The communion wafer and tiny cracker were
things they had seen before, so they were interested, and said they would
certainly try them out. The tortilla was
already a favorite, so it seemed unnecessary to try that one. The wheat pita brought back memories of
yuckiness to one particular boy. The cinnamon
swirl raisin bread was an instant delight to all of them. Not so much the pumpernickel, though. I held up a large slice so they could all see
it, and the comments began:
“Is that really bread?”“It looks like cake.”
“Is it chocolate? I like chocolate. But chocolate bread?”
When I told them the name, Pumpernickel, they laughed like they had just heard the best joke ever. You gotta admit, it does sound funny. I then took a chance and asked if they wanted to try some of it. The answer came back immediately and loudly: a chorus of “Nooooo.” I did pass around a plate with samples of everything on it. Couldn’t get any takers on the pumpernickel, though. One girl was almost brave enough. She picked it up and looked at it. Just couldn’t bring herself to follow through, though. Besides, that cinnamon swirl was just too compelling to pass up.
While they munched at their bread, we
continued on with the kids’ sermon.
Today
we get to look in the window when Jesus does some serious teaching in response
to some questions people ask him.
But
first, help me remind everyone about the story we have been hearing. It started with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread
… (They did a great job of piecing the story together for me)
Jesus fed 5000 people by starting
with a few fish and some bread. And they
had 12 baskets of leftovers. The people
wanted to make him King of the World right then, but the time wasn’t
right. So he sent the disciples off in a
boat to a different area. And while they
were headed there, a major storm came up.
They feared for their lives, and even thought a ghost was coming to get
them, but it was Jesus walking on the water.
Peter walked to him for a moment or two, then took his eyes off of Jesus
and began to sink. He cried out for help
and Jesus grabbed him and helped him into the boat. Now, Jesus and the disciples have reached the shore after going through that all-nighter fighting a storm out on the Sea of Galilee. It doesn’t take long for the crowds of people to start showing up again.
But why are they there? (At this point they were really into the story, and it didn’t take long for one of them to shout out, “To get some more bread.” Hey, those kids are closer to understanding the minds of people than many psychiatrists, aren’t they?)
I suggested a few other options. To get healed? Sure. To hear him preach some more? Probably. Sounds like a pretty good group, doesn’t it? But there was something else, too. And Jesus saw it right away. So did you. They were hoping he would feed them again, or maybe do some magic tricks. But he was more concerned that they understand who he is and why he came. They wanted bread and he told them he was the only bread they needed! (That was a bit confusing, and even drew a comment or two along the lines of, “We’re supposed to eat Jesus?” and “How would we eat Jesus?”) I understand their confusion. It led to some pretty serious persecution in the first century when people heard about the Christians and their communion meal. They were accused of being cannibals. But it was just Jesus’ way of helping them understand how important he was. We have to have food to live, right? Well, we need Jesus even more than we need food. Jesus is all we really need now, too.
Psalms
118:29 says, “Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Jesus,
thank you for being enough. Help me live
like I believe it. Amen.
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