John 6:24-35

24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper'na-um, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.

They wanted Jesus “Not because (they) saw signs, but because (they) ate their fill of the loaves.”

They wanted Jesus for the wrong reason - and so do we.

We want Jesus as an insurance policy against bad things happening to us.
Even if we are careless, greedy, indifferent.

We want Jesus not because we want to be “renewed in the spirit of our minds” ;
we want Jesus because we want to have our bases covered.

But this is not how it is with God. God did not send Jesus to dwell among us so life could be a bed of roses. God sent Jesus to dwell among us so that life could be different - strangely, powerfully, eternally different!

Faith doesn’t change anything in our world. It changes everything in our hearts, our eyes, ears, and minds. In the very depth of our being. Everything takes on a new meaning and purpose. Nothing is left untouched by this new and different perspective, which makes a new and different person.

John 6:1-15

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiber'i-as. 2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" 6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost." 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!" 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

It’s a good thing the 2 fish and 5 loaves where in the hands of a boy. Adults like the disciples and us would have used logic to see how impossible it was to feed so many with so little. The boy was just willing to share what he had.

The point: even our little can make a difference.
In the face of hopelessness we have been given a sign of hope.
There is a God who cares; a God who sent Jesus who fed so many with so little;
who did not give up on anyone.

What little we have in the hands of God becomes much!
God asks us to risk what we have and let a miracle happen!

A 5 year old gave money to buy a Bible to be sent to Africa. When asked about this by her father she replied, “When she dies, (the girl who receives it) she won’t have to be afraid of God.”

A boy is caught reflecting sun light into an upstairs room, When asked what he is doing he replied, “My friend is sick in bed; the only sunlight he gets is what I reflect up there.”

In the little that we have to offer lies hidden the potential of great things, even miracles.

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

30 The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 53 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennes'aret, and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, 55 and ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or country, they laid the sick in the market places, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.

What do you suppose Jesus said to them?
We can be safe to say it would be a word of encouragement, not a word of judgment or guilt. Like his words in the Sermon on the Mount...or his parables.

They were ‘like sheep without a shepherd.. He would speak to them as a Shepherd.
On behalf of a God who cares. And a people who care.

To know that there is a God who cares we need a people who care. As a poor tenant once said. “If your God doesn’t care about the rats in my apartment; I don’t care about your God.”

The Church is people who care, share, and congregate - come together to be the people of God and to do together what we could never do alone.

There is a shepherd and there is a flock.
There is a God who cares and a people who care. - and they are us!

Amos 7:7-15

7...behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; 9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jerobo'am with the sword." 10 Then Amazi'ah the priest of Bethel sent to Jerobo'am king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, 'Jerobo'am shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'" 12 And Amazi'ah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom." 14 Then Amos answered Amazi'ah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

Amos’ words had a bite to them which left him less than popular.

"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the mountain of Sama'ria, who oppress the poor, who crush the 4:1

21 "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 5:21-24;

4 "Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the midst of the stall; 5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David invent for themselves instruments of music; 6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those to go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves shall pass away." 6:4-7

Amos was certainly not very popular in his day. He spoke the truth no matter how much it hurt. He didn’t do it to get rich; he had a sense of calling and mission. He did it because the Spirit of God compelled him to do it! And he was asked to “go away to the land of Judah” so as to not disturb the comfortable life of Israel.

God interrupted his life - as God does ours - and compels us to speak a word of truth.
When we do we will not be popular; but we will be speaking a word God wants said.

We need a prophet like Amos today, lest we are lulled to sleep in our idolatries and injustices! We need to be confronted with the evil in our midst - even in our lives - lest we are deceived into thinking that we know God’s will for all things and know what is best for all people.

It hurts - to face the truth of our own prejudices, hypocrisy, self-righteousness. Yet it is only as we do that the Word of God transforms our lives and turns us into instruments of grace in a world of hate.

Mark 6:1-13

He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. 7 And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, "Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.

It’s hard to be a prophet among those you grew up with; those who remember the pranks you pulled and find it hard to believe you could amount to much of anything.
Who did Jesus think he was? GOD!

God can’t be this human, this close, this real!

When God comes to us in too human a way and challenges us to change our ways, we too “take offense at Him”. We like to keep God boxed up in our rituals where we are in control.

But God will not let us do that. God is not a rabbits foot, a good luck charm, an easy way out of the difficulties of life. God desires to enter into the changes and chances of life with us, and there make a difference by offering not power or easy answers, which eliminate all the bad and protects us from suffering, but a power make perfect in weakness - the power of love...of grace which IS sufficient for all our needs.

“I asked God for strength that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humility to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for--but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men, most richly blessed.”
Anonymous Civil War Soldier