Jesus can be very confusing!  Perhaps you’ve already thought that about things that he says.
But in the Gospel passage today people get very confused. It’s set on the day after the feeding of the 5000.  A crowd have followed him to Capernaum – after he had walked on the water to be with his disciples (but that’s another sermon!)

Jesus seems to believe that they have come because he had fed them and they wanted more food (food must have been hard to get in those days – there were no corner shops!). Now look carefully at verses 26-27, in italics above.  He says “You are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”  And then he tells them “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you”

Now this is a long chapter and during August the lectionary takes us through it all.  So, I don’t want to trespass on what may be said in the next few weeks! Today I want to reflect on Jesus being misunderstood. We know that he spoke in parables. They were not always understood – “the penny didn’t drop”!  This isn’t a parable.  He’s upset that people don’t see beyond the miracle to see the truth of who he is. 

They’re looking for something less than what he can offer – “food that endures to eternal life.”
It’s still possible for us to do that – to look for something less than he offers.

What are we really focussing on in life?  What could Jesus mean when he said, “Do not work for food that spoils”?

Jesus is talking to people who are concerned with their physical hunger, but what Jesus offers can help with other hungers.  We speak of hunger in more ways than just physical hunger.  Some years ago, a Wimbledon ladies champion was asked what motivated her victory and she said, “I was hungry for it.”  Competitors in the Olympic Games will echo that.  They will be hungry to win a medal – Gold, Silver or Bronze.

But we can misuse our hunger – becoming jealous of others, even doing them harm. Sometimes our hunger for success can drive us too far – hurting ourselves as well as other people.  That can lead to what’s called “Burnout.”  Was this what Jesus means in this passage when he says “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that leads to eternal life”

Jesus fed the 5000 but he came to meet our deepest personal hungers – for love; for understanding; for trust and forgiveness; for self-esteem and worth, for peace of mind.  These hungers are never really satisfied by many of life’s gains – whether money, goods, or even relationships.  

This passage is confusing.  But it contains a challenge – to be hungry for things that endure, to trust in God’s grace.  Many years ago, I read of Jim Elliott, the subject of “Through gates of splendour” which tells of his death, aged 26, while attempting missionary work in Ecuador. I still remember one quotation: “He is no fool who gives what he can’t keep, to gain what he can’t lose”

As God supplied manna in the wilderness, so he answers our deepest hungers through Christ – the bread of life.