Spiritual Hiccups - All We Need

The gospel of John does not mention "the Last Supper" where Jesus breaks bread and gives it to his disciples just prior to his arrest.  John seems to have Passover on Saturday rather than the Friday reported in the other gospels, and so there is no Passover meal on Maundy Thursday in John.  But there are certainly echoes of the Lord's Supper in John's account of the feeding of the 5000.  "Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated."

On a number of different occasions, I have heard the biblical accounts of Jesus miraculously feeding the crowds referred to as "miracles of sharing."  All those people in the crowd had a little food tucked away under their clothing, but they were keeping it hidden because there really wasn't enough extra to go very far.  But when Jesus takes the meager lunch of one boy and begins to share it, others join in the sharing, and lo and behold, there is more than enough for everyone.


Now this interpretation certainly makes a certain amount of sense.  It provides a rational explanation for what seemed to be a miracle.  It may even make Jesus a bit more palatable for those who aren't sure what to do with miracles.  Unfortunately, I think it also misses the main point of the story.  The story insists that Jesus is more than able to provide all that is needed for those who follow him.  Just as God once fed the Israelites with manna in the wilderness, Jesus will provide and care for his own.  

Insomuch as John means for us to see a connection to the Lord's Supper, we are also assured that Jesus continues to feed his flock.  The community John originally writes to is under tremendous pressure.  It is a Jewish Christian group that grew up in the synagogue and considers that its spiritual home.  But the synagogue leaders are threatening to expel them if they keep insisting that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is Lord.  John is encouraging these folks to hold fast and trust that Jesus can provide for them, even if they find themselves cast out into, what seems to them, a spiritual wilderness.


And here there I think is a helpful message for us in today's church.  Mainline Christians have seen their numbers dwindle remarkably over the last few decades.  There are a variety of forces behind this, but at least one way that we contribute to this decline is by making Church primarily about belief and neglecting the issue of spiritual sustenance.  Often we are much better at talking about Jesus than we are at helping people be nurtured by Jesus for a life of deep faith.  Somewhere along the way we've forgotten the promise that Jesus can indeed feed us, strengthen us, and nurture us.  God's Spirit can come to us and give us all that we need to be and to share the living presence of God in the world.


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