No
one likes to be reminded that they messed up. As much as we admire and even
love King David, we can’t forget that he was capable of terrible things. He is
capable of murder and he takes another man’s wife. The prophet Nathan tells a
story. It makes us uncomfortable to hear it. We can see where he is going and
we can’t look away. David condemns himself.
For
all the times we have failed and for all the times we have hidden only
ourselves from our sin – we have Nathan to remind us. This is uncomfortable and
it is also a kind of blessing. God gives David Nathan because God loves David.
God reveals our sin, not so that we hate ourselves or even give up, God desires
that we live better. God seeks our repentance so that we live differently. The
Psalm we read may have been David’s lament and his desire for something better.
God knows we are not perfect. God shows us our sin so that we can live beyond
it.
Although
the Gospel is not connected in any way to the story of David, it does point to
God’s deeper desire for connection. The crowd is chasing Jesus because of the
miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. He is not impressed. “You are only
looking for me because you liked the free lunch!” The people want a show. Jesus
wants something deeper.
The
miracle is impressive. Jesus is not just showing off. He is not seeking to
remind people of better days and God’s awesome power. This isn’t just like
Moses in the wilderness. By the way, Moses didn’t do anything. It was God who
gave manna. It was God who fed them and led them. God did all that to invite
the people into a better relationship – not merely to make them feel good.
Jesus
is offering bread. This is not miracle bread. This is not a political or
religious statement. Jesus is offering nourishment. Jesus is offering a way to
live. He is offering food that will feed us forever. We al know the old adage, “You
are what you eat.” We are literally made up of the food we consume. Our cells
use the energy and nutrients from what goes into our mouths. Jesus wants to
feed us better food.
We
accept the sacrament as a way of feeding on Jesus. The bread becomes something
more than bread. The food feeds us in a way that no other food can feed us.
This bread connects us to God. We eat the divine food so that we can be
transformed and changed into the likeness of God.
There
is a personal blessing in this. We become closer to God as we eat this bread.
God works in us and makes us into new people. We are also reminded that this
sacrament is not merely personal. God doesn’t just transform us – unconnected
from anyone else. Everything we do is together. God changes us together. God
feeds us and re-creates us together. As we are individually changed, God
reveals the unique gift of each that we are to offer to one another. We see the
results of our different relationship with God as we grow in new relationships
with each other.
The
letter to the Ephesians begins to share the practical nature of our different
gifts. We are called to grow. We are filled and blessed with all the Gifts
Jesus gives us. We are all given ways that we can serve and love each other. As
the world sees our many gifts, all of us together become Christ to the world.
It is only in the use of all our gifts that we can reveal the fullness of God
in our lives.
We
become the bread. We become the broken loaf given to feed the world. We become
the food that gives life and offers a new way of living.
