Is That Your Final Answer? John 6:1-21 A Sermon by Rev. Bob Kells The title of my message this morning probably needs no further explanation. Is that Your Final Answer? is the catch phrase from a television game show that was very popular in the 1990s called: Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The show was hosted by Regis Philbin and was based on contestants answering a series of questions as they tried to win a million dollars. The questions were all multiple choice. And if the player got stuck, they had three ways to get help called lifelines. If you aren t that familiar with the show, here s a short video clip that gives a flavor of how it worked. VIDEO CLIP 1 The words Is that your final answer? worked their way into popular culture as a result of this show. They stand for closure, the last option, the answer you decide to rely on. That s my story, and I m stickin with it. Final Answer. Today s reading from the Gospel of John contains a lesson with a question and some final answers. To set the stage, we begin with Jesus as he travels with his disciples in Galilee. He s already attracted a lot of attention from people with his preaching, his teaching and especially his healing. 1 John Carpenter-Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, COMPLETE VIDEO, Youtube.com, video on internet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdvnolboqqm, accessed 23 July 2015. 1
So it s no surprise when we learn that people are following him around, trying to figure out who he is, what he s all about. The crowds want to know: Who is this man who heals the sick and upsets priests on the Sabbath? They re looking for answers. Now we learn that it s the Passover festival for the Jewish people. Anytime we hear a reference like this our ears should perk up. The writer, in this case John, is telling us to pay attention. When we do, we hear that what Jesus is doing somehow echoes the story of God s people as they are delivered from slavery in Egypt: - Jesus is crossing the Sea of Galilee and people are following him Moses led the Hebrew people across the Red Sea in the Exodus from Egypt. - Jesus led them to a hillside, a deserted location, a wilderness spot Moses led Israel into the wilderness of the Sinai desert. As Jesus sits down the crowd begins to gather, waiting to see what he will do next. Jesus has a question for his disciples: Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat? We know from John s account that this is a test. A question, with an answer. But instead of supplying the answer right away, Jesus turns to his disciples and asks them how to solve the problem. Can you imagine being in the disciples sandals at this point? Can you picture the scene? 2
- You re sitting on a hillside with Jesus and thousands of people are coming toward you. - They re hungry from the journey. - Jesus asks you: Who will provide bread? What kind of question is that, Jesus? We re in the middle of nowhere! - There are no provisions for anyone in the wilderness. - There s nothing around. No towns or cities, no highway rest stops, no convenience stores along the way. Maybe we should have picked up a few sacks of food at that last oasis. So the disciples with Jesus answer just as anyone might in this situation: - Philip says: Six month s wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little. In other words this is impossible. - Andrew has something more to offer: There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people? What we have is nowhere near enough. The disciples have an answer to Jesus question. They are very rational, human answers to the dilemma they faced no way! We don t have enough to do the job. If this were a multiple choice exam, we ll take D. Final answer. But Jesus has another answer in mind. Jesus opens up new possibilities through the power of divine love. What does he do? 3
Jesus becomes the host, like at a Jewish meal. (Yet another echo of Israel s story in the Passover). 2 - He seats the people in the grass. - He takes the loaves and gives thanks and distributes the food. - He does the same with the fish. - And all ate until they were satisfied. - And there were 12 baskets of bread left over. What the early church saw in this story was a picture of the Eucharist Holy Communion. The bread is blessed, and everyone eats and is satisfied. Here is a picture of the God who provides for all our needs. Here is the God who gives us, each day, our daily bread. - It s the Exodus all over again. - Jesus is the bread of life manna from heaven. - Jesus is life. But we also see in this story of God s abundant provision that our answers are not God s answers. The Good News is that when faced with seemingly impossible odds, we have a lifeline: Jesus Christ is the lifeline the whole world needs. What we have is never the final answer. When we say there s no way, God provides a way. And it begins with what we bring to the table. It answers the question Andrew asked: What are they among so many? Where do we see God s abundant provision at work in our world? 2 Commentary on John, in The New Interpreter s Bible, A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, Volume IX, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 594. 4
- In 1976, Millard and Linda Fuller were moved by the shortage of housing for the working poor. They looked at the dire conditions some people lived in and wondered: Can we provide decent homes for some of these people who live below the poverty level and who can t qualify for standard loans? Beginning with some tools, a handful of volunteers and a passion to do some good for people in the name of Jesus Christ, the Fullers gave birth to Habitat for Humanity, which is now a big international organization. I m sure someone at the time must have asked a question like: What are they among so many? But God blessed their work. Since 1976, Habitat has built or repaired over one million homes and served 5 million people. 3 - We ve also seen this in the fight against malaria in Africa. This preventable disease has caused the death of millions of people over the years. Several years ago, the United Methodist Church embarked on a mission to eliminate deaths from malaria on the continent of Africa. The Church started Imagine No Malaria and set a goal to raise $75 million. With help from other partners, the number of deaths related to malaria has dropped from 1 million in 2007 to just over 600,000 by 2012. The challenge from malaria seemed overwhelming. What are they among so many? But God 3 Illustration for Habitat for Humanity cited in Karen Marie Yust, John 6:1-21, In Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, easting on the Word, Year B, Volume 3, Pentecost and Season After Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16), (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 289. Background on Habitat from The History of Habitat, Habitat for Humanity website, article on internet, http://www.habitat.org/how/historytext.aspx, accessed 23 July 2015. 5
had another answer. And this church, with our donation to Imagine No Malaria, is part of God s answer. 4 God s answers are not our answers. Jesus Christ is the lifeline the whole world needs. We see this also in the miracle of walking on water. - The disciples are re- crossing the Sea of Galilee. - Suddenly, a storm comes up, making the crossing dangerous. - The disciples see Jesus walking on the water, and they are terrified is this a ghost? - But Jesus speaks to them: It is I. Don t be afraid. - When the disciples hear this, they want to invite him into the boat but suddenly, they arrive safely on the other shore. Once again, we have a miracle with echoes of Israel s story crossing Galilee is like Israel crossing the Red Sea. Once again, we have a miracle that is an echo of Israel s story. Like the miracle of the fish and the loaves, Jesus provides a way when there is danger and there seems to be no safe way ahead. 5 This is a good lesson for us to remember. And we can remember that our answers the world s final answers are never God s final answers. - Pharaoh had an answer for the slaves of Israel. He was going to eliminate them. Pharaoh was ready, he was chasing them down with his army. But God provided another way. God saved his 4 Malaria 101, Imagine No Malaria website, article on internet, http://imaginenomalaria.org/#malaria- 101, accessed 23 July 2015. 5 Tom Wright, John for Everyone, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002), 75-76. 6
people he redeemed them and brought them out into the wilderness where God provided for their needs. - Caesar had and answer for the world too. It happened much later, on the day when Jesus was crucified. When that troublemaker, that rabble rouser Jesus was put to death. That was it. Final answer. We ll never hear from him again. But God had a different answer. God had an answer that raised Jesus to life. God had an answer that gave Jesus new life so that we can have new life, because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. God s answers are different from our answers. God s answers are not our answers. God has a different answer for us. - When we are in the midst of our storms of life, the times and places that scare us and threaten us, we ll be afraid; terrified, even, at the dangers all around. We may see no way out of our predicament. - But if we look hard and listen carefully, we ll see Jesus coming along side saying: Don t be afraid. It is I. - Then we ll be open to the miracle of God s divine grace. - We ll learn, once again, that our answers are not God s answers. - And we ll see that Jesus is the lifeline that will get see us safely to the opposite shore. 6 Amen. 6 Ibid., 77. 7