SERMON: “Eat the life enduring bread”
August 4, 2024
UCCP Ekklesia, Mandurriao, Iloilo City
by Frank J. HernandoSCRIPTURE TEXTS: Exodus 16: 2-15; John 6: 24-35
Exodus 16:2-15
2The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rainy bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.” 9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12“I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
John 6:24-35
24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. 25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26Jesus 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. 27Do 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.”
28Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”29Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35Jesus 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.
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INTRODUCTION
Good morning! Maayong aga sa tanan. Warmest greetings of love and peace from the Office of the President of Union Theological Seminary, Philippines. I’m glad for giving me the opportunity to meditate on God’s Word on this Communion Sunday, the first Sunday of August. I attended the general assembly of STEP or Samahan ng Theolohikal na Edukasyon ng Pilipinas, and the launching of the Graduate Theological Union,Philippines (GTU) last July 29-August 1. Election of officers was conducted as well. These were held at Central Philippine University. I will be traveling back to Manila tomorrow evening.
O N E
Today’s lectionary texts are about bread or food in the general sense. Our text from the Book Exodus is a story of how the Hebrew people resented their journey in the wilderness after they left Egypt. There are at least three important points that I would like to meditate with you.
First, the people’s cry to God in their experience of hunger and need for bodily sustenance is heard and responded to by God. In the narrative, Moses was the prophet and served as the intermediary or manugpatunga between the people and God, was able to convince God to supply the needs of the people for basically bread and meat.
What is interesting to note in the narrative is the people’s wish to go back to slavery in Egypt, their resentment is so strong because of the lack of food in the wilderness. For sure the people have to make adjustments in their life in the wilderness because food does not come easy. Egypt was a well established monarchy that benefited from the abundant supply of food produced by slaves.
After the Hebrew people were liberated from slavery in Egypt and journeyed to the land of abundance and security via the wilderness, they began to grumble against Moses and God. Only three days later, the people were thirsty, having found only bitter water and they grumbled again, saying, “What shall we drink?” (Exodus 15:24). God provided fresh water and they continued on their journey.
On the fifteenth day of the second month, the people again found themselves in seemingly dismal circumstances, and they complained, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:3).
Nancy deClaissé-Walford in her meditation on the text, said, “If only we had…” “If only I had . . .” Words of regret in the present, of fear for the future. “If only . . .” the Israelites cried out to God in their oppression under pharaoh. God sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead them out of their oppression. God guided them through the first perilous days of their journey to freedom. God provided water when they felt they could go no further. At every juncture, God was there. According to Exodus 13:21-22, “The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day . . . and in a pillar of fire by night . . . Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”
T W O
Secondly, the nourishment of human bodies for their health and fulfillment is God’s concern and it is non-negotiable as far as the leadership and governance of the nation is concerned. Because the raison d’etre and organization of the Philippines as a sovereign state is to ensure the prosperity and well being of its citizens. Economic and social justice is the foundational value of the state.
We are reminded of the election campaign promise to lower the price of rice per kilo to 20 pesos. Two years into the Marcos Jr. administration, the price of rice per kilo could not be reduced. This goal or promise is indicative of the duty of government to provide basic commodities to the people that are affordable and accessible.
In the present economic system in the Philippines, there are people who experience hunger and children who are malnourished due to lack of food, because these people do not have the economic power—job and money to access food.
The recent assessment of the Philippine economy is not commendable given the economic data analysis coming from various sources. Analysis from the perspective of the people at the grassroots have shown that opportunities and access to the economic resources of the country are still concentrated in the hands of the few families, comprising only around 2% of the total number of families in the country of the over 110 million population.
The employment rate as of April 2024 is 7 million that included the 1.9 million discouraged workers no longer seeking employment excluded in the government statistics and the 3.1 million unpaid family workers. It is estimated that 20 million or 41.1% is the total employed workers in the informal sector or those who are self-employed or employed by their own family businesses. Approximately 70% of the employed are employed in the SMEs and stores.
Christian social ethics of social justice and compassion have been challenged by the economic inequality in the country. While the quality of life of the working classes are impacted by the rising inflation rate and the snail paced and token wage increase as legislated by the government, there are few oligarch families who have increased their wealth because of their land holdings and capital.
There is a huge gap in the monthly income of those who are wealthy and the poor in the country. Only 2% of the families are earning Php 500,000-Php10 million while around 66% are the families that subsist on a monthly income of Php 26,000 or much lower per month. Combining the wealth of the 2%, this will reach Php 20-25 trillion is worth the wealth divided by the poorest 80% of the population. The 2,945 billionaires in the country has more than Php 8.2 trillion while 80% of the population does not even have Php 500,000 in their hands for their basic economic needs.
Our food insecurity is exacerbated or intensified due to lack of government support for rice production and other agricultural produce, even our fish and marine resources. for this year 2024, the Philippines is expected to import between 3.8 and 4.1 million metric tons of rice. This projection has varied slightly across different reports, with estimates such as 3.8 million metric tons according to the USDA, rising to 3.9 million and then to 4.1 million metric tons in subsequent updates due to factors like strong purchases from Vietnam and the impact of the El Niño phenomenon on local production.
The Philippine government's constitutional mandate in ensuring food security is derived from several provisions in the 1987 Constitution. Key points include:
Article II, Section 9 - "The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all," and
Hiligaynon: Ang Estado magapatigayon sang makatarunganon kag mainuswagon nga katilingban nga magapasiguro sang kauswagan kag paghilway sa katawhan gikan sa kaimolon pinaagi sa mga polisas nga magapatuhaw sang mga serbisyo sosyal, pagpatigayon sang bug-os nga palangitan-an, pagpataas sang ikasarang sa palangabuhian kag mauswagon nga kalidad sa pagpangabuhi para sa tanan.
Article XIII, Section 1 - "The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common good."
Hiligaynon: Ang Congreso magahatag sang pinakamataas nga prioridad sa paghimo sang mga pamaagi nga nagaprotekta kag nagapauswag sang kinamatarung sang tanan nga katawhan para sa tawhanon nga dignidad, pagpanubo sang sosyal, pangekonomikanhon kag pangpolitikal nga indi pagkapareho kag tapnaon ang kulturanhon nga indi-pagkapareho pinaagi sa pagpang-apod-apod sang manggad kag gahum politikal para sa kaayohasn sang katawhan
These constitutional provisions highlight the Philippine government's responsibility to ensure food security for the people through social justice, economic opportunities, support for agricultural and fishing communities, and measures to improve the overall quality of life. As individuals and families, we may be ignored by government agencies but as a church and organized people’s organizations, we can demand for the economic support and the implementation of social services for the poor and the marginalized sectors of society.
T H R E E
Thirdly, the life of God in Jesus Christ is the source of life-enduring and abundant life of the people. It is true that nourishment of our bodies is primary for human being’s growth and health, this may not be adequate for holistic nourishment and towards self-fulfillment and maturity of the community of faith.
We have heard Jesus talk about the feeding of the crowd of 5,000 and they have followed him to the other side of the sea. So they found him and he had a conversation with them, asking them why they kept on following him. Then he assumed that they were following him because they wanted to be continually fed. Then he made a connection between Moses’ manna which came from heaven, which he asserts was sent by God /Father. He offered them the bread that will feed them for a lifetime.
Mark Davis in his exegesis on the text explained: The crowd’s request is intriguing. The verb is an aorist imperative —nagasugo nga tunada sa paghambal, the imperative mood, aorist refers more to the aspect of urgency —dinalian—in what is being commanded than the tense. An aorist imperative often carries the feel of “right now, be silent!” or something that expresses immediacy—insigida gid. Here, it would carry the sense of “Lord, give us this bread right now!” except that it is qualified by the adverb “always.” Perhaps it is less about demanding immediacy and more like a “now and forever!” kind of feel behind this request. “Hatagi kami sining tinapay subong nga adlaw kag padayon sa matag-adlaw.”
Moreover, John Petty, in his exegesis of the text mentioned that Jesus made a contrast between food that perishes and the abiding / enduring food, I quote:
Jesus said, “Do not work for the perishing food, but the abiding food into life eternal, which the son of man gives to you, for him God the Father sealed.” The contrast is between "perishing food" and "abiding (menein) food into life eternal." Menein is one of the most important verbs in the fourth gospel. It means "reside with," —nagapakig-upod—"abide," or "dwell”—nagapuyo. In every single case, Jesus is the one who "abides," the one who is there, the one who is with the people.
In consideration of the eucharistic overtones of the whole story (6:11, 6:23), the author of the fourth gospel is asserting that Jesus is present with, and abides with, the people through the eucharist. This is what the son of man "gives to you," his abiding presence. Psychologically, if food appears in dreams, it is thought to be a symbol of something unconscious that is ready to be absorbed--or consumed--into consciousness. (Unquote)
The abiding bread / food that Jesus referred to as his own body, is the spiritual food that we should daily consume through prayer and abiding in the Word of God. This abiding food that we consume becomes part of our way of living and in our manner of relating with other persons, the community of faith, and the larger society.
CONCLUSION
Finally, my dear sisters and brothers in faith, the perishable food/bread is inextricably linked with the abiding and enduring bread that we partake in the eucharist or communion. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper connects us with the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is not a ritual, but a participation in Christ’s life, and our spiritual nurture leads us to a life of greater understanding of God’s purposes for our lives, and transforms our wills making it loving and compassionate. When we internalize the life of Jesus Christ he becomes the spring of water and the abiding food in our lives that even in the midst of challenges we can transform and make them opportunities for faith-witness and in exemplifying God’s love. Amen.—-END OF SERMON
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