We are back to John’s Gospel momentarily. Just so you are aware and know: every year of our three-year-lectionary cycle, John has at least a partial role to play.
This coming weekend – we will move on to the Year of Matthew, but John will still have a role to play during Matthews’ sojourn.
But for this evening – we need to get a little comfy once again with the gospel according to St. John.
You remember that John is well known for his longer extended passages of scripture called “discourses.”
This is the famous “Bread of Life” discourse.
And it seems to me there is a direct connection and correlation between the “Bread of Life” scripture (from chapter 6) and the “Water of Life” scripture from chapter 4. One passage seems to feed off the other – and they both seem to fit together – as a whole.
If you will remember, we are talking about the woman at the well – in chapter 4. Jesus offers her water to drink and she marvels at his “lack of a bucket” with which – to draw water. Jesus tells her he isn’t talking about water from a well. And when he explains further, she says, “Sir, give me this water.”
So too, in our lectionary for this evening… about the “bread of life,” we hear a similar response.
Jesus says in essence that we are not supposed to go chasing around after bread that gets moldy and rots away. Green, purple and gray bread is not a good thing.
Our concern is supposed to be for the kind of bread that does not perish. We are to be in search for the type of bread “that lasts forever.”
And once more we hear the response: “Sir, give us this bread always!”
The baptismal and Eucharistic motifs are strong here. We know that when John was writing his gospel – it was a time when both baptism and Eucharist had been fully established in the spiritual lives of Christians. They were both important. For some people, they were all that mattered.
The challenge of John’s gospel is to be able to “see” which things “perish” – in this life and which things “endure.”
We are to sort out “the important things” from the not so important things…
“IF” we CANNOT “see” anything that endures, “THEN” we may as well, pack-it-all in and eat, drink and be merry to the max for tomorrow we die!
Not really!!! But we might as well…for John is saying … we NEED to open up our inner eyes to “see” what endures, THEN we had better align our eating, and our drinking and merriment with what “truly lasts and satisfies.”
This is all about “discernment,” about knowing “what is” and “what is not” important in this life.
What is more important? The turkey or the people you eat it with? I tell you, it is not about the bird. It is not about what you eat, or what you do not eat.
How important are those relationships and the time spent together? And if you should happen to be alone, what is truly important about this day…this celebration? What memories do you savor? What is fleeting? What lasts? What is important?
I don’t want to get all schmaltzy on you…but just how much does “lumpy potatoes really matter?
The point is – that too many of us focus on that which is not important at all.
We make little things into big things and big things into little things… Where is the discernment?
What are we seeing? What are we looking at? What are we looking for? If you are looking for imperfections, you will find them a plenty.
But if you are looking for things are really truly important, things that will last, things that are eternal, things that are “big” – well then perhaps – you should look a little bit more closely. A little deeper… Look with the heart. Look through the eyes of love. Look with the eyes of our father…
I tell you, a Day of Thanksgiving is not about the food we eat or don’t eat. It is about an attitude of gratitude for those things that last. For those things that are important…
Spills happen, potatoes are lumpy and so is gravy, biscuits get burned and the canned yams spilled over in the oven…so what?
Look deeper…see with new eyes…what will endure? What is important? Be thankful for the things that are eternal.
Just a final question for ya’: Will Jesus be welcome and present at your table?