Summary: They ask for signs and wonders.He asks for faith.They want to be entertained.He wants them to work.They want to be fed.He wants to give them life.They want more bread.He says: “Here it is. It’s me.”In the end, the problem with those folks was that they lived to eatrather than eating to live. Fast forward from a scene at the Lake side town of Capernaum to Saint Mark Church in Norman, Oklahoma. When we pick up and proclaim these verses from John 6, the question is still being asked: “What do you want?” “What are you doing here?” If it’s entertainment, then you need to be down the street, up at the Warren Theater, or the ball park. If it’s signs and wonders, there will be one, but to get it, you have to do the work of believing. These are the themes woven into these verses. They are the themes which John uses to lead us into the awesome mystery of Jesus Christ, The Bread of Life. John does not want to tell us about Jesus, he wants to lead us into Jesus: that is believe, belief IN.This “believing” is not simply trusting or hoping that something will happen. It is work, hard work, a life-long work. The only way bread becomes sacrament on this altar, which is the only sign and wonder you will get today, is for us to do the work of faith: the work of conversion, of turning from sin and turning INto Christ. Surely I am not the only one in here who wonders why less than half of this parish will have been here at Mass weekend. Every once inawhile I wonder what it would be like if we announced that next week the Pope will be here to lead, or what would happen if word leaked out that the winning Powerball ticket was to be found taped under one of the pews! Imagine the crowd! What is it they want? What do you and I want? He asks us to work, and for that work he will give us food that endures for eternal life. And with those people at Caperneaum, we can ask: “What do you want us to do?” He says: “This is the work I want from you: believe in me.”Paul insists that believing in Jesus results in the transformation of our lives so that we are no longer content to live with full bellies while our minds and hearts are empty. It means we step out of a life that is steeped in ignorance and self-interest, and into Christ. Having been fed on the bread from heaven, we are wonderfully transformed into it. The spirit of our minds is renewed that lanchs us into a way of living that is full of joy and gratitude, not greed and hunger for more.This is going to require some work. It is work to get here on time. It is work to remember a Holy Day coming up, it is work to get the children ready and feed them on the Bread of Holy Communion rather than McDonalds’ French Fries. It is work to teach them and hand on to them the wisdom of faith and the truth of Jesus Christ; much more work than teaching them the rules of T-ball and Soccor. It is work to contribute something meaningful and sacrificial to the life of this church; but all this work is transforming, and it is ultimately the sign the rest of this world is looking for: a sign of hope, a sign of self-less service, a sign of joy in the face of every trouble and disaster.Full bellies do not make full lives, but somehow full lives seem able to satisfy every human hunger. Which do you want? That’s is what Jesus asked in Capernaum and asks again in Norman, Oklahoma. Do you want a full belly or a full life? When we make up our mind, we’ll be approaching this table full of faith, full of hope, and full of love because we will have come to believe in him.
