24) When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

25) When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?"

26) Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

27) Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."

28) Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"

29) Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

30) So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?

31) Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from the heaven to eat.’"

32) Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it was my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

33) For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

34) They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

35) Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Prayer: Gracious God, we come looking for you, for we hunger for the meaning that you give to life. May the words written here be transformed so that each person here might find a word specific to his or her situation and be guided in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Years ago in one of the Kathy cartoon strips there was a series of Kathy doing different things. First, she was eating a whole box of chocolates. Then, she was shopping, carrying bunches and bunches of dresses to a dressing room. Next she was watching television, crying copious tears and jamming popcorn into her mouth. The last strip showed Kathy asking, "Have I been looking for love in all the wrong places?" The cartoon struck a chord with me. It probably struck a chord with many people. There is a universal aspect to the search for love. It is symptomatic of our need to find meaning beyond ourselves. We may call it searching for love, but I think it is something even greater. I think our longing is for God. And we have that in common not only with each other, but with the people in Galilee who followed Jesus. When our story begins, a crowd was looking for Jesus. They were confused about where he was because they knew he hadn’t left with his disciples and yet he came back across the lake with them. The crowds didn’t know that Jesus had walked on the water to the disciples’ boat, but Jesus doesn’t bother to tell them because he has more important things to say. Our scripture raised a series of questions for me. I wondered why the crowd was looking for Jesus. I wondered why we look for Jesus. The crowds were looking for more free food. They were looking for a handout. We are like that, too. Often we follow Jesus looking for tangible benefits. If we have trouble at work, we pray that Jesus will straighten it out. If we get sick, we pray for immediate healing. What Jesus offers is so much more than a handout. He is offering eternal life—life with deep meaning. Some years ago, I read a wonderful book called Into The Light: A Simple Way to Pray with the Sick and the Dying by a minister named Ron DelBene. In teaching people how to pray he captures the difference between spiritual and physical healing. He writes: There may be times when a patient responds to the question "What do you want?" by saying, "I want to be healed." If I know that a patient has a bleak prognosis, I say, "If you were healed right now, how would you feel?" "I’d feel peaceful" is a likely response. I would then suggest a prayer based on that statement. Such a prayer might be "Let me feel your peace, O Lord." This does not deny the possibility of healing but moves the patient’s focus beyond physical healing to the peace God offers no matter what occurs." Although we are looking for Jesus, we must remember that he doesn’t promise an easy life. He promises instead to be with us when life is hard. It is interesting that some people who are looking for Jesus, don’t even know that they are. In the August issue of Presbyterians Today, there is an article about the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago. I’m familiar with the church because I listen to sermons on tape by their pastor, the Reverend John Buchanan. At that church they have had a tutoring programs for inner-city children since 1966. Reverend Buchanan says that many people who join the church come first as volunteers for the tutoring program. As they grow in service to others, they grow in faith. Why do we look for Jesus? If we are looking for a handout, we will be disappointed. I pray we know that only he can feed us the spiritual food for which we long. Another question that comes out of this text is "What does it mean to us that Jesus has God’s seal upon him?" It means everything. It changes everything. Last week I visited the church where I worked in New Jersey. I saw an old friend, Sue Gieser. When you meet her she always explains that her name is Gieser as in "you old." She is a card. I remember the first time I met her. The church had an annual Christmas party. Sue’s sister was back for a short holiday from England where she was living. Sue was at the party. We struck up a conversation and I spent most of the time laughing, which is my favorite thing to do! The next Sunday, Sue came to church. I knew she lived an hour away, but I figured that she had stayed over night in Berkeley Heights with her sister. Sue came to church the next Sunday and the next and the next, even after her sister had gone back to England. When I asked her about the commute, she explained that in most churches she felt uncomfortable because she was single and had no family of her own. At Westminster she felt comfortable and accepted. Sue was an accomplished person. Not only was she a lawyer and a pianist, she was also a carpenter in her spare time. One Sunday, I mentioned from the pulpit that we needed another lectern. After the service, she came to my office and said she would like to make it. I was delighted. She asked me what it should look like. Describing what something should look like is not my strength. I didn’t know how to begin, but I had a brainstorm. I said to her, do you have a Bible? When she said she did not, I reached over to my shelf and gave her a Bible. Then I said, "Read one of the Gospels, maybe Luke, and from there see where God leads you." A few months later, Sue delivered a beautiful lectern which subtlety included all kinds of symbols. In every detail of the woodwork she proclaimed the gospel symbolically. Sue came to the church for two years during which I regularly asked her about joining. She always put me off. Finally in the fall of 1999, I said, "Why won’t you join?" She said that she just couldn’t talk about her faith to the session. It was too personal. I said, if I can talk to you privately and vouch for your faith to the session, would you join? She said, "Yes." Exactly three weeks after she joined, the longtime treasurer of the church said he needed a rest from that job. I called Sue and asked her if she would become the treasurer. She kidded me mercilessly about how I gave her three weeks of being a member before I asked her to take on the most difficult job in the church. She accepted. Today Sue is the treasurer of the church, the leader of the youth group, and on the task force that put together the annual church mission trip. My last year at the church, I expressed a wish for a cross on the patio behind the church so that we could have a sunrise Easter service. She made it. Everything has changed for Sue because she has come to know that Jesus has the seal of God upon him. He is her Savior. She said that she had grown up in the church, but when I told her to read the gospel of Luke, she did. It was the first time she had read the Bible as an adult. Suddenly, she knew that Jesus was the Son of God. The people in our passage ask Jesus what God would have them do. We ask the same question. "What does God expect from us?" The answer that Jesus gives is simple: God expects us to have faith in Jesus, whom he sent. Jesus taught many important things, but the message of his life and death is only completed in the resurrection. There is suffering in life. No one knew that better than Jesus, who gave up his life to bridge the gap between God and us. Our faith is on nothing less than the love of God manifested in Jesus who shows us that death is a passage to new life. As Christians, we have a unique message to bring to the subject of life and death. We know that to die is not to enter into darkness but to enter into light. The work of God is believing in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. With that belief we are strengthened for life. As you know, my father died just 20 days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. To me those twenty days were miraculous. Like everyone who knew him, I was devastated by his illness, but he was not. He was gentle and kind and honest about dying. He was sad to leave, but blessed with an abiding faith which he shared in quiet moments. He became an inspiration because he believed, just as God expects us to believe. There is one more question that came to me as I read this passage: What does Jesus promise? He doesn’t promise handouts or guarantees against tragedy. What he promises is so much deeper. He promises to satisfy our deepest longing—our hunger for spiritual food. And that is what we will discuss next Sunday. Amen.