Living Bread

 1 Kings 19:4-8; John 6:35, 41-51

 

In the wilderness with Moses, the people complain that they are hungry and thirsty. There is no food or water to be found. God offers a strange substance they call manna. Apparently, it can be used to make bread and other foods, and it sustains the wandering Israelites for years.  

There are frequent stories in scripture of God providing what was needed in unexpected ways. In this little story about Elisha, he is frustrated, angry that the king and queen have so little regard for him and for the God he serves. He has given up, and is so depressed that he wants to die. But God has other plans. An angel says, “wake up and eat,” twice. God has work for Elisha to do.

The miraculous feeding stories in the Gospels are a way for Jesus to get people’s attention. They would all remember the giving of manna in the wilderness, the angel giving food to Elisha, and other feeding stories in their past.

In John, this miraculous feeding is called a sign, one of seven in the gospel. The other signs include turning water into wine and some healings. This sign is followed by a long discourse in which Jesus explains the meaning. He reminds the folks that it was not Moses but God who gave the manna. Likewise, it is God, not Jesus, who gives the bread and fish to the gathered hungry people.

Of course, most of the people don’t understand the true meaning. They recognize Jesus for the young man they knew in town, a hick town where nothing special ever happens, where no one special ever lives. They know they are nobodies, and so is Jesus.

So, why, they wonder with some anger, does he think he’s somebody now? Just who does he think he is? There is no reason for him to get uppity, to rise above his station.

And yet, it sure is good to have a full belly. They will take that again and again, if Jesus can pull off another miracle like that.

Jesus tries to explain. He says, “I am the bread of life.” “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” And then he changes it: “I am the living bread.” It’s this phrase that catches my attention. Living bread. Not just bread. Not just bread given by God, sent by God like manna. Living bread. Living bread that nourishes us from head to toe, from brain to heart to soul. Living bread that connects us to God.

When we eat living bread, we’ve got something really good. We come often to eat this living bread because our hearts and souls are hungry and we need to be fed. We have a relationship with God, with Jesus, through regularly getting our fill of living bread.

Plain bread becomes living bread when we remember it is from Jesus when we share it. It can be shared with just Jesus, or it can be shared with a family, or it can be shared with a whole bunch of people. Bread lives when it is shared in love.

When we come to the altar for communion, we receive living bread. We receive Jesus’ love and God’s forgiveness through this simple meal of bread and wine, even if it is a single bite of bread and sip of wine.

Living bread is a sign that Jesus is present with us. When we break bread at home, or at a restaurant, or at coffee hour, Jesus is with us as living bread. Let’s remember that he joins us, and give thanks. Amen