August 1, 2021
/Proper 13
2 Samuel 11:26—12:13a; Psalm 51: 1-13; Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6: 24-35
The Rev. Jeff Bohanski
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Today is August first. For me, August first is an important date because one year ago today I was ordained a deacon at Christ Church Cathedral.
For teachers across Houston and the rest of the country, August first means we are about to start another school year. This year I am really looking forward to going back. This year we will be one hundred percent face-to-face. Computers will once again be a tool to teach, not a means of delivering education. I can’t wait! I want to interact with the children in the class again. I want to see again with my own eyes the joy in my students’ faces when they learn something new. I once again want to hear with my own ears my favorite exclamation ever uttered by a child, “I can read that!” I want to interact face-to-face with children learning again! I want to ask questions with children who are in front of me. Questions like: “Why?” “How do you know?” “Tell me about. . .” “Can you show me how you got your answer?” In teacher language, these are called opened ended questions, questions that draw a learner into a deeper learning relationship. In a learning environment, questions are good. Questions lead to deeper learning and a relationship with the teacher.
In John’s Gospel we just heard, Jesus was asked a question by some people who have literally missed the boat. Jesus was asked, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Have you ever wondered why Jesus doesn’t answer this question? I mean, he could have easily given a short quick answer like: “Last night, you knot heads, while you were asleep. Last night when your bellies were filled with bread and fish.” But Jesus didn’t. Instead, he kindly went on to teach them about manna from heaven, that believing in him is God’s work, and he goes on to inform them that he, Jesus, is the bread of life and those who come to him will never be hungry or be thirsty again. (One can almost see the misunderstanding people scratching their heads asking themselves, “What is he talking about?”)
I must admit I’ve always found this bit of Jesus not answering the people’s question to be puzzling. That is, until last night. You see, as I was reviewing this sermon, I remembered that throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus gives or shows signs that he is the Messiah, the Christ, the one sent by God, the one who is establishing a new covenant. He gives signs by his actions which are his healings, his forgiving of sins, his washing the feet all his apostles, and his walking the way of the cross. These signs are directions of what it means to be one of his followers, what it means to be a member of the Kingdom of God and what the Kingdom of God is to look like.
Then it struck me that perhaps this entire passage of Jesus’ interaction with the misunderstanding people is a sign of how the Kingdom of God is to work. By not answering their simple question, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” – a question Jesus could have easily answered and moved on—Jesus kindly drew the misunderstanding people into a sort of a tutorial relationship about the meaning of the sign of the loaves and fishes. A tutorial where questioning is good. Thus, the sign here is how Jesus kindly draws people into a learning loving relationship, a relationship where one can ask questions. Where one can have a learning loving relationship with God. Perhaps this is how Jesus wants the Kingdom of God to work. Everyone is included in asking questions. Everyone is welcome to ask questions. All are kindly welcomed in love, to learn, and to grow with Jesus.
This summer I had the opportunity of spending an evening in an upscale hotel. In the hotel there were areas set aside for guests who were willing to pay a few extra dollars. These areas had more comfortable seating, easier access to waitstaff and a better view of the beautiful scenery we were all there to enjoy. While the hotel was very nice, and everyone I encountered was very pleasant, I could not shake a feeling of discomfort. Weeks later it occurred to me that my discomfort came from my understanding of how the Kingdom of God works. This hotel demonstrated that some were more welcome than others. Those who paid more fees were more welcome than those who paid less fees. This not how the kingdom of God works. In the Kingdom of God all are welcome, the understanding and the misunderstanding. In the Kingdom of God no one needs to pay extra fees for a closer relationship with God.
I wonder what our world would be like if everyone would embrace this sign of the misunderstanding people. The sign of how Jesus kindly invited the misunderstanding people into a loving learning relationship where questions were allowed. A relationship where learning is allowed, where one does not need to be fully grown or to fully understand to enter the kingdom of God. One can come as one is.
I wonder what our world would be like if everyone looked at each other as people who Jesus is willing to take into a special tutorial like he did with the misunderstanding people. I wonder what our world would look like if we looked at that person who we most disagree with or has hurt us or has cut us off in traffic as one who is also loved by Jesus. Loved by Jesus enough to be invited into a loving learning relationship where questions are allowed. I wonder if the world would be more kind.
Welcome to the Kingdom of God, a kingdom where everyone is loved and welcomed to learn, to ask questions, and to grow with Jesus.