Who are you? Rev. Michael Blackwood United Church of Broomfield March 04, 2018

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1 Who are you? Rev. Michael Blackwood United Church of Broomfield March 04, 2018 John 6:35 40 (KJV) And Jesus aid unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 8:12 20 (KJV) Then spake Jesus again until them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. Those words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. Who are you? It s not a complicated question, but still it s not necessarily easy to answer., if I were to ask you, who you are, how might you respond? <<<<<>>>>> Context has so much to do with the question. I mean, who s asking the question, where are you when the question is asked and why are they asking it at all? Depending on all of these variables you may respond any number of ways, like: I am Joe. 1

2 I am Janet s Spouse. I am transgender. I am compassionate. I am the project manager. I am your biggest support. I am strong. I am a Christian. I am the league champion. I am a great listener. I am a chocolate connoisseur. I am a dancer. I am a member of the United Church of Broomfield. I am an activisit. I am your worst nightmare! See what I mean about context! Ironically, how you answer the question of who you are has a lot to do with who you are. along with all those variables Like are you identifying yourself professionally, say during a business meeting? Are you identifying yourself relationally to other people at a wedding, perhaps? Are you identifying yourself more personally like emotionally, spiritually or ontologically, like when your pastor puts you on the spot in front of the whole congregation? Ontologically: it s one of those really big words we learn in seminary that has to do with the nature of being.what constitutes existing and how do we know that anything/anyone IS! HOW you identify yourself has meaning. WHY you identify yourself that way, in that moment has purpose. WHEN you identify yourself, it makes a difference. Answering the question, Who am I is both important and very powerful. On Pinterest, there is a posting by a nutritionist and motivational coach that says, I AM: two of the most powerful words; for what you put after them shapes your reality puwhwwjc9amwivdea/ 2

3 According to psychotherapist and counselor Mel Schwartz, Our identity [understanding who we are] should be an ongoing process we should embrace a flowing sense of self, whereby we are perpetually re framing, re organizing and re considering [who we are.] 2 We are in the Lenten season I think these quotes align perfectly with our Lenten practices, in which we are in an ongoing process of understanding ourselves deeper and shaping our realities. During Lent, we ve been talking about how it is a season of intentional reflection. We look inward to ourselves and how we are inter connected with the brokenness of our world and simultaneously we are reflecting upon Jesus Christ s suffering and sacrificial death on the cross. Regarding Jesus suffering and sacrifice to millennia ago and the brokenness of today s world, how do we relate to Jesus, his suffering and the problems of our modern world? The reality with which we are faced is that we live in a world that struggles with starvation, hunger, evil, oppression and sin. In the middle of all of this, we have to choose HOW to identify ourselves, HOW we relate, HOW we are connected. Are you a by stander? Are you a protestor? Are you a change maker? We need to understand WHY we choose to identify the way we do because it s important and can be extremely powerful and life changing. Deep within, we know that despite the hunger, the evil, the oppression and the sin, there is a joyous and abundant life for everything, right now and forever that is the ultimate reality that we have the power to bring forth! Today and for the next few weeks, I m going to be using the Gospel of John to help us with our Lenten practice of intentional reflection. Throughout all of the gospels, as well as the rest of the New Testament, the question of who Jesus is, is asked numerous times; Who is this? Isn t he the son of Joseph? Is this the Son of God? Jesus was directly asked by the Pharisees in John 8:53, Who do you think you are? Even Jesus asks, Who do you people say I am? and Who do you [Peter] say I am? What we believe and base our faith on as Christians is a direct response to Jesus answer to the question Who are you? 2 mind/201006/who am i 3

4 In John, Jesus identifies himself sever times, specifically using I AM statements. We re going to examine some of those I AM statements to better understand Jesus, God and ourselves. In John 6:35 Jesus said, I AM the bread of life Before we proceed, let s set the scene Today s scripture, versus 35 40, is part of a larger story 01 15: the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish : that night, Jesus takes a break from the crowds and walks on water : the next day, the people go looking for Jesus. Jesus says, you re only looking for me because you want me to perform yesterday s miracle again. You re hungry and you want more bread. They don t understand that the bread Jesus is offering was eternal life, not just temporal, bodily sustenance. They thought it was literal bread and said, give us this bread ALWAYS. Kind of demanding don t you think? Before them is the Son of God offering eternal life and they demand barley loaves. They saw the miracle of thousands of people being fed with 5 loaves and 2 fish and they STILL wanted Jesus to perform more miracles, just so we can be sure. Not just demanding, but arrogant. When Jesus says, I AM the bread of life he is teaching them about the Kingdom of God. Jesus tells them, I AM here to do God s will and God s will is that EVERYONE may have an abundant and eternal life. You want this bread always? Well, here I am! I ve been telling you, but you still won t believe me. I am the LIVING bread, come down from heaven. Follow me, embrace the way and you ll never have to worry about hunger and thirst because you ll be spiritually fed now and forever!!! Despite the miracles that they saw, after verse 40, the story continues with the people grumbling about who Jesus really is. They asked the question, Who are you and Jesus answered it! They didn t like it, so Jesus hammers it home, continuing through verse 59, detailing, very specifically what he means by, I AM the bread of life. And ever after that, they were still ready to stone him. That s the reality of what Jesus puts down! Jesus reality is I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE! Consume me, consume the way and you will flourish here and now. Jesus reality his mission is that ALL may conquer death and have eternal life. What does this mean for us? How do we identify with Jesus? 4

5 The perfect example is our participation in communion, in which we consume literal and symbolic bread as a family, in remembrance of who Jesus was. When we partake in this table, Jesus reality becomes our reality. Believe that Jesus IS the bread of life, we not only eat together HERE as a family, but we also actively look for the people who need to be fed. Those whom the world drives away. Whom the world allows to go hungry. 3 Jesus, as the bread of life is here at this table on Sundays, but goes with each one of us out into the world every single day, so that we can take this nourishment and share it with others. We consume the bread, so that we can share the bread with others. We can bring the Kingdom of God; a world of peace, love and abundance. Jesus, the bread of life, satisfies our spiritual hunger and gives eternal life. In John 8:12 Jesus said, I AM the light of the world Again, let s see what s going on Immediately preceding this selection from John are sections where Jesus is teaching, and the authorities are testing Jesus and trying to trip him up. Chapter 8:1 11 Jesus is in the temple, teaching The scribes and the Pharisees bring to him a woman caught committing adultery. They try to test Jesus by quoting Mosaic Law on how to punish her and ask him what he would do? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Everyone leaves without condemning the woman. Jesus and the woman are alone Jesus doesn t judge her either, but forgives her, sends her on her way, telling her to sin no more. In verse 12, Jesus continues his teaching with, I AM the light of the world Of course, when Jesus states that he is the light of the world, he is still teaching them about the Kingdom of God. Following Jesus and the way means that you will have the light of life. Jesus provides actual light in the darkness, as well as the metaphorical understanding in times of confusion. Light illuminates. Jesus is saying that you will see things clearly because of him. Having Jesus in your life gives clarity to the meaning of life, the purpose for which you were created, who God is who you are in [God s] sight, what is worth spending your life on, how to love people, how to live. I see things clearly now. I am no longer a blind person being led by other blind people ct.org/sermons/sermon/ /jesus and the pharisees: who do you think you are 5

6 Jesus reality as the light of the world provides meaning and purpose. Jesus reality becomes our reality in the challenge of witnessing to truth. Jesus was tested by the scribes and the Pharisees those in powerful positions. They continued to questions Jesus I AM statements. They tried to take away his power, his reality; Why should we take your word? Jesus confidently respond with, I know whence I came and whither I go, but ye cannot tell when I come and whither I go. Jesus stands up to the powers that be and won t take their guff. You don t know anything about me or my Father. All they re interested in is judging and Jesus reminds them of that. As the light of the world, Jesus isn t there to judge. The light doesn t judge the light illuminates, demystifies, explains and reveals. The light will reveal everything and everyone for who they truly are. The light of world elicits goodness, positivity and love. Again, Jesus reality is I AM A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. Ask me for guidance and I will light the way! Jesus reality is to show everyone the way! In Christ s presence, we are able to see the world as it truly is. We also begin to see people all people as made in the image of God, full of dignity and worth. By [God s] Spirit, the Savior opens our eyes to eternal things, teaching us to walk by faith, not by physical sight (2 Cor 4:18, 5:7). 5 Who are you? There are so many ways to respond. I d like to suggest a few please repeat after me I AM a child of God I AM perfectly made in God s image. I AM a servant leader I AM a co creator of the Kingdom of God. What follows I AM is powerful and shapers your reality. HOW you identify yourself has meaning and purpose and it makes a difference. As Christians, the words Jesus used following I AM shaped not only HIS reality, but OURS! 5 am the light of the world/ 6

7 If we believe in Jesus, we must hold the fullness of Jesus humanity together with Jesus divinity. Our reality as disciples is to consume and share the bread of life. Our reality as disciples is to see the world through God s eyes and share the light of the world. I AM. AMEN. Bibliography Kelly, Jack. Topical Studies. 23 October February < Lewis, Karoline. Craft of Preaching: Sermon Development. 16 January February < 7