Title: Rice of Heavenly Life
Rice of Heavenly Life
After Oh Byung Year
Today's text begins with an explanation of the fact that hide and seek between the people and Jesus continued. After many misunderstandings, they crossed the lake in a boat to find Jesus. “Teacher, when did you come this way?” (verse 25) Questions like this with the emphasis on the interrogative adverb “when” are not appropriate for the situation. Rather, it would be more appropriate to ask the question, Why are you avoiding us, and why did you come here? Or, frankly, it would be right to demand that we establish the Messianic Kingdom with us. They thought that Jesus was the one who would solve their food, clothing and shelter problems right now, and they came running. Still, he asks the question implicitly, hiding his true intentions. “When did you come here?”
The words of Jesus do not rim the rim, and are always punctuated. This is the answer to the people who ask ‘when’ did you come here? “Listen really well. You have come to me now, not because you understood the meaning of my miracles, but because you ate the bread to the full” (verse 26). What does that mean? Isn't your interest in bread? Isn't it full? Didn't you come here not because of your interest in Jesus, but with your interest in eating well and living well?
That's right. Food is essential for human survival on this earth. No one can be resolute in the face of hunger. Think back two thousand years from now. No longer explanation is necessary for how hard the lives of the people who followed Jesus must have been. To put it vulgarly, they must have turned their eyes in front of the Oh Byung-Eye incident. They must have thought that Jesus, who could fundamentally solve people's hunger, was their Messiah and their King. So they lighted their eyes and set out to find Jesus.
Today, we too are no different from the people of the text. Economic issues are our top concern. The reason people distrust the current government seems to be that life is more difficult than in the past. Globalization, as represented by the WTO and FTA, is also a product of the desire to go out into a world where people are economically prosperous. I don't know if humans can live without food, but unless they do, the fantasy of 'Obyeong-ear' will not be known in the future.
Given the fact that humans must eat to live, Jesus' words, “Because we ate our full bread,” cannot be said to be a rebuke to the people. That is not to say that he praised the people's attitude. It is natural and unavoidable to go out in search of bread. But the problem here is the confusion between the spiritual and the material. It is a confusion between religious and economic dimensions. The problem was ignoring the spiritual dimension of Oh Byeong-Eye and unconditionally understanding it as a physical dimension. The point of “you came to me now, not because you understood the meaning of my miracles” means just that. They didn't know that the five lobster fish was not just an event to satisfy people, but a sign that God's reign was near.
food for everlasting life
So Jesus spoke to them a little more specifically. “Do not seek for food that perishes, but strive for food that perishes forever, and that does not perish” (verse 27a). One is the food that perishes and the other is the food of eternal life. The reason people came to Jesus was for food that perishes. Jesus said not to try to get it. I don't need to explain in detail what 'food that perishes' is here. Bread and fish are the objects of the five fish. This is also true on the physical level. The rice and bread we ate this morning was decomposed in our body. And after a while it turns into shit. The saying “Humans are poop factories” seems to be correct. All food decays through our bodies.
But don't get me wrong. This is not to say that the rice, bread, water, and side dishes that we must eat are insignificant. If God created humans and the world and made them live by eating, drinking, and excreting, these are precious things. We have to wisely solve these material issues on our own. But take it seriously. No matter how good the social system we are, we can get enough of these things, but humans are not mentally satisfied. People with higher salaries may be more comfortable and satisfied with their lives than people from poorer countries, but the difference is not that big. Perhaps if the minimum food, clothing and shelter issues are solved, there is another way to be happy even if you are not that full. These phenomena have already been proven by sociologists through several examples.
Jesus said that we should strive to obtain the bread of eternal life, not that kind of food. What the hell is that? What is the food of eternal life? You probably already know the answer. The answer is that Jesus is the bread of life. The answer is right. However, you will not be very confident in the face of the ‘why’ question. The New Testament is the answer to this question. It's a bit tricky to follow, though, because this answer is given in a theological way, not in mathematics, physics, or sociology. Still, those who wish to enter the depths of the Christian faith must go through that process. Just as it is important for high school students to learn the process of solving a certain equation problem rather than memorizing the correct answer given by the teacher. Let's listen a little more to the explanation of the writer of the Gospel of John.
Heavenly Father's Power
“This food is to be given to you by the Son of Man. Because God the Father has given the power to the Son of Man” (verse 27b). As these words say, the bread of eternal life is given by Jesus Christ. The Lord gives you spiritual food that makes eternal life possible, not the food that you eat for a while and get full, but that is soon excreted in feces. Some of you may find this expression abstract. It's like you can't get your hands on what it means to be immortal or to live forever.
Even preaching from this very passage makes me frustrated. Because our experience is limited to the rotting, the changing, and the finite, it's almost impossible to explain anything different from it. You can just say it's forever. But the problem is that it doesn't really make sense. Think about it. Even the seemingly eternal sun disappears after a while. We have no idea what existed before the beginning of this universe, and what will be after it disappears. Crucially, we cannot think of eternity, an event beyond time, because we can only think within the time that began after God created the world.
Plato saw eternal life as an idea, while the writers of the Old Testament and the writers of the New Testament saw it as ‘God’. That God is eternal life. Eternity is a concept and world that is valid only for God. We cannot empirically explain eternal life while the kingdom of God has not yet been fully revealed to us. There is no language to describe it. This is the ultimate existence that we Christians face. I believe in the reality of God, but there is no way to explain it. Just because it cannot be explained does not mean that the reality of God is denied. For example, we do not know exactly whether sunlight is a particle or a wave. However, sunlight is becoming a reality in our lives today. In the future, our descendants will know. As such, we cannot empirically explain the fact that eternal life is God, but it is clear that we are living within the touch of God.
The writer of the Gospel of John testifies that God, who is the eternal life, has given power to Jesus. It means the power to give people the bread of eternal life. Do you understand? Eternal life is God. The food of eternal life is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our bread. This is our rice. He is not a fish of five diseases that humans could not help but die even after eating, but it is the food of eternal life that allows us to become one with God, who is immortal and has eternal life. Jesus was given that power. With that power, Jesus became the bread of life for us. The writer of the Gospel of John testifies to that very fact in today's text.
Rice of Heavenly Life
Did the people understand these words of Jesus? If they understood, there was no reason why Jesus was crucified. When they met Jesus, they asked a slightly absurd question, “When did He come”, but after hearing Jesus’ words, they ask the wrong question again. “What must we do for the work of God?” (verse 28) The process of answering the question by Woo Moon Hyeon-dap continues from today’s text to verse 59. Maybe the whole Gospel is just this process, I don't know. People cannot change their fixed worldview. So, every word of Jesus sounded strange. They felt that they had to do something to gain eternal life, like the Jews who inherited the tradition of the law. Jesus answered: “To believe in him whom God has sent, to do the works of God” (verse 29).
Then they ask again. It is still a question that reveals a Jewish temperament. “What miracle will you show us to believe? What are you going to do, Master?” (verse 30) And then the story of the manna in the wilderness. The story is that if we do this miracle to us again, we will believe in you as the bread of life. Although we have heard for a long time not about perishable food, but eternal food, these people are talking about manna again. This is a typical idea of those who think that such a miracle is the event that saves humans.
Jesus explains in detail, “Listen really well.” He says that the bread of heaven was not given by Moses, but “my Father.” And you added: “The bread that God gives comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (verse 35). The bread of heaven is the bread of life. It is specifically Jesus Christ. In verses 52-59, John interprets the bread of life in connection with the Lord's Supper. “But whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (verses 54, 55). “This is the bread that came down from heaven. This bread is not the kind of bread that your ancestors ate and eventually died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (verse 58).
Aren't we still Jews who have their hearts tied to the miracle of the five-year-old fish and the miracle of manna? Aren't you hoping for heroes who perform such miracles to appear? Everyone, believe the testimony of the evangelist that Jesus Christ is the food of eternal life in heaven. If possible, try to enjoy such eternal life in reality. Amen.