There is a cafe near my house where I have developed a relationship with the owner. He offers me food in exchange for theological conversation. But it’s not a casual conversation about faith. He’s quite angry with God. At least he’s angry about the stories told about God in the Bible. He dislikes God as depicted in both Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament. This first began a couple months ago when I was wearing my Let’s Talk about Faith & Justice podcast t-shirt. To be fair, that was on me, I literally invited theological conversation with what I was wearing.
The other day I was waiting for a shop to open to buy something and I went in to buy a drink. I had just finished a run and thought he won’t recognize me in running clothes, so I can avoid the feisty conversation. As he was getting me my drink he asked what I do. I hesitated for a moment, but said, “I am a pastor.” Although he didn’t remember me, I offered we had already had a lengthy conversation about God. Well, he wasn’t quite done with the topic. He said the drink was on him in exchange for another theological conversation. I had about 10 min. until the store opened next door, so I had the time. I’m not sure the conversation progressed any further than it did the first time we talked. There was mention of the creation stories in Genesis and the Book of Job and a seemingly ambivalent God about the kinds of punishments people endure in these stories.
Trying to widen the circle beyond God to us in churches as the body of Christ, did not satisfy him. I tried to get beyond the polarity of a good cop/bad cop God that he saw present in scripture. Not that I thought I could convince him of anything or that he needed to be convinced, but the questions kept coming. And I was pretty thirsty so was hoping we could progress a bit further than where we left off. We parted amiably and he shook my hand. But I can only imagine that the next I walk in the cafe I’ll need another disguise and vocation in order to avoid a similar conversation. At one point he said I should invite him to church so he could debate with people here. I said we have a book group in the fall and he could join that. Calling his bluff, he quickly walked back that offer saying, “No, no, no, you don’t want me doing that!”
The cafe owner’s anxiety about a fickle God is perhaps a more recent expression. In today’s gospel reading we hear a different kind of anxiety of whether God will show up for them like God showed up for their ancestors. We hear about the promise of manna. Jesus tries to reframe the conversation from an external thing God promises, to Jesus being the mana. There is no daylight between Jesus and the bread of life. The bread Jesus talks about isn’t some other thing that God will provide. Jesus *is* the bread. We can hear the wheels turning in the minds of the crowd, struggling to grasp what Jesus is saying.
And who can blame the crowd. We reflect on this theme every Sunday that Jesus is the bread. We gather around the table to receive the body of Christ in the bread. And we too need a reminder about God’s love for us. Because very little functions like God’s love in the rest of the world. We end up making analogies to the love of families, but we have to be careful because not everyone had a happy or loving childhood. And those of us who are parents or guardians of children all make mistakes. So we struggle finding a frame of reference of the kind of grace Jesus describes.
Even the cafe owner who is mad at God or a Christian idea of God was struggling with an example of love. I pointed towards Jesus’ call for us to love our neighbour. He reminded me that many of our neighbours are not good and not deserving of love or good things. That may be true. And yet Jesus’ promise that he is the bread of life stands. The bread of life is for everyone. No one is excluded from the table. Because that love isn’t about what people deserve. It’s about God’s love freely flowing for everyone. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ethical and justice issues for us to work out. But God’s love looks beyond merit or desert. God’s love simply flows for everyone. And that can be upsetting when we feel people are taking advantage of a free gift without giving thanks, without giving back.
The Paris Olympics are on right now. There have been a variety of dramatic wins and losses. One that stands out to me was the boxing match between Imane Khalif from Algeria and Angela Carini of Italy that was over after just 46 seconds. Angela Carini bowed out of the fight early after sustaining several hits. What was alarming is that Carini implied tearfully afterward that the match had been unfair. That perhaps Khalif should not have been allowed to fight. These tears of a white woman over the defeat from a brown woman led to several prominent anti-trans voices describing Khalif’s inclusion in the games. These criticisms included the likes of Donald Trump and JK Rowling, who are among the most followed online voices. Immediately there were tens of thousands of angry reactions, suggesting Khalif is a man, that Khalif is trans, that she doesn’t belong at the Olympics as a woman. Carini’s tears helped weaponize these responses. If she had accepted the defeat without protest, this firestorm may have been avoided. Instead Khalif will have this follow her wherever she goes. Despite the fact she is a woman. What this says more broadly is that the outcry from the anti-trans crowd are also actually anti-woman. Because they reject women who don’t fit a certain mould of what it means to be a woman. So it’s really about upholding patriarchy, where men and certain women like JK Rowling who have won the respect of men bullies, decide who is and who is not an acceptable woman. And yet despite all the hate, Khalif comforted Carini after the match. And she even accepted Carini’s apology the following day, which came far too late to mitigate all the damage that will follow Khalif for the rest of her life. Because once the world’s biggest haters brand you “not-woman” it’s really hard to undo that.
For us as Christians, Jesus’ presence as the bread of life cuts through the vitriol and hate in the world. He reminds us that when he is present that we are loved. That we are fed by God. That we are enough. This past Wednesday the Transition Team led a Dessert & Dialogue in which people could share their thoughts and reflections about the congregation as Pr. Lyle retires in September. I didn’t participate in the conversations, but there was some sharing afterwards. There were hopes and anxieties for continuity. To honour the things we have done well as a congregation, that they may continue. That as we find new pathways and new ways of being together as a people of God, we not forget where we came from. That we not forget the people who helped bring us here. And there was also glimmers of hope and excitement about the future as well. Many thanks to everyone who participated and to the Transition Team who facilitated this and many other conversations to come in August and September. And a report that will be produced sometime this Fall after the remarks have been transcribed, distilled, and can be shared with the congregation. What happens with the report and how it is acted upon will be a further step that involves the church council. That will come later. First they are collecting reflections, listening to where people are at now, to hear wishes, desires, anxieties, and dreams.
For us as a congregation this gospel is good news for us. We too need Jesus who *is* the bread of life. We need the Spirit speaking hope and love into us. A God who feeds us with Godself. Jesus who is not abandoning us, but is here with us in the midst of changes.
Changes are challenging. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Last Sunday after worship I took the kids camping at Cowichan River Provincial Park. As I was leaving I think Aron said, “Lyndon, I think it is forecast to rain tonight.” Rain sounded so nonsensical. It hasn’t rained in Victoria for ages. It is hot and dry. And yet after we set up the tent and had dinner it started raining. And when we went to bed, it poured! I thought this might be a one night camping trip, imagining we’ll wake up floating in a pool of water. But the better judgment of BC Park Services prevailed. They built in adequate drainage with a bed of sand on the tent pad and so the water seeped away. Truly it amazed me that we managed a night of constant rain. And the second night it rained too! We managed a third night, when it didn’t rain. When the sun came out we managed a float down the Cowichan River and then it was time to head home. What could have been a disappointing trip ruined by rain, turned into a memorable trip of resilience.
Our time of transition will have its unexpected rain come up. But sometimes rain is a godsend. Rain meant a wildfire was unlikely in the area. Rain helped counter the wildfire already burning at Sooke Potholes. So while I wouldn’t personally have chosen rain for that camping trip. Rain turned out to be a good thing. Rain was the bread of life, sustaining creation. And so we too watch for rain surprising us. The Spirit upending our expectations. That we too might be fed by Jesus promising to nourish us.
Thinking back to the cafe owner who is mad at God, fair enough. There is enough pain the world to be upset about the state of things. One hope is that in this congregation we point to the one who is the bread of life. Not that everyone will necessarily believe what we believe. But that we continue being a place where people are fed. Where we nourish faith, where we nourish people who are hungry both for the gospel and the support the work of the Kitchen, feeding those with food insecurity. May Jesus feed you and support you. Amen.
