life for all of eternity, but he is the light of the world right now. Jesus cares about our problems right here and now and even does something about them. Jesus feeds the 5000, which in itself is a miracle. But I think the message to us as the church isn’t that we should use the needs of people to manipulate them into salvation. But we should provide for the needs of people because we love them. Jesus did not feed the people simply so that he could preach. He did not manipulate. Jesus fed the people because he cared about them. All the texts we have used are in the same chapter yes, but Jesus does absolutely zero preaching at the feeding of the 5000. Not a single word in John. Jesus instead retreats to the mountain after they have eaten in order to pray. Then we have the story of Jesus walking on the water in order to catch up with his disciples who left him and then we find the people jumping in their own boats to catch up and follow. Jesus sees a need, provides for the need and then leaves. When the people come back to him, that is when he preaches about the bread of life and eternity.
We here in the church realize that there is much more to this world than simply hunger and thirst. We know the Father and therefore know eternity. But knowledge does not simply bring greater sight but it also brings us greater responsibility. Knowing the Father, and knowing the bread of life, we need to share it. We need to share Christ and all that he has to offer, but we also need to share food, clothing, and any other need we might be able to provide for without having to manipulate people. The gospel doesn’t just speak to the unsaved, but it speaks to us. We can in fact love, share, and provide for people in need without requiring anything, even a listening ear in return. When we love and live out the eternal life we have been given people come back and want to know more. We need to just like Jesus care for the eternal needs of people as well as their immediate needs. We don’t provide for hunger because hunger can lead to salvation, but we provide for hunger because they are hungry.
Jesus is the bread of life and is everything we could ever need. When we pursue him we need to learn to look at the eternal, seeking what does not fade away. We need to realize the greater gift and we need to teach the world to see the eternal as well so that they can see the gift. We need to be careful that we do not misdiagnose as well, ignoring the material need of the poor strictly for the sake of the eternal.
No comments:
Post a Comment