Bread of Life - Bread for Life

John 6:35, 41-51

Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, that one might eat of it and not die.” “Whoever believes has eternal life.” You might have noticed, we’re hearing a lot about bread these days. Each Sunday, we are hearing part of one large discourse that Jesus gave while he was in Capernum. You may remember that last week Matt discussed that Jesus calls us to feed both on the physical bread that fills our bellies as well as the spiritual bread that nourishes our souls. Jesus does not say that physical hunger is unimportant. But he does say that physical hunger is not all there is. A good meal isn’t all God has to offer.

 As Jesus is speaking in today’s story, we are taken us back into the wilderness, into a time when the Hebrew people were fleeing for their lives. The desert is smoldering hot during the day and freezing at night. The Hebrew people were nomads – forced from their homes in Egypt into a cruel and desolate desert. Looking for life there, all they could see around them, all they could imagine – was death. So they began grumbling against God, and against Moses – the man God had sent to lead them into the promised land. The Hebrew people began talking about the good times back in Egypt. They talked about the food there, the wells of fresh water to drink. Conveniently skipping over the cruelties of slave life, the people yearned for some hope for the future – and saw that hope only in returning from where they came.

But God heard the people. God heard their grumbling and complaining. God heard their fear. And God provided for them – bread in the wilderness. Sweet, delicate manna. Each piece only a morsel, but there was enough that everyone might eat and be full. That all might have full bellies. And that all might have nourished spirits as well. God provided food for the people. God also provided hope for the future – that God’s future for the Hebrew people truly did include hope and a promised land.

Now, the people Jesus was speaking to surely would have known this story. They would have known the importance of the bread in the wilderness. They would have understood that God provides both food and spiritual nourishment. This would have been a Sunday School topic, or a dinner table topic, or if nothing else a yearly Passover-meal topic. The history of their ancestors was important to them, and it would have been repeated frequently. So as Jesus addressed this particular group of people, Jesus knew that they would ‘get’ the story about the manna. They would understand its importance. And yet, Jesus reminded the people: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.”   Evidently, the manna wasn’t enough. Eating manna every day provided life and hope for the people – but not forever. It wasn’t a forever thing.

And, Jesus says, that’s the whole point! You understand the importance of bread. You get that bread isn’t just bread. It isn’t just a meal. And yet, you don’t understand that Jesus is the bread. Jesus is bread from heaven. Jesus is bread from heaven that brings life for the world.

Right. I get it. Sort of. OK, not really. I want to know HOW? What is that supposed to mean, really? What does it mean to eat of this bread and live forever? What does it mean to have eternal life?

Christians tend to think of eternal life as something that will come in the future. As in, when we die, we don’t die… that’s when our promise of eternal life kicks in. But in John’s gospel, it’s very clear that eternal life isn’t something in the future. Eternal life is happening NOW. By our very relationship with God, we have eternal life. By the simple fact that we come to worship God each Sunday. In the simplicity of our prayers. In the earnestness of our offerings. In these ways of allowing God to move us (and hoping that we might move God), we are participating in the promised eternal life. That life which God wills for us. That life for which Jesus was sent to earth, died, and was raised again. For us.

Jesus is the bread of life. And we get to remember that whenever we eat. But especially, each time that we gather at the communion table, we eat the bread of life. We express a belief that Jesus is Lord. We express a faith that God’s promises are secure. We express a hope that God’s future will prevail. Jesus has promised to be present in communion. God reaches out to touch us through that bread. To bring fullness to our bellies, and hope to our souls. This is eternal life.

The communion table and the word of God are central to our worship together. They are central to worship all over the world. A friend of mine told me this story about worshipping in a Lutheran church somewhere in Africa. It was early morning, but it was already nearly 100 degrees in the small sanctuary. There were a few chairs for the elders to use, but mostly people sat on the dirt floor. The worship was in the native language of the people, so my friend understood little of what was going on. At the time the service was set to begin, only a handful of people had come. The pastor began the service anyway. As the service continued, people began to trickle in by 1s and 2s and sometimes 8s or 10s. As the pastor was concluding his sermon and everyone stood to sing, people piled in more and more until it seemed that no one more could get through the front door. As the song continued, more people tried to get into the small church, and they started lining up out the door. By the time the communion blessing had been said and distribution began, nearly the whole village was lined up to receive the sacrament. And there was bread enough for all of them.

After the service, my friend asked the pastor about this. Why had the people not come before? Why had they all lined up so eagerly? The pastor answered him, “My son, this bread that we give them – for many in this village, this is the only bread they will eat this week.” Indeed, for these people, this is the bread of life.

            But this story, this reality of starvation, begs this question: if Jesus is the bread of life, what does it mean that some people don’t have bread? What does it mean that there are communities like this one in Africa where a single piece of bread offered through a church is one’s only meal for the week? What does it mean that each day, people starve because they cannot farm the land they live on? What does it mean that people in this country, in our own back yard, can’t seem to make ends meet?

            Just this last week, two different people came to me, looking for help feeding their families. They’re just normal guys with normal families who have fallen on hard times. Money is tighter, medical bills pile up, jobs fall through. And suddenly, there’s no money left for this week’s grocery bill. There’s nothing left to feed their hungry bellies – is there anything left, then, to nourish their souls?

            In this case, they have come to the right place. Here at St. James, we’re in the business of nourishing souls. We’re in the business of giving the bread of life, hope for the future. But we know this can’t be done on an empty stomach. Here, we offer Jewel cards to passers-by who need a bite to eat. We offer Jewel cards and a heartfelt conversation with the pastor – maybe a prayer. But at times, this whole-hearted offering seems paltry when compared with the vast needs of these individuals – and especially with the vast needs of the world.

            And here again, we at St. James are in the business of giving that bread of life – that life-sustaining food that offers hope for the future. Through our donations to and prayers for the ELCA Hunger Appeal, we are responding to the world’s need to taste and see the goodness of God. To taste the bread of life, fill one’s belly with it, and to have hope for a future yet to come. A future when no one will be hungry, and all might be fed. Because through the ELCA Hunger Appeal, we address not only today’s hunger but the root issues that are causing that hunger. The appeal does not simply give hand-outs. The appeal teaches farming techniques and helps develop safe water gathering techniques. It gives emergency aid when it’s called for, and advocates for fair use of the land by everyone. But perhaps most importantly, the Hunger Appeal advocates on behalf of all those who are hungry – seeking resources, fair laws, education, and poverty reduction. Through the ELCA Hunger Appeal, we feed hungry people. We offer bread of life for their bellies. But we also feed hungry souls. We offer hope for a changed future. We offer hope for a future when they will be hungry no more.

            So this has me wondering, how can we do that here, in Western Springs? How can we offer the bread of life to our own community? How can we reach into our community with more than just bread for the belly, but bread for the soul?

            As we journey together, I pray that each of us will keep these questions on our minds and in our hearts as we listen for how God is calling us to respond. To see needs where we didn’t see them before. To find resources where we didn’t have them before. To bring God’s bread of life here, into our corner of the world. Amen.