Bread of Life

We know that the Body of Christ is Jesus in Israel 2,000 years ago, and Jesus in union with the Father and the Spirit from eternity, and Jesus in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, all at the same time.

When Jesus says “This is my body,” is he holding up the bread,

or is he also pointing to the disciples gathered around,

or is he pointing to himself?

What if it is all of these at the same time?

How wonderfully complex this is!

As we are working our way through the 6^th chapter of John in these weeks, we discern that it is both direct and complex concurrently.

Bread...bread of life...bread from heaven.

Everyone knows about bread, at least on one level.

Whether it is biscuits or brioche, baguettes or bagels...or challah, ciabatta...or pan, pita;

whether it is leavened or unleavened, sweet or spicy, soft and fragrant or seafarer's hardtack...

bread is known all over the world.

In some places it is the basis of every meal, and a sign of hospitality.

In Spain, every single restaurant meal began with chunks of crusty bread in a basket... no butter, jelly, or oil and garlic...just bread.

And we loved it, just as people have been enjoying bread in one form or another for perhaps 5,000 years.

Then, too there are the memories of bread lines in during the Depression, when bread meant survival.

And it is the same today in too many places around the world.

For example, in Syria the government fights the rebels not only with guns, but by controlling the grain and bread supply.

It was the same in ancient Rome, which controlled the peasantry with bread and circuses.

They knew that if they kept them fed and entertained and the government could do whatever it wanted.

[Does this sound familiar?]

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.”

And we remember Luther's explanation of “daily bread” as everything that we need from day to day.

In addition, some scholars have suggested that the term has another possible translation which would lead us to think about “bread for tomorrow” or the “final bread”, and thus getting us to think about the “bread of heaven” and the heavenly feast.

We don't have to pick one translation over the other; I think we can hold both of them at the same time.

“Daily bread” and “final bread” are not in opposition to each other, but in wonderful harmony.

What we need finally is what is granted to us even now.

And the small sample that we get now of this final bread is enough to sustain us as we move through the troubles and trials of each day toward God's fulfillment of his promises and intentions.

“I am the bread of life,” he says, so that “he who comes to me shall not hunger.”

They all knew what bread was.

They all knew what it was to want it.

They also knew, unless they were in the ruling class, what it was to go without.

“I am the bread of life,” he says, and this gets their attention.

They see a man, but he says “bread....life...heaven,.

They see the carpenter's son, but he speaks of his Father who will draw them together in eternity.

They see a man who sounds like one of the prophets of old, but he will do more than tell them what is coming; it is he himself who is coming...Bread of Life.

So what is their reaction?

Just like their ancestors in the wilderness, they mumble, grumble, and complain.

It is a sign that they may have heard Jesus' words, but they were having trouble believing them and trusting them.

In effect, they are saying that Jesus should not compare them to their ancestors that they read about in their Passover time lectionary.

That was 1,200 years earlier and has nothing to do with them.

No, Jesus is saying, they are just the same, not trusting this word from God, even as the prophets continued to point out across the centuries.

There have been so many pretenders and charlatans, all claiming to have the right answers to life's dilemmas.

The food the pretenders offer is bitter and spoiled, and it poisons one unto death.

But what Jesus says and does and offers is the will of the Father for them and for us.

You are becoming what you already are!

That is not just mystifying language, but the best Good News.

It is the Incarnation, for us, Jesus come in the flesh, for us and with us.

The Body of Christ is Jesus then, and Jesus now, Jesus with us and Jesus in us, transforming us from the inside out.

If we would only quit arguing against it and embrace it, revel in it, and enjoy it!

Would our attitude toward life be different? Yes, indeed!

Bernadette and I spent three days with our catechetical students this week.

Oh, we tried to cover lots of information, facts, dates, persons, documents, geographical locations, and much more.

We are under no illusion of our brilliance as teachers nor their acumen as students.

They won't remember much of the details of it all.

We do hope that when they bump into a subject or a question in the future, they will remember talking about it, and know where to refresh their memory and what questions to ask about it.

They will have lots more life-experiences in which they test out this gospel of Jesus.

But more importantly, I hope that they are beginning to realize that the time we spend together in study and work and fun is all intended to make us all more of what we already are in Holy Baptism, that is, the Body of Christ in the world in this time and place.

We hope that they are recognizing that it doesn't take place in absentia; we need to be together as a body, receiving the Body, becoming the Body, and anticipating the completeness of the Body in heaven.

Jesus puts his life in ours as bread, and when he does so, he brings heaven to us.

And there is purpose to it; so that we in turn will bring this bread of heaven to a hungry world.

--To the rich and self-satisfied who think they need nothing else,

--To the bitter and angry, that this Bread's sweetness will melt the padlocks of their hearts,

--To the poor who are so distressed and focused on scratching to get the earthly kind of bread without recognizing that they also need the heavenly kind as well.

For everyone, for all who pass by.

Walking down a street in the old city of Jerusalem I saw a woman baking the very thin bread that is used everywhere in that region for daily bread.

She had a dome shaped steel griddle with a gas flame beneath it.

After she had rolled out her dough very thin, she tossed it onto the hot griddle and baked it briefly.

Then she grabbed it and turned it over for a few more seconds, and next picked it off and added it to a growing stack of baked but very flexible loaves.

She was not hidden away, but right out in the street, easily available to the crowds of passersby.

And many did stop and purchase 6 or a dozen for their family that evening.

As we are working on our goals for the coming year, how is it that we are making ourselves available to the passing crowd?

Some of them know what is needed; others don't have a clue until we let them know and make it very obvious.

Here is the Bread of life, for us, and for the world.

After all of our searching, here is the Bread that truly satisfies. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.