Two weeks ago we had a powerful experience in New Orleans. You’ll hear more about it from the kids when they’ll have their presentation in September. But I wanted to begin this sermon by sharing with you the main idea of the gathering. They didn’t have a main speaker for each day to preach to us about the truths of Bible for a half an hour.

No they had two or three speakers each day that talked for about 10 minutes. Individuals, young and old that decided to do something different with their lives. People who decided to step out of their everyday lives because they heard God’s calling for change.

These folks were able to share God’s dream with 37 thousand young people because they realized that the world a hurting place in need of healing. They realized that the world is a hungry place in need for bread and water, a place in desperate need for education, and a place of war in desperate need for peace. They realized that this is the world we live in, but most importantly they decided to do something about it. They decided to make a difference and to “Be the Change”.

“Be the Change” was the main theme of the gathering in New Orleans. And there is a reason why. It was to show all those young people and through them all the congregations across America, that one person with opened eyes and mind and burning heart can make a difference and can be the change.

Today we hear Jesus saying: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Isn’t it ironic that Jesus compares himself to the bread of life? He says if you’ll come to me, you’ll never experience hunger or thirst. Yes, there are millions of Christians in America, and Europe, that don’t know what it is to be hungry or thirsty for they live in the land of plenty. (pause) This is true as long as we talk about food and drink.

But that’s not what Jesus talks about here. Jesus talks about different kind of bread, the bread that comes down from heaven, the bread that gives us eternal life. Jesus says: “I am the bread of life.” (pause)

Yes, there are millions of Christians in America and Europe but guess what… they are not filled. They are starving and they are malnourished. For they have forgotten about the true bread of life. Isn’t that the truth about us? Just think how much time we spend on worrying about our material things and now compare it to time we spend on focusing on our spirituality. There is a difference, isn’t there. (pause)

But why does Jesus talk about himself as the bread of life in first place? Well he fed the crowds, five thousand hungry people. And they realized quickly, wow this guy can satisfy my basic needs. He is the one they thought to themselves. And so they followed him and wanted to make him the king.

But Jesus turns around and says: You’re here for the wrong reason. You’re here because your stomachs were filled. And then he said: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.”

Jesus talks about spiritual bread. The bread of God’s love, his forgiveness, and his calling. That’s the bread that will fill us and make us satisfied. That’s the bread that will make us step out of our everyday lives filled with plenty (pause) and will make us be the change. It’s the bread that will help us to realize that the world is a bigger place, a hungry, hurting place with millions without basic education or drinking water.

Jesus says: “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” And what does the Father ask of us? Well in our second reading he asks us: to put away falsehood, to speak the truth to our neighbors, to not let sun go down on our anger, labor and work honestly and to share with the needy. And that is just the beginning.

Yes, Jesus talks about himself as the spiritual bread that is given to us by God’s grace. But the truth is that the need for this spiritual bread in our lives cannot be separated from the need for the real bread and water in the world that is around us. Our hunger for spiritual peace cannot be separated from the hunger for the world peace. And our need to learn more about God and his ways cannot be separated from the need for basic education that’s missing in a big part of the world.

Yes we all need the bread from heaven, Jesus Christ. But not so that we can sit back and relax with a good feeling of being safe. No we need the bread of life like Elisha in our first reading, who was sent by God on a journey to preach love, justice and peace. And when Elisha ran to the dessert for he was afraid to follow God’s call God said to him: “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.”

Isn’t that the truth about us all? Unless we eat the true bread from heaven, unless we soak up God’s word, unless we become a part of his body, the journey will be too much for us. But if we’ll do all these things, if we’ll let Christ feed us, to make us new, and to send us out we can make a difference and we can be the change.

In today’s Gospel Jesus says: “Do not complain among yourselves.” You’ve been given the bread for your soul. You’ve been blessed with the bread that feeds your body. Now is the time to share this bread, now is the time to be the change. Approximately one billion people in the world (out of 6.7 billion) live in extreme poverty, earning less than one dollar per day while Americans and Europeans spend about 13 billion dollars a year for pet food. The number of severely malnourished people in the world is about the same as the combined population of the United States, Canada and the European Union (which is about 800 million people) and only 10% receive any help. (pause)

Our second reading ends with words: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us.”

Are we willing as God’s beloved children to sacrifice something out of our blessed lives to make the difference in the life of another beloved child of God who is in desperate need for food, water, or education? Are we willing to be the change?

I challenge you today to pray on this. I challenge you to seek God’s will for your life, and to think seriously about your call in this world. He has made us all for a special purpose. (pause) What is yours? There are many ways to Be the change. You can make a donation for the ELCA world hunger appeal, (that’s this bread box). Or you can educate yourself about some of these serious world problems online, just Google Bread for the world, or type in ELCA World hunger appeal and find out more about how you can make a difference.

It’s not only about feeding the hungry, it’s about education, advocacy, it’s about being the change. Jesus says: “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” As we live out our faith, let us make his words reality in the whole world.

Amen