Saturday, 4/8When they found him on the other side of the lake, 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.’ Amidst all the parables, the allegories, the history, here are four of the most important words Jesus spoke to His people: I am the bread. What is Jesus saying here, why is he saying it, and how and why does it still resonate? The people just don't get it; almost, but not quite. Jesus feeds the five thousand and slips quietly away when he understands that the people intend to forcibly crown him their king in a temporal, political sense, which could hardly be further removed from the message of his preaching, teaching, and healing ministry. However, he is tracked down by a crowd enticed by the free lunch, equating it with the manna provided to the Israelites in the desert in Exodus. Jesus speaks of a very different sort of bread indeed. I am the bread. Come share in the gift of the kingdom of heaven, he says, recalling the words of Deuteronomy, “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word which comes from the mouth of the Lord.” But the people speak only of the food God provided to their ancestors—to our spiritual ancestors—in the desert, only of what they will get in return for following him, demanding even more signs, after which, to paraphrase, they conclude with a snappy, “So what else have you done for us lately?” I am the bread. Jesus repeats these words for emphasis, perhaps a dozen times in the course of John 6, reminding them that the true bread from heaven comes only from God and it is not a lifetime supply of groceries and a new BMW and the ability to skip the waiting list for next year's iPhone, following which he rebukes them gently for their lack of belief in what is before their eyes but all the same not withholding the promise of eternal life. Eat a loaf of bread, and you will be hungry again; partake of the bread of heaven, of God's holy Wisdom, and the gifts of the Spirit will meet all our needs. I AM the bread. If you're looking for reasons, and there are many, why we kneel to receive a wafer on Sunday morning, you could do worse than to keep these four words in mind. Not a bland (if the truth be told, and when better than the penitential season of Lent for that?) bit of flour and water, but the essence of Jesus, of divine Wisdom, of divinity itself, of the great “I AM” that reaches back to those same earliest Hebrew scriptures. As we stand here in Lent, as we take the bread and cup, Jesus is offering a sharing of His divine nature with us, and we will never hunger, never thirst. All we need to do is come to the Father, to believe. That's what He's done for us lately. What more could we possibly want? - John Ford - Andrew Kryzak |