Thanksgiving Eve Sermon 2013

Thanksgiving Eve Sermon 2013

John 6:25-35

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie Smith

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus said: ““I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Today, as I was kneading the dough for my Grandma Golden’s Swedish rye bread—a recipe handed down from her mother and her mother before that and only written down when I requested it—I remembered a conversation with my Great Uncle Walter Salmonson about bread. Uncle Walter (or Valter, as he said it) lived in the nursing home down the hall from my grandpa. On one visit to see them both, I asked Uncle Walter how the food was.

“I don’t like the bread,” he said. 

“Why? What’s wrong with the bread?”

“Vell, it has too much vind in it, you know.”

“Too much…vind?” I asked.

“Ja…too much vind! I like real bread!” said Uncle Walter.

I had never considered my bread to be “windy” before, but after that conversation I took special notice. And you know what? He was right! Our bread does have too much “vind” in it. The perfectly formed, pre-sliced, carefully preserved, fluffy stuff we call bread is full of air. That’s what makes it look so pretty on the shelves and in our lunch boxes! But it doesn’t look anything like the thick slices of rye or whole wheat baked by my grandmother and her mother before her. 

The bread Uncle Walter was hungry for has depth. And texture. And a crust! It makes a strong foundation for slabs of cheese, thick layers of peanut butter, or leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It does not fold nicely, or squish into little balls to flick at your siblings or feed to the ducks, and it will never last for 3 weeks in the pantry.

Uncle Walter was getting fluffy, vindy bread in the dining room, but he was hungry for something that would fill him up. He wanted real bread. 

Sisters and brothers, Thanksgiving is not a Christian holy day or even a particularly religious day at all. But, because this is a day when most of us gather around the table and spend a lot of time thinking about (and eating!) food, Thanksgiving can be a moment for Christians to contemplate what we are truly hungry for.

Like Uncle Walter, we hungry humans want real bread. We want to be filled, and to never be hungry again. But most days, we spend our time chasing after things which never will satisfy our hunger. Day after day, we go hunting for that one thing which will take away the pain, the loneliness, the grief, the fear, and the uncertainty of this world. In that pursuit, we fill our bellies with all sorts of junk food:

Work. Hobbies and distractions of every kind. Shopping and collecting. Anger. Cynicism. Devotion to a particular worldview or political stance. Even good works can become a way of filling the void! But all these things end up being just full of air, and not substantial enough to keep us satisfied even for the day.

In tonight’s Gospel text, we see that Jesus wants to turn the crowd’s appetite from the loaves that merely filled their bellies to the bread that would last for eternity. It’s important to note that this crowd searching for and following after Jesus is the very same crowd that, in the previous chapter, had feasted on the five loaves and two fish with about 5,000 of their closest friends. That meal was so good, so tasty, and so miraculous, that the crowd decided to search for the chef. But when they found Jesus, they were surprised to hear him say: “You’re just looking for me because the last time you saw me, your bellies were filled!”

I can just hear them thinking, “Well, YEAH! Wasn’t that the point? We were hungry, you fed us. It was a miracle! What’s the problem?”

The problem was Jesus wanted the crowd to understand how his teaching, his healing, and his miracles were never the end of the story. Everything Jesus did—including the feeding of the 5,000—was meant to point the people toward God the Father, the creator of all good things, the beginning and the end, the One who gave the true bread of life to the world. Jesus wasn’t seeking followers who were amazed by his miracles or were looking for signs and wonders, but rather fellow travelers who would join him in on the Way, preaching God’s Word of hope to the hungry, the poor, and the captives.

So he told the people: “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.”

To which the people replied: “Excellent! Where can we buy it? Is it at Wal-Mart? Does it come in bulk? We want to eat it for every meal! Give us this bread always!”

When you read the Gospels, do ever wonder why Jesus even put up with some of his disciples and followers? These guys were often nothing more than vindy bread themselves! But then, those who followed him possessed the most important thing. They, like us, were hungry: hungry for hope, hungry for grace and forgiveness, and hungry for a life with meaning. 

Sisters and brothers, as we prepare to feast on many good things—pie this evening, and more wonderful things tomorrow—we gather to rejoice that Jesus is the true bread of life. He is the bread from heaven, given as a gift to the entire world. His life and witness, his death and resurrection, are the bread that fills our empty bellies and heals our broken hearts. Especially this season, when we are fed the message that a Black Friday deal or a Cyber Monday steal can fill the emptiness, it’s good to feast again on the words of Jesus, who said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Thanks be to God, for this and every good gift. Amen.