The Bread of Life
Posted on Aug 16, 2018 by
John 6:51-58 (Common English Bible (CEB))
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Then the Jews debated among themselves, asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “I assure you, unless you eat the flesh of the Human One and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It isn’t like the bread your ancestors ate, and then they died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
We’ve been talking about bread lately at church — a lot! I love bread. Is there anything better than the smell of a freshly baked loaf of bread? It can bring back memories and make your tummy instantly growl. Jesus keeps repeating that HE is the bread of life to be eaten by us. As far as analogies go, I find it a bit graphic. But if you are what you eat, then I can get behind what Jesus is telling us. When we give Jesus a home in our body, we have the chance to live different lives with our bodies, lives filled with the grace and love of a Creator who delights in us just as we are. We joked in a staff meeting recently about how intimidating it is to imagine Jesus living inside us… “Hey, Jesus, close your eyes while I cut this guy off in traffic…”.
Inviting the Holy Spirit to fill every part of us does NOT make us instantly perfect! But just as we adjust our word choice in the car when a toddler is strapped in the back seat, knowing that we are filled with the Holy Spirit might make us try to be our best. Although my children can (and do!) report that my traffic language is not always the best, that’s where the amazing Grace of God fills in those tiny slips. So when we eat the bread of Christ, we know that we are inviting Jesus to live in us — always. Maybe that’s why a warm loaf of bread smells so good — It’s a reminder of Jesus feeding our soul.
Emily Nelson Dixon
Director of Teen Ministries and Outreach