Gospel Gleaning: The Seven ‘Excepts.’

Much is been said of the viral expansion of Christianity in the global south. We’ve all heard of the ‘lively’ and vibrant worship sessions, and the passion that draws people to churches on Sunday morning in their thousands. The way I put it is that people back home in Africa generally seem more prone to the promptings of their faith than we find here.

Why is this so? While you and I may not have all the answers here, it is my thinking that this has a lot to do with history and social evolution. Without delving into history books, we can declare with no fear of equivocation that such was the case here. We call them the ‘good old days’ when North American was on fire for Christ and mission. That was how churches like ours were founded. It was how imposing cathedral buildings were built, and communities of faith grew.

There comes a time in the life of a people or individuals when the fire of the gospel- the fire of spirituality and evangelism, is ignited. We get to that tipping point in our journey and experiences when we don’t need a prophet to know that the die is cast. At such times we realize the need for re-evaluation of our journey, and the need to ensure that we are indeed journeying along side God. I hear it expressed in different ways today that we’ve gotten to that tipping point again in North America. Do you think so?

But I was talking about Africa. Yes, I was. I realize that part of the difference there, is the fact that people in the south seem to connect and relate with God at a different and deeper level. If you are in doubt about someone’s religion, the question to ask is not to know what denomination they belong. The common question is “are you born again?” Of course they will belong to churches if they are born again. What is considered important is to know if they have any personal experience of Christ to share. Therefore, the condition that Jesus set before Necodemus in John 3 becomes a measuring rod.

I am reminded of this by the Gospel reading for this Sunday. Being born again is considered a ‘syndrome’ by some. It shouldn’t be. It is one of the ‘SEVEN EXCEPTS’ that Jesus has given as pre-conditions for any one who is seriously committed to making it into the Kingdom of God. We have one in John 6 this Sunday. They are nothing to be afraid of. Each of them offers a measuring rod to our level of our individual experience of Christ.

Here they are:

1. Except you repent… (Luke 13:1-5).
2. Except you become converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).
3. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3; 1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:8; 1 John 5:1-14,18).
4. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
5. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you (John 6:53).
6. Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).
7. Except you abide in me ... (John 15:4-6).

Gospel Gleaning: The Bread of Life!

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty ... Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." [John 6:35 & 41]
The gospel reading for this week takes us back to the last verse of last week's reading. It sets Jesus' claim about who he is and what he does dead center in the discussion. It's a kind of a, "You came for bread... well, let me tell you the truth about bread. I am the bread that came down from heaven!"
Now the crisis that will lead to a cross on the outskirts of Jerusalem begins:
"Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.' "
The use of the term, "the Jews," is not an ethnic slur -- Jesus and his followers were Jews -- It was rather a focus on Judaism's absolute commitment to monotheism. Anything that even hinted of attributing divinity to a human being would be anathema to Jewish people. The complaining of the people had to do initially with a discomfort with Jesus' words about coming down from heaven.
"How can that be?" They ask, "This is a local kid. We know his parents. What's he talking about?"
It gets worse. Jesus tells them to stop complaining. Interestingly, the word is "grumble" or "murmur." It is the equivalent of the Hebrew word used in Exodus when the children of Israel got into the wilderness and were complaining against Moses because they were hungry. In other words, the ancestors of the people who were now complaining against Jesus' words were those who complained against Moses because they had no bread.
In the words of Jesus to those who had initially gathered hoping to reap more of the free physical bread, there was the most radical claim. It set their minds spinning.
"I am the bread of life!"
But, let’s not just think and talk about them, this is now about us. It would be a good thing if each of us would stop and listen to the claims of Christ again - as thought it were for the very first time. If his claims were simply true or false in the larger scope of things - ramblings or reality that made no actual difference in our lives - we could simply let them sit there on the pages of the bible without giving much thought to them.
But... these claims are not simply statements about the world "out there," they are claims about our own lives. Jesus' words go to the heart of who we are and who God created us to be. Listen to the sense of Jesus' words and hear the claim on your life as though Christ himself were standing before you:
* "I am the bread of life. I am the one who will feed your heart and soul. If you give your life to me and trust me, you will never be without meaning or purpose in your living." [6:35]
* "I will not only provide the meaning and purpose of your life here on this earth, but I will give you life that will endure for all of eternity." [6:47]
Can you hear how truly radical Jesus' claims are? What if a friend or neighbour said these things to you? You would look for the nearest exit.
As it turns out, some of those who heard the claims of Jesus that day did look for an exit.
Those who stayed became disciples for life. To encounter the person of Jesus Christ and respond to the claims of Christ with faith and trust is the beginning of authentic discipleship.
It is good for us to renew our faith and trust in the One who has claimed us by hearing his words afresh, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never

John 6: 24-35

Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” John 6: 26-27

What is You Struggling for?

Some of us may remember that ‘puzzle’ which begins by staking a prize that will be won by anyone that first provides the correct answer to a very fundamental life question. Let me keep it simple here. So, I invite you to imagine me standing before the congregation of St Andrew’s one Sunday morning and going:

“Good morning! I have a very important question for you all. Anyone who comes up with the most accurate answer will receive a copy of say- ‘Concordia Self-Study Bible,’ New International Version. The question is; what is your struggling for?”

True to character, some of us will no doubt respond that we are struggling to find ‘fulfilment in life!’ Other peace, or joy and happiness, or financial independence, or even heaven!!

Of course none of these would have won the prize. True as they may all be, everyone who provided answers to my question at the time they did was struggling to win the prize at stake: my ‘Concordia Self-Study Bible,’ New International Version.

This is very like the character of the crowd that followed Jesus to Capernaum after the feeding of 5,000 in John 6. The Israelites in the wilderness wanted to return to captivity because in Egypt there was bread for eating. After all starving slaves were not productive so it made economic sense to feed them. In the desert there was nothing; or at least there was the fear of slow starvation. Moses talks to God and it is God who provides meat through quail and bread through manna. The people’s needs are met in the wilderness. Through bread from heaven the Israelites learn not to rely on their own strength and resources, but on God. The great hymn ‘Guide me, O thou great Jehovah’ puts it

‘I am weak but thou art mighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore.’

After years of quail and manna one wonders how the people might have hungered for different and more varied provision! Yet they learned that daily bread, possibly no more, would be given.

The people with Jesus had experienced the feeding of the 5000, so they persisted in following Jesus; gone was the possibility of a quiet life for him. Yet Jesus challenged them to move on from a very physical material perspective on life to a more spiritually based one. Bread from heaven is not only about God as provider, but about the Son of Man, Jesus himself being the bread of life. Not only can we rely on God for our physical needs – there is more than enough for the world to be fed if only we had the moral and political will to do so, but we can also rely on God for our spiritual needs, for meaningful abundant life. Even if our experience in the present leaves a question mark hanging over it with a billion hungry every night on the planet our faith suggests that in the end love and good prevail.

Tim Hansel in ‘When I Relax I Feel Guilty’ tells of an American Indian visiting New York. Walking with a friend from the city he said suddenly, “I hear a cricket.” “You’re crazy,” his friend replied. “No, I hear a cricket. I’m sure of it.” ” Don’t be daft. It’s noon. Listen, the traffic is deafening. I’m sure you can’t hear it.” “But I can.” The American Indian listened attentively and then walked to the corner, and found a shrub in a large planter. He moved the leaves aside and found a cricket. His friend was astounded. But he said, “My ears are no different than yours. It simply depends on what you are listening to. Here let me show you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of loose change and dropped it on the pavement. Many heads turned to the noise. “You see what I mean?” he said as he began picking up the coins. “It all depends on what you are listening for.”

When the people followed Jesus their perspective, what they were listening for had to change. No longer was it material provision necessarily, bread for lunch, no longer was it the coins dropped that their ears needed to be attuned to. Rather it was the cricket, the rising bread of heaven, the food of life not only physical life but life in all its fullness, offered and given by Christ that needed to be heard. Their focus needed to change, from human survival to trust and reliance on God.

So, what are you struggling for?