Sunday Service for 20 February 2022

20 February 2022
Gourock St. John’s Church of Scotland
Service prepared by the Rev. Teri Peterson
Manse phone: 632143 
Email: tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk

To hear the audio recording of this service, please phone 01475 270037. It’s a local landline number so minutes should be included in your phone plan.

Prelude Music

Welcome

Call to Worship
One: Come and hear the One who has the words of eternal life.
All: There is no one else like him.
One: Come and be fed by the bread of life.
All: There is nothing else that truly satisfies.
One: Come and abide in Christ, and let him abide in you.
All: We come to worship, to be raised to new life.

Prayer
O Word Become Flesh, you feed us with yourself, that we may live your life in body and in spirit. We confess that we prefer to separate the two, so that your spiritual food doesn’t get in the way of our desire to consume much that does not truly satisfy. Sharing in your body is a gift that asks much of us, so we confine the gift to our minds and hearts, in order that our bodies may be free for greed, self-centredness, and excuses for why we cannot be generous. Forgive us for refusing to embody our faith, as you embodied the Word. Forgive us for failing to make your grace a lived reality for all. Forgive us for separating this life and the next, while you insist the eternal lives here and now. Give us courage to live your way, in the flesh. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Music
Online: Hymn 550, As the Deer
In person:

Stained Glass Window Dedication

Holy God, you draw us to yourself,
revealing your love
and teaching us your way.
You accept our gifts,
and multiply them into blessings for your world.
Let the light of your grace stream in through this window,
illuminating the abundance of your grace,
shining not only in our hearts but through our lives.
With you there is
plenty where we have seen only lack:
plenty of room for all,
plenty of food for the hungry,
without worry about price.
May your story of welcome and providing,
whether seen from inside this room or from outside in the street,
be a beacon that calls us and shows us the way
to abundant living.
You are the bread of life,
and we come to you
to be fed, nourished, sustained,
for the eternal life that begins now.
Bless this window that it may be for us not only beautiful but also convicting,
not only art but also teaching,
not only light and colour but also a way in to the story you are still telling,
right here in this place.
We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Reading: John 6.1-14, 35, 44-60 (Common English Bible)
Last week we heard about Jesus healing a boy whose father was a royal official, and also a man who had been ill for 38 years and had no one to help him. After the dispute that arose when the man reported Jesus to the authorities as the one who broke the sabbath by telling him to take up his mat and walk, Jesus taught about his purpose in the world, and how the stories told about him and by him were a way for us to come to understand God’s work. Today we pick up at the end of that discourse, in the gospel according to John, chapter 6. I am reading from the Common English Bible.

After this Jesus went across the Galilee Sea (that is, the Tiberias Sea). A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miraculous signs he had done among the sick. Jesus went up a mountain and sat there with his disciples. It was nearly time for Passover, the Jewish festival.
Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him. He asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed these people?” Jesus said this to test him, for he already knew what he was going to do.
Philip replied, “More than a half year’s salary worth of food wouldn’t be enough for each person to have even a little bit.”
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?”
Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them. Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted. When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten.
When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.”

…the next day they were looking for him, and after some questions, Jesus said:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
No one can come to me unless they are drawn to me by the Father who sent me, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. I assure you, whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that whoever eats from it will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Then the Jews debated among themselves, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It isn’t like the bread your ancestors ate, and then they died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many of his disciples who heard this said, “This message is harsh. Who can hear it?”

For the word of God in scripture
For the word of God among us
For the word of God within us
Thanks be to God.

Sermon: A Hard Teaching
Even if the story of the feeding of the 5000 wasn’t familiar to us, even if we didn’t know how it was going to turn out, the beginning would still feel familiar because, frankly, it almost reads like the minutes of a meeting. Jesus said “how will we feed all these people?” Philip said “it costs too much, we couldn’t possibly.” Andrew said, “a member of the youth group offered an idea so I had to say it because we need to minute that we listened to the young people, but it’s so naive as to be silly.”

Be honest…haven’t you attended more than a few meetings that went like this? Or maybe you, like I, have actually said some of these things in the past? It happens in our political life, in business and nonprofits, but I think it’s most jarring when it happens in the church. After all, we know the story. We know what God can do, we know how Jesus works, we know the abundance of God’s providing…and we still, along with Philip and Andrew, start from “it costs too much” and we still find reasons to dismiss the offerings of young people.

But Jesus doesn’t.

Jesus takes the offering of the young boy, given with so much trust in what is possible in the kingdom of God, and turns it into a feast the people could not have imagined — not least because they could never imagine taking a child seriously enough to get started in the first place. But Jesus could see possibility where even the disciples saw only lack. In the hands of Jesus, even a small gift can make an enormous difference. And this small gift, taken seriously, became a meal so abundant that every single one of those thousands of people ate until they were full.

Remember, many of the people in the Roman Empire, especially out in the occupied territories, lived at or just above subsistence level. They relied on the regularity of the rainy season and prayed for a decent harvest every single year. They knew firsthand both the gift and the political manipulation of the Roman bread dole system. And this crowd — a good-sized town’s worth of people — ate as much as they wanted, and still had enough to take some home and eat more tomorrow. For some, perhaps it was even the first time they ever got to literally eat until they were full, and for most it was probably their first experience of leftovers.

And this abundance all came from the hand of Jesus himself…and it was started by the naive, idealistic generosity of a child, and it happened in spite of the disciples who couldn’t see past the budget.

The Word became Flesh became Bread of Life, offering himself to us so that we, in turn, can embody the Word in our flesh — he becomes a part of us, and we become a part of his Body.

In other words, sharing this feast changes us.

It’s through the word that God draws us to the table…eating together is when our faith takes on flesh and bones and lives. We are fed in spirit and in body so that we can live differently, live as the Body of Christ, the word made flesh. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say anything until the people have all been fed — and gotten their takeaway containers too. Their tummies weren’t rumbling, and they weren’t wondering where their next meal would come from, so they were able to hear. And just as Jesus embodies God’s kingdom on earth, he feeds us with his own body so that we can do it too.

And the people following Jesus, both his committed disciples and the others who have come to see what all this abundance is about and where it leads, say:
This is a really hard teaching. Who can do this?

Now on the surface, it’s a hard teaching because the Bible forbids eating anything with blood, so that bit is out. And because it kind of sounds like cannibalism, which is also taboo.

But even in the ancient world, people understood metaphor — perhaps even better than we do today, actually. They were used to interpreting things scripture, prophets, and teachers said. It would have been shocking, yes, but they would quickly have understood there was something deeper here than the literal meaning of the words.

So why is it such a hard teaching, then?

Is it a hard teaching because Jesus says that when we feast on the Word Made Flesh, then we won’t want to participate in the consumer culture anymore — the one where we try to fill ourselves up with all sorts of things, even though it’s harmful to the creation and our community? What would happen to the economy if everyone who comes to this table suddenly decided that we didn’t need to fill ourselves with all that stuff the world tells us we need, or should want, or must buy? Can’t do that…

Is it a hard teaching because eating this bread and drinking this cup will naturally lead us to questions about other eating and drinking — and perhaps wondering what Jesus has to say about what we eat and drink, and how, and with whom, and who gets to have plenty and who doesn’t have enough? Everything Jesus says in this story comes after he fed people, indiscriminately. Even those who probably didn’t “deserve” it, and those who didn’t know what was going on, and those who were really far down the hill on the edges of the crowd and hadn’t heard anything. Who will we not just allow but invite to our tables once we’ve experienced this kind of hospitality?

Is it a hard teaching because we’d prefer to keep mind, body, and spirit separate, where they’re easy to manage and isolate and make judgments about, and Jesus keeps knitting them back together with bread and flesh and word?

Is it a hard teaching because the idea of Jesus being the embodied word of God, and then that body living inside of us so that we too become the embodied word of God, makes us different? To take the body of the Lord into ourselves, and so to become a part of the body of Christ, must change how we live. Not only how we think or how we feel or what we say we believe, but how we live. Otherwise we’re just having a snack really. The bread of life brings us into the eternal life Jesus is constantly talking about throughout John’s gospel — eternal life starts now, and is marked by abundance.

Life marked by abundance is hard to imagine. But that’s what Jesus offers us: abundant life. And we know the story. We know that God’s kingdom operates on an abundance economy. When Jesus gives us himself, when we taste and see, it should move that knowledge into action, into reality. And that is indeed hard. It’s hard to refuse to be shaped by the first thought of “it’s too expensive” and choose instead to be shaped by the reality that God gives us what we need to meet the calling he places in front of us. It’s hard to switch from thinking “we don’t have enough” to thinking “God always has more than enough, we just need to open our eyes to see what we do have and how to use it.” It’s hard to change our mindset about whose voice matters, and what constitutes “naive” or “wise.” It’s hard to imagine a future different from the past.

Probably most of us have grown up with scarcity, careful use of resources, waste-not-want-not, you’ll understand when you’re older. But Jesus doesn’t say “here’s just enough to get by,” he gives them bread and fish until they’re stuffed full, satiated, satisfied…and have some left over, which doesn’t go to waste but goes to feed their imaginations as well as their stomachs. Jesus doesn’t say “silly adorable kids” and pat them on the head and send them out to another room, he says “bring him here” and puts the child’s offering front and centre in a miracle.

Being transformed into the Body of Christ that acts like Jesus is hard work. I won’t pretend it isn’t. We have a lot of history to overcome. We have a lot of tradition that needs examining. We have a lot of ingrained internal messages that need to be recorded over.

In the next part of the story, that we didn’t read today, a bunch of the people who had been following Jesus leave at this point. It’s too much. They don’t want to do all this hard work. They don’t want to change. They’re fine just coasting on the way they’ve always done it and not getting too close to this God who might ask something of them. And Jesus asks the twelve: do you also want to go away?

I imagine they thought about it for a minute. I hope we all think about it for a minute before answering, so that when our answer comes, it’s honest and committed. Peter says “to whom would we go? You have the word of eternal life.”

Where else can we experience the abundant life Jesus, God’s word made flesh, offers? Nowhere. Which means the question is really: do we actually want that abundant life? Even if it changes things? Jesus is handing us the bread of life: take, eat, that I may live in you, and God’s kingdom may be visible, here and now.

May it be so. Amen.

Music
Online: Take My Life by Resound Worship
In Person Hymn 655: For Your Generous Providing (words: Leith Fisher; tune: Holy Manna)

Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer
From the beginning,
You have carried us close to your heart,
and we give you thanks for your care through every circumstance of this life.
You raise us up and call us into life,
providing in order that we in turn may share with others.
We come today with gratitude,
and with concern for those who do not experience your abundance.
The world is marked by a sense of scarcity,
so we pray for those who have been left to go hungry
while others see only the monetary cost.
We pray for those who have been offered only spiritual solutions to physical needs.
May their bodies be cared for by your healing and compassion.
We pray for those who have believed your word has nothing to say about our daily habits.
May their minds be renewed by your call.
We pray for those who find themselves unfulfilled by all they consume,
and those whose only options are unhealthy or unsatisfying.
May they be emptied of all that harms, and nourished by your grace.
We pray today for your bread of life to transform us from the inside out,
changing the way we inhabit this world,
the way we love our neighbour,
the way we share your gifts,
that we may once again be made into your Body on earth,
loving, serving, and caring for the world you so love.
We ask in the name of the One who offers himself to us and for us,
Jesus the Christ, living bread,
who taught us to pray together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

In Person: Communion

In person Hymn 673: Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ

Benediction
You are the Body of Christ! Having been filled with the Word Made Flesh, go from this place to embody the Way, not only to think and pray differently but also to live differently. For it is in you the Spirit dwells, in you God’s love is made visible, in you that Christ himself lives. Go in peace, satisfied and ready to serve. And as you go, may the Spirit of God go above you to watch over you. May the Spirit of God go beside you to be your companion. May the Spirit of God go before you to show you the way, and behind you to push you into places you might not go alone. And may the Spirit of God go within you to remind you that you are loved more deeply than you can possibly imagine. May the fire of God’s love burn brightly in you, and through you into the world. Go in peace. Amen.

Sung Benediction Response (John L Bell, tune Gourock St John’s)
Now may the Lord of all be blessed,
Now may Christ’s gospel be confessed,
Now may the Spirit when we meet
Bless sanctuary and street.

Postlude Music

Announcements

* This winter our theme is “Seeing Jesus.” Where do you see Jesus? What is he up to in your life, and in our community’s life?

*You are invited to join in reading the Bible in a year for 2022 — immersing ourselves in God’s word throughout the year. Click here to find a reading plan that’s five days a week (leaving a couple of days for catch up each week!). Watch this space for information about a Bible study as we go through the scriptures together!

* All worship is online (or on the phone at 01475 270037, or in print) and we also meet in person, subject to the usual protocols for distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing. We can now welcome up to 85-100 people for worship with 1m distancing between households. No booking is required. Masks are required at all times inside the building, including while singing. If you are able, please enter by the front door in Bath street, and only those who need step-free access should use the back door.

* Tonight we will gather with Christians across the nation for evening prayer on the Connect Facebook Page, led tonight by Teri. Log on at 6:58pm to join in.

* The Kirk now has online giving! If you have not already set up a standing order in order to facilitate your spiritual discipline of giving, or if you would like to make an extra gift to support the ministry St. John’s does in our parish, you can give online by clicking here. If you would like to set up a standing order, please contact Peter Bennett, our treasurer, or Teri and she can give you his details. You can also send your envelopes to the church or the manse by post and we will ensure they are received. Remember: no one is coming to your door to collect your envelopes, so please stay safe!

* Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Youtube, and to sign up for our email devotions! Midweek you can watch Wine and the Word and/or Westminster Wednesdays on Youtube, pray with video devotions on Facebook, and consider a new angle on something with a devotional email. Feel free to share with your friends, too!

* If you have contributions for the Spring Church Notes, those are due by TOMORROW. Please email them to tpeterson (at) churchofscotland.org.uk