I AM THE THE BREAD OF LIFE

One of our good Lord’s miracles was the feeding of five thousand people by multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish. As soon, as he did this there may have been some people whose light bulbs were going off. Some may have thought, “This is great! If he could do this, we can feed people without farming, we could feed an army without supplies, we can build an empire, we can take over the world!”

This probably explains the nature of the dialogue that followed straight after that miracle. He said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:27)¹ And with crumbs of the food they had just eaten still in their mouths, some people said to him, “what sign will you do so that we may believe you... our ancestors ate manna in the desert... bread from heaven...” And Jesus, probably shaking his head at their lack of understanding, answered, “...the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They replied, “Give us this bread always”. And Jesus then said one of his famous I AMs: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never ever get hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never ever get thirsty.” (John 6:34-35)
Brothers and sisters, all creatures hunger for something. A tiger hungers for meat, a bird hungers for worms, a giraffe hungers for leaves. We humans also hunger for food, but we also hunger for something far greater. Greater than the hunger for food in us humans, is the hunger for God’s gifts. The hunger for security, the hunger for love, the hunger for peace, joy, meaning and life. “Man does not live by bread alone” said Jesus when he was tempted to turn stones into bread. Think about it. The things of this world fail to satisfy us completely and permanently. They only satisfy us momentarily. We eat in the morning and we get satisfied, we feel complete, fulfilled. But, a few hours later, we are back to where we began, hungry again.

Not only food, but possessions also do the same thing. They satisfy us only momentarily. There was a little girl who wanted a certain doll for Christmas. The child promised that she would be the happiest little girl in the world and would never again ask for anything else if only she got that doll. Her parents got her the doll. And the girl was happy, she played with the doll to her heart’s content. But, a few days after Christmas she did eventually get tired of the doll and was dissatisfied all over again.

Dr Karl Jung, the eminent psychiatrist, reported that most of his patients were people who had been successful in business, but who lost meaning in their lives, not knowing what to do with the wealth they had acquired.

There is a story about a loaf of bread that fell from a baker’s basket. When it hit the pavement a crumb broke off and lay beside it. Almost instantly, three sparrows made a swoop for the crumb. Only one of them managed to snatch the crumb; the other two flew away still hungry. They overlooked the loaf, leaving it completely untouched. The message is clear. How often do we chase after the crumbs of life and leave untouched the loaf, the “Bread of Life”, who alone can satisfy our deepest need?

Notice that Jesus did not say, “I am the medicine of life. Take me only when there is sickness and pain; otherwise don’t bother me.” He did not say, “I am the candy of life; take a sweet bite of me on Sunday and forget about me the rest of the week.” He goes all the way. By saying, “I am the bread of life” he means that he is everything for us, he is the source of life for us, he is spiritual nourishment for us. By eating bread we live, by consuming the nutrients... we live. The nutrients become one with us. Becoming one with what we consume... what better definition of the word communion?

This is why Jesus Christ goes so far with the analogy: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, they will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51)

Jesus uses such extreme language to impress the message permanently in our hearts and minds. As cannibalistic as it sounds, we need to read between the lines and understand the spiritual meaning of what is being said. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me an I in them.”

Our reception of this belief is expressed by what we do every Sunday. Holy Communion is an expression of this simple, yet profound, spiritual experience... us consuming the bread of life, us communing... becoming one... with the Source of Life.

Amin.

^{[1] Compare with Isaiah 55:2, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and labor for that which does not satisfy?”}