Sermon by Felicity Thompson, Seminarian, 8/11/2024
Centering Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, may your will be done, Through me.
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
Two weeks ago, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee to the other side. He wants to take a break after teaching and healing the sick. The people who witnessed these miracles are spellbound and want more, so they follow Him. The crowd follows Him along the shore.
Jesus finds Himself in the wilderness, you remember the wilderness? A great crowd of people were coming toward Him. Then remember Philip said to Jesus “it would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite”. As you all know, the miracle told by many through the generations, Jesus fed 5,000 people with the five loaves and two fish that a boy had.
Last week, Father Chris talked about awakenings, and reminded us to pay attention to awakenings, where God is trying to talk to us. The Israelites did not understand then that Jesus was offering them spiritual food. They asked Jesus for manna, aiming low, when they should have aimed higher and asked for everlasting life, only attained through eating the bread, the living bread and living water given by God.
When a family member, colleague, or neighbor says, “I can’t get your attention” or” Did you hear me?” Sometimes that indicates a problem. It could be selective hearing, or we just aren’t paying attention to the people around us. If I don’t pay attention to the people around me, how am I hearing God? We have a message today that Jesus wants us to hear.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
That’s clear! Where is Jesus with no controversy? The people around Him are complaining and saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
So, the people in the crowd are familiar with Him and His family. Some say, “How can he now say, ‘I have come down from Heaven’?”
Of course, Jesus gets an attitude with them and responds with this - I see I got your attention! Did you hear me? It’s obvious you know me. But did you hear what I said? Stop complaining. And He might have said, “don’t be weird!”
Jesus continues with, “No one can come to Me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person on the last day … whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.”
Let’s take a look at the Christological focus of this passage. Before I move further, I need to define Christological. Christological is a “term that refers to Christology, which is a branch of theology that studies the nature and work of Jesus Christ. The word comes from the Greek words (that was the language of the Empire), Khristós and -logia, which literally means "the understanding of Christ".
This passage emphasizes the divine mission and the role of Jesus. He was sent to us by God, sent to us to teach us how to live and be with one another; and He came to offer us eternal life.
This is without a doubt central to Christian belief, the belief that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to save us from our sins.
This week’s metaphor from Jesus, as we see in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life” means He is the source of eternal life. Jesus is the source of eternal life for the whole world. The bread or spiritual food that can keep us alive forever comes from God. Eating the bread of life is a metaphor for believing in Jesus.
Jesus is telling the people that their hunger is more than a physical hunger. It’s a hunger that a baguette, roti, sourdough, naan, ciabatta, pita, tortilla, cassava bread, injera, pumpernickel or challah and even wonder bread cannot satisfy. Bread is a staple food found in many cultures around the world, each has its unique ingredients, unique method of preparation and unique cultural significance. “Eating the bread of life” is a metaphor for “believing in Jesus”.
“I am the bread of life” is a statement that means Jesus is the foundation of spiritual life and believing in God will lead us to eternal life. Jesus wants us to see how important He is so He compares himself to bread, an item that is essential in most cultures. Jesus compares the physical bread He miraculously created at the Feeding of the Five Thousand, with the spiritual bread that is an offering to eternal life.
What about manna? Jesus mentions manna in this gospel. I did a search and found manna described in two places: Exodus 16:1–36 and Numbers 11:1–9. This was food that came down from heaven during the time the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years.
Manna was described as flaky bread and tasted like wafers sweetened with honey. The word “manna” translates in Hebrew, “What is it?” Manna: “What is it?” That's the question the Israelites asked each other when they found manna on the ground.
In our gospel reading for today, Jesus gives, what is it, manna, a name. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” We experience this presence of God, this bread of life, as a community in the Eucharist. Jesus’ real presence in this “bread from heaven,” the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the body and blood of Christ served from this altar.
But there is more. We do receive this bread from heaven here at the altar as we extend our hands: Christ’s real presence in bread and wine, his body and his blood. There is more, there is another way the church has recognized Jesus’ real presence. St. Paul says, when we are baptized, we are “baptized into Christ.” Paul says this from his own experience. “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. You see, we individually become this living sacrament, the Body of Christ.
Today from the altar we will repeat some of these words, an echo from the fourth century, the words of Saint Augustine: “Behold what you are.” What are you? We are the Body of Christ. We embody Christ. “Behold what you are.” “May we become what we receive.” What do we receive? When we receive the Body of Christ, we become what we receive.
I hope this is not getting complicated. I may not convince some of you right now, this may be confusing. It is one thing to receive Christ in Holy Communion. It’s another thing to embody Christ. To embody Christ, that’s a high bar. The first time I heard this, I thought, how so? We are not perfect, so how can we embody Christ?
When Christ took upon Himself our poverty, our wretchedness, our misery, our sins, He became poor for our sake. 2 Corinthians 8:9 states, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”. This is part of a letter Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.
Goodness, what does this mean? Before Jesus came to us, He was rich in power and glory. Jesus humbled Himself by becoming human, experiencing poverty, suffering and death on the cross. (Stay with me here). It is through His sacrifice that we, believers, gain spiritual riches, salvation, eternal life, and the riches (not material wealth), the riches, the spiritual blessings that come with having a relationship with God.
“This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
After receiving the bread and wine, the body and blood, what do we do? We take the love, the embodiment of Christ, into the world. We show we are believers by listening and doing God’s work.
Doing God’s work is different for all of us. It looks different for all of us. It’s a creative process as it brings all cultures and concerns together in one intersection then God leaves us to figure things out. Because in God’s world, everything influences everything.
A friend told me a story about a woman called Maria, someone who came to the food pantry regularly.
Maria was a single mother with two young children. Life had not been easy for her; she had lost her job due to health issues and finding stable work had become a challenge. Every week, Maria would come to the food pantry. The food she received was a lifeline for her family, helping her stretch her limited resources. For her this meant her children never went to bed hungry.
One day, while waiting in line, Maria struck up a conversation with a volunteer. The volunteer noticed that despite Maria’s difficult circumstances, there was a quiet strength in her born from hardship. As they talked, Maria shared that she had found comfort in her faith, especially in Jesus’ words, “I am the bread of life.”
Maria was overheard explaining that when she first lost her job, she felt hopeless and lost, like she had nothing left. But during that time, she turned to her faith more deeply than ever before. She began attending church and spent time in prayer, asking for strength and guidance. Slowly, she started to experience a peace she didn’t understand and could not explain. She experienced a sense of hope that wasn’t tied to her immediate circumstances.
Maria told the volunteer, “I used to think bread was just something to fill my stomach, but now I understand that Jesus is the bread of life. He has filled a hunger in my soul that food alone could never satisfy. Even on the days when I have little, I know I’m not really hungry because He is with me.”
Over time, Maria’s situation began to improve. She found part-time work that allowed her to support her family more steadily. But even as things got better, she continued to go to the food pantry-not just to receive, but also to give back. Maria started volunteering, sharing her story with others who were struggling, offering them not just food, but hope.
Do I have your attention? Jesus did not call us to defend Christianity. No! First, He calls us to love and believe in Him. He calls us to have faith. He calls us to defend the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed and those who are suffering, hurting and in pain. So, let’s stop wasting our time listening to interpretations of the Bible that sound outlandish. Let’s stop being offended by name calling and focus instead on loving each other, let’s focus on feeding, let’s focus on healing, let’s focus on peace making.
Did you hear this? Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”. As we prepare for Eucharist, may we become what we receive. As we go about our lives this week, let’s ask God to grant us the spirit to always think and act in ways that are right, knowing that we cannot exist without God.
Let us also pray that God will enable us to live according to His will.
Let’s win with the Father, let’s win with the Son, let’s win with the Holy Spirit.
Friends, let’s win BIG!