In
each of his “I am…” sayings, Christ uses metaphorical language to illuminate
his understanding of himself as the Divine Messiah. In our first exploration this week, we will
be focusing on Christ’s claim that he is the bread of life. This metaphor occurs in John 6: 35, "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.’”
In
order to fully understand and appreciate this saying, we will need to look at
the context in which it appears in John, Chapter 6. Much of Chapter 6 is devoted to a dialogue
between Jesus and the people who have come to hear him teach. They ask Jesus what sign he can produce to prove that he is truly the long-awaited
Messiah, the Son of God. They say, “‘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”’” (John 6: 30-31).
With
the manna from heaven, Jesus’ interlocutors are referring to the early
Israelites’ forty years of wandering in the wilderness, before God leads them
out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land, flowing—metaphorically—with milk
and honey. The Bible describes this
manna as “a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground,” which
appears each morning as the dew is rising up off the ground. The Israelites could prepare it by baking it
or boiling it. And, it was described as “like
coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafer made with honey” (see
Exodus 16). The Israelites subsisted on
the manna during their forty years in the wilderness.
In
his discussion, Jesus observes that God gave manna to those wandering in the
desert to sustain them. Then he
continues: “For the bread of God is that
which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)
When asked for this bread, Jesus replies that he is the bread of life.
But,
the discussion is not over. Jesus’
discussion partners then criticize Jesus and complain that he has claimed to be
the bread that comes down from heaven. Some
of their hostility is rooted in the fact that they have known Jesus since he
was a boy. Since they already know
Jesus, they are skeptical that he is truly the long-awaited Messiah.
In
response to their criticism, Jesus reiterates that he is the bread of
life. Then, he continues: “Your ancestors ate the manna in the
wilderness, and they [eventually] died [from old age]. 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…” (John 6: 49-51a).
Here, Jesus uses bread as
a metaphor to describe his self-understanding as the Messiah. Over history, bread has been a basic food
staple for many different people, living in different contexts and eating
different types of bread. In this
metaphor, Jesus take this ordinary, everyday food staple and uses it to describe
what we humans can know and understand about who God is. God loves us and offers humans his Son as a divine
bread from heaven. This divine bread
nourishes those who put their faith in Jesus, so that we can have eternal life
and live forever.
But, Jesus is not
finished. He continues, “the bread that
I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6: 51b). This
final comment simultaneously baffles and enrages the Jews who are talking with
Christ. They ask, “How can this man give
us his flesh to eat?”
At this point, it is
imperative to recognize that Jesus has pivoted the focus of his dialogue. He is no longer engaging with inquisitive
Jews and Gentiles who have come to hear his teachings and check out what
miraculous signs he might perform.
Instead, he is really talking to his disciples and other followers, even
though he answers the objections raised by his inquisitors. Furthermore, Jesus extends the
metaphor of the “bread of life” to describe the Sacrament of Holy Communion—or,
Eucharist.
Jesus responds: “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood
have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day. …Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide
in me, and I abide in them. Just as the
living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me
will live because of me.” (John 6: 53-54, 56-57)
This is a profound and
poignant passage. The Sacrament of Holy
Communion becomes a channel through which we receive spiritual nourishment and
grow in our relationship with the Divine.
In keeping with the metaphor of Jesus as the “bread of life,” when we
receive the sacrament of bread and the fruit of the vine, we consume the
heavenly bread which sustains us spiritually and prepares us to receive eternal
life.
I deeply appreciate the
way Biblical scholar Gail R. O’Day interprets this passage: “Participation in the eucharist draws the
believer into a relationship with Jesus.
At the heart of v. 56 is the verb “to abide”. This verb expresses the interrelationship of
Jesus and the believer that is the source of the believer’s life. Yet the interrelationship of Jesus and the
believer is actually an extension of the interrelationship of God and Jesus
(6:57).”[1]
Of course, it is important
to acknowledge that Protestants and Catholics disagree on our
interpretation of what Jesus means, when he says that we must eat his flesh and
drink his blood. Whereas Catholics have
historically interpreted Jesus literally, believing that when we receive the
Sacrament we are receiving Jesus’ actual flesh and blood, as perceived through the
eyes of faith.
Protestants, meanwhile, interpret
Jesus as speaking figuratively of his flesh and blood, although all Christians
recognize the profound Presence of Christ in the celebration of his heavenly
meal. For United Methodists, Christ is
intimately and lovingly present in the celebration of Holy Communion, and this
sacrament does indeed provide spiritual nourishment—the bread of life—as we
grow in our faith and as our spiritual journey draws us closer and closer to
the Divine.
In my reflections during
the proclamation on Sunday, I will suggest that in our understanding of the
Sacrament we need to face the past and the future, simultaneously. We look back to the institution of the Lord’s
Supper and to Jesus’ supreme act of love, when he died on the Cross. At the same time, we should also look forward
to the future, to the end of times, when we will share this meal with Christ
himself. In the interim, sharing in the Sacrament of The Lord's Supper, provides a literal spiritual nourishment and draws us closer in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Come, join us this
Sunday, June 12th, at Christ United Methodist Church, as we begin our study of
the “I am…” sayings of Jesus. Christ
United Methodist Church is located at 4530 A Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our classic worship services are at 8:30 and
11:00 on Sunday mornings. Beginning this
week, I will offer a short-term study of these “I am…” sayings between the two worship services at
9:45. We will use Rob Fuquay’s The God We Can Know as our resource.
Everyone is welcome and accepted
because God loves us all.
Schedule of “I
am…” sayings for June
June 19th – “I am the Light of the World” (8:30 service
only)
June 26th – “I am the Good Shepherd” (Beth Menhusen
preaching)
[1]
Gail R. O’Day, Commentary on the Gospel of John in the New Interpreter’s Bible, vol 9, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2002),
CD-ROM Edition.
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