Tenth Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 13: Jesus, the Bread of Life

Today's Scriptures

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 (NRSV)

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not."

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."

Psalm 78:23-29 (BCP., p.696)


Ephesians 4:1-16 (NRSV)

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said,

"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

he gave gifts to his people."

(When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

John 6:24-35 (NRSV)

The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Blog Reflection

Our meditations on Jesus as the Bread of Life continue.  Last Sunday, we looked at Jesus feeding the five thousand, and the hunger we all experience.  This Sunday, we begin to hear Jesus proclaim Himself as the Bread of Life.  Jesus tells us that He is the One whom if we come to, we will not be hungry or thirsty.

I think we have to confront our problem with this Scripture.  So many of us Christians believe in Jesus as the Bread of Life in one way or another.  Whether it is Sacramental in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, or symbolically through out the various signs of life.  Christians can see in Jesus, One who feeds and fulfills.  Yet, we all remain hungry and thirsty.  Each of us experiences loneliness.  We all experience rejection through which we hunger for companionship.  We long for that special friend who will lead us into a sense of self value to be among others.  Aside from this, there are Christians all over the world who physically hunger and thirst for an experience of God that is beyond a mere emotional lift.  They long to be part of Christ through His Body the Church.  Instead they find division and value judgments on those different from ourselves.

Jesus Christ comes to all of us in this Gospel, and in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  He comes to us regardless of who we are, and where we come from.  Jesus comes to all that is broken and hurting.  Jesus approaches us in Word and Sacrament to mend, feed, nourish and offer solace.  Though each of us will disagree with each other about something, Jesus offers Himself to us in the form of Bread and Wine to invite His Real Presence to become real in those of us who receive Him.  Jesus does not come to us and ask who is for or against abortion, same-gender marriage, a democrat or a republican.   He comes to unite us one to another, in all our differences to experience God's unconditional and all-inclusive love.

We are often suspicious to believe in this experience of Jesus as the Bread of Life because of all the injustice and oppression in the world.  Jesus comes among us as the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation to empower us to be the change we want to see in the world.  Where individuals become scapegoats for political and social campaigns, Jesus gives us the grace of God to embrace one another as part of that One Body.  We are given the grace to recognize in each other a Eucharistic vessel worth handling with great care, and wanting to preserve in the spaces within our hearts.

Jesus comes to us in the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation, and asks us to discern how God the Holy Spirit may be calling each of us.  We are invited to commit ourselves again to Christ in prayer, so that the Spirit can call us to feed the hungry among us and to become the wine that turns sadness into joy.  As Christ is known to us in the breaking of the bread, so we are called to bread bread with one another.  As we break and share the bread, we listen to each others stories and enter into the life of Christ with each other.  We enter into the greatest gift of hospitality as we meet Jesus in them through that Bread that gives life and that Cup salvation. 

Perhaps Reginald Herber said it best in Hymn # 301 in The Hymnal 1982.

Bread of the world, in mercy broken.
Wine of the soul, in mercy shed,
by whom the words of life were spoken,
and in whose death our sins are dead:
look on the heart by sorrow broken,
look on the tears of sinners shed;
and be thy feast to us the token
that by thy grace our souls are fed.

Amen.


Prayers

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your
Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without
your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (Proper 13, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 232).

Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it
with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt,
purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is
amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in
want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake
of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.  (Prayer for the Church, The Book of Common Prayer, p.816).