MEAT WHICH ENDURES UNTO EVERLASTING LIFE

When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. (John 6:24-29).

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 1:2) Amen.

Dear fellow Christians, recently new big boards appeared in Kyiv. There is an ad there that says, "100% protection of your life and well-being." And then a name of an organization that proposes such a protection. When I saw that ad for the first time, it reminded me of a parable of a rich man, who had a huge harvest. He never thanked God. Instead he praised himself and planned his long and happy life. God ridiculed man's arrogance by terminating his life that same night (Luke 16). No man can give 100% guarantee for someone's life or even well-being.

We are gathered here today to thank our God for many gifts. We thank God for this year's harvest. As all the sinful people to whom we belong, too, we have a temptation to say, "This is my work! I worked hard and I have this. I can enjoy my life since now because of what I have done." Dear friends, to think so means to sin. All the things that we have are from God. Even when we work very hard, our Creator stands behind everything. Everything what we have in our gardens and fields is from our God. As it is written, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). So when we think or say that what we have today is solely our labor fruit, it's time to repent and follow the Psalmist when he sings, "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever" (Ps. 106:1) and, "The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing" (Ps. 145:15, 16).

Dear friends, God is giver of all the good things for us. God gives us our harvest. God gives all the people their harvest out of His great mercy and out of His love. At the same time when people leave Him, He says, "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands" (Hag. 1:9-11).

All the blessings are from God. Good harvests are from God. And at the same time God in today's Gospel reading emphasizes importance of looking for Him first of all. Looking for Him and for harvests, food, good health, and wealth. Those who look for God only to satisfy their temporal needs the Savior says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled." In fact, He reproaches us that to look for God for the sake of material things only is a sin. It is sin to look for God just for the sake of food. It is sin to look for God just for the sake of health and wealth. God condemns such a quest.

Instead the Lord encourages us, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed." God wants us to take care of what takes our sins away. God commands that we should look for what turns arrows of devil away. God says that we should take care not for things that will perish sooner or later but for the things that will raise our bodies one day out of dust and will join them with our souls for our eternal life in the Kingdom of God. This is the kind of food the Lord wants us to eat and look for.

What is that food? Jesus' hearers understood that food did not grow on Israel's natural soil. As it would neither grow on our deep Ukrainian black soil (chornozem). Jesus' hearers understood the Lord was pointing to God. That was why they asked, "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." The work of God is to believe in Whom God sent. True food is the One sent by God. Jesus Christ is the true food.

He, the Son of God, born before eternity by the Father became a true man, born from a Jewish virgin Mary, whose roots were in Bethlehem. In Jesus true humanity and true divinity are miraculously united. As it is written of Christ, "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). He is not little of God and lot of man. Jesus is not little of man and lot of God. In Jesus "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." That is Jesus is true man and true God. Jesus Christ is sinless man and holy God. Jesus Christ is sinless God and holy man. That was why Jesus was able to fulfill perfectly the Law we cannot keep. That was why God put all our sins on His Son Jesus Christ, for Jesus had no sins. That was why Jesus died for our sins on the Roman cross. Because only God Son death' could be enough to pay for all of our transgressions before God.

And that was why God's Son rose from the dead on the third day, for death could not keep any longer. That was why He remains our food. He is our food that will not corrupt but will keep us for eternal life. Jesus is not like anything else in this world. The Holy Scriptures say of Him, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus' Word is the food that stays forever and keeps us for eternal life, as it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" Mt. 4:4). God's Word is a wonderful food. It keeps us for eternal life.

Dear brothers and sisters, God does not change. What He commanded His disciples, He commands us as well. He says of His eternal food, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever" (John 6:53-58). We who eat His body and drink His blood shall live forever. For God promises that. And He always keeps His promises.

Dear brothers and sisters no one in this world can give us a 100% guarantee for protection of our harvest, of our property and even our physical life. Only God can give 100% guarantee. And He supports this guarantee by the risen Jesus Christ. However, God does not promise to guarantee our temporal things like harvest, or like property, or even this our bodies. He says instead that anything that happens to us happens under His control. And what is to happen God leaves for Himself. But He gives 100% guarantee for eternal life in His Kingdom to all those who believe in Jesus Christ, to all those who trust not into harvest or any other wealth, but into Jesus only. As it written of Jesus, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Let us stay faithful to Jesus. And let us become rich in Him supporting generously His dear Church.

And all other things will be added. God will never leave His beloved children alone and without any harvest. As it written, "Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps" (Psalm 85:9-13). Praise be to God for the harvest He provided us with this year. Be it even more praise to Him for harvesting us into His Heavenly Kingdom! Through Jesus Christ. Amen.

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14).